Plot:
The costume drama Die Marquise von O is French director Eric Rohmer’s first feature-length theatrical release after a four-year break from filmmaking. Based on a novella by Henrich von Kleist, the dialogue is spoken in the original German language and the story is set in Italy during the 18th century. Edith Clever plays the widowed Marquise, who is sexually assaulted by Russian soldiers and rescued by a Count (Bruno Ganz). Some time later, she has to explain to her parents (Peter Lühr and Edda Seippel) and brother (Otto Sander) why she’s pregnant. Die Marquise von O won the Grand Jury Prize in the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. At least one of the home video releases and several capsule reviews erroneously state the film (and its parent novella) as unfolding during the Franco-Prussian wars, but both are actually set during the Napoleonic Wars, hence the presence of Russian troops.Read More »
Germany
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Eric Rohmer – Die Marquise von O… AKA The Marquise of O (1976)
1971-1980ArthouseDramaEric RohmerGermany -
Jesús Franco – Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen AKA Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves (1972)
1971-1980EroticaExploitationGermanyJesus FrancoA descendant of Robinson Crusoe, dreams of escaping to a remote desert island. He invents a chemical which works both as an anti-pollutant and a powerful anaesthetic. He then sails out to a desert island with three girls and settles there posing as a god to the local natives.Read More »
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Rainer Werner Fassbinder – Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte AKA Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)
1971-1980ArthouseDramaGermanyRainer Werner FassbinderPLOT: Tensions between members of a film crew build while they wait for the arrival of the director and star to arrive on location.Read More »
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Udo Kier – The Last Trip to Harrisburg AKA Letze Reise Nach Harrisburg (1984)
1981-1990ExperimentalGermanyShort FilmUdo KierA soldier and a beautiful blonde on a train to Harrisburg.Read More »
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Rudolf Thome – Frau fährt, Mann schläft AKA Woman Driving, Man Sleeping (2004)
2001-2010ArthouseDramaGermanyRudolf ThomeSecond part of Rudolf Thome’s Zeitreisen trilogy.
Dentist Sue and the philosophy professor Anton have been leading a seemingly intact life, juggling careers and a family with four children. Until one day, however, when their 18 year-old son Thomas has a breakdown. Thomas’ situation threatens the stability of the family.Read More »
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Carl Javér – Freak Out aka Monte Verità (Der Traum vom alternativen Leben) (2014)
2011-2020ArthouseCarl JavérDocumentaryGermany“Monte Verità (Der Traum vom alternativen Leben)” tells the untold story of the birth of the alternative movement and unfold the uncanny similarities between our time and what they revolted against in the early 1900s.
Long-haried barefoot people. Free love! Veganism! Experiments with drugs… The sixties, right? Not quite. In 1900 a group of middleclass kids revolted against their time and started the original alternative community – Monte Verità, the mountain of truth, located in Ascona (Swiss canton of Ticino). A community based on veganism, feminism, pacifism and free love.This creative documentary mixes interviews, archive and animation in a beautiful combination bringing you straight back to the early 1900 as seen through the eyes of theese young radicals.Read More »
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Max Ophüls – Liebelei (1933)
1931-1940DramaGermanyMax OphülsThird Reich CinemaSynopsis:
A Viennese opera house, early in the century. In attendance are lieutenants Kaiser and Lobheimer. Two young ladies on the balcony, Mizzi and Christine, drop their opera glasses, hitting one of the officers. The Baron von Eggersdorff arrives in his box. Lobheimer leaves early for his tryst with the Baron’s wife. The Baron soon arrives home, in a suspicious mood. Lobheimer rejoins Kaiser in a café with the two girls. Lobheimer soon falls for Christine… The Baroness wonders why her lover has been absent for so long; the two now part for good. But the Baron learns the secret and discovers that a key still in his wife’s possession opens the lieutenant’s door. He challenges Lobheimer to a duel…Read More » -
Douglas Sirk – Zwei Windhunde AKA Zwei Genies (1934)
Comedy1931-1940Douglas SirkGermanyShort FilmThird Reich CinemaAn early short film by Douglas Sirk (Detlef Sierck) which takes a satirical look at dubious business practices during the Weimar Republic. It was banned under the title “Zwei Genies” but released as “Zwei Windhunde” after revisions were madeRead More »
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Alexis Granowsky – Das Lied vom Leben aka Song of Life (1931)
Germany1931-1940Alexis GranowskyDramaExperimentalWeimar Republic cinemaQuote:
Released in America as The Song of Life, this German film stirred up quite a tempest back in 1931 for its depiction of a Caesarian birth. Though not much was really shown, it was enough to cause women filmgoers — and not a few men — to faint dead away. The film was banned outright in Germany and ran into some censorship problems in the US; still, by its very controversial nature it proved to be a hit wherever it was shown. And oh, yes, there was a plot, albeit a somewhat nonsensical one: After discovering that her elderly fiance has false teeth, a young bride-to-be becomes so distraught that she contemplates suicide! She is rescued by a young sailor, with whom she has a baby, leading to the aforementioned “C-section” sequence. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviRead More »