Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is a comedy whose dark undertones explore the blurred boundaries between dying feudalism and emerging Enlightenment. Herman more
Mozart's Marriage of Figaro is a comedy whose dark undertones explore the blurred boundaries between dying feudalism and emerging Enlightenment. Herman Prey's Figaro is admirably sung in a firm baritone and aptly characterized. So too, is his antagonist, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the Count perpetually frustrated by the scheming wiles of Figaro and Susanna, here the perky Mirella Freni, who sings and acts like a dream. The Countess is creamy-voiced Kiri Te Kanawa, and the Cherubino, Maria Ewing, looks just like the horny, teenaged page she's supposed to be. The all-star leads are complemented by worthy supporting singers, the Vienna Philharmonic at the top of its form, and the experienced Mozartian, Karl Böhm conducting a stylishly fleet performance. close
Mr. Bachmann And His Class explores the close bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex more
Mr. Bachmann And His Class explores the close bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in. close
Rainer Werner Fassbinder visits for two weeks the "Theater der Welt" festival 1981 in Cologne. 30 companies showed in over 100 performances their own more
Rainer Werner Fassbinder visits for two weeks the "Theater der Welt" festival 1981 in Cologne. 30 companies showed in over 100 performances their own visions of a new theater. Framed by Fassbinder's reading of one of the famous essays on theater: Antonin Artaud's "The Theater and its double". The audience is left to wonder how much of Artaud's radical and beautiful vision is realized in contemporary theater. close
A wild story set in eighteenth-century Prussia. Alexander can do everything that a real devil of a fellow must be able to do: ride, shoot, love and devise more
A wild story set in eighteenth-century Prussia. Alexander can do everything that a real devil of a fellow must be able to do: ride, shoot, love and devise clever plots. As a result, he is able to climb the ladder from herder to chamber master, where he makes a fool of the feudal lords. close
After a ten year long stay in West Germany, Max returns to the Soviet Union to visit his deadly ill father in Leningrad. There he finds a friend in a more
After a ten year long stay in West Germany, Max returns to the Soviet Union to visit his deadly ill father in Leningrad. There he finds a friend in a man who calls himself Igor and he begins a love-affair with the deafmute Lena. Around Max' relationship to his father, Igor and Lena, losely held episodes give a many fasetted portrait of Leningrad and its inhabitants. In the eyes of the returning Max, the city is at once well-known and foreign. Lyrically saturated images and sophisticated editing contributes to making the film an expressive description of a changing city. close
For 10 minutes a week meet at the Paris airport Orly employee of the information service Michelle nicknamed Babyface and the pilot of the American company more
For 10 minutes a week meet at the Paris airport Orly employee of the information service Michelle nicknamed Babyface and the pilot of the American company TWA Eddie Miller. These short dates allow the girl to dream about romantic travel, and Captain Miller to escape from the routine of shuttle flights, in which he feels like an air carrier. Having proposed to Michelle, Eddie is not cunning, sharing his plans to leave the aircraft and settle on the ground. The dramatic events that took place on board the New York flight, make lovers and other characters of the film look at their usual life with different eyes and appreciate what they have. close
A plastic surgeon publishes an ad searching for a slave. Even if he meant it in an ironic way and is really looking for a housemaid, a lot of SM-subs more
A plastic surgeon publishes an ad searching for a slave. Even if he meant it in an ironic way and is really looking for a housemaid, a lot of SM-subs are showing up in front of his house the next day... close
Fabian Groys, a renowned journalist for a political news magazine, enjoys great freedom, since the stories he uncovers make for good sales. When he loses more
Fabian Groys, a renowned journalist for a political news magazine, enjoys great freedom, since the stories he uncovers make for good sales. When he loses a hot story about the German army, the editor saddles him with a young female intern. Fabian hates teamwork and sticks the intern with what seems a classic tabloid story about the suicide of a man who had himself torn to shreds by a lion at the zoo. But thanks to the intern’s dogged determination, signs emerge that the story Fabian was working on and the gory zoo story are actually interlinked. Is it pure coincidence? And if it isn’t, how can Fabian fight a nebulous enemy? close
A hot summer day on a country road. A young woman in her bridal dress gets kicked out of a car. Lost and frustrated, she wanders off across a sea of grass more
A hot summer day on a country road. A young woman in her bridal dress gets kicked out of a car. Lost and frustrated, she wanders off across a sea of grass into a dark wood - and discovers an abandoned house. Tired and worn out, she lies down on a bed. When she is awakened from her nap by a clap of thunder, she sees a cup of steaming hot tea and a package on the floor. She opens it - and finds a kimono. The bride knows she no longer is alone ... but should she put on the kimono? close
'Dalla nube alla resistenza (From the Cloud to the Resistance ) (1978), based on two works by Cesare Pavese, falls into the category of History Lessons more
'Dalla nube alla resistenza (From the Cloud to the Resistance ) (1978), based on two works by Cesare Pavese, falls into the category of History Lessons and Too Early, Too Late as well. It, too, has two parts—a twentieth-century text and a text regarding the myths of antiquity, each set in the appropriate landscape. Pavese's The Moon and the Bonfires looks back on the violent deaths of Italian anti-Fascist resistance fighters; Dialogues with Leucò is a series of dialogues between heroes and gods, connecting myth and history and returning to an ambiguous stage in the creation of distinctions, such as that between animal and human, which are fundamental to grammar and language itself. Such a juxtaposition of political engagement with profoundly contemplative issues such as myth, nature, and meaning points to the characters of Empedocles and Antigone in the Hölderlin films.' (From "Landscapes of resistance. The German Films of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub" by Barton Byg) close
A true story of a 17 going on 18 year-old boy called Modris. He’s a guy who goes to school, has a girlfriend and some good friends. He has a small gambling more
A true story of a 17 going on 18 year-old boy called Modris. He’s a guy who goes to school, has a girlfriend and some good friends. He has a small gambling addiction, which makes his relationship with his mother difficult. It’s also hard because the two of them live alone and the mother doesn’t miss a chance to remind him that his father is in prison and that Modris has a bad gene. Their relationship boils over when, in the middle of a Nordic winter, Modris pawns his mother’s electric heater in trying to squeeze a win from a slot machine. She betrays him to the police and Modris is sentenced to two years’ probation. That is when his adventures with the Latvian justice system begin and he sets a new goal: to find the father he has never met. close
Along the dark country roads of rural Germany, prostitutes from foreign countries work in old caravans. ln this uncanny world, the murder of one of the women .
Along the dark country roads of rural Germany, prostitutes from foreign countries work in old caravans. ln this uncanny world, the murder of one of the women . close
Doris Putzke is fond of dating men in her quest to find the perfect one. In her brief relationships, she goes from one disillusionment to another, constantly more
Doris Putzke is fond of dating men in her quest to find the perfect one. In her brief relationships, she goes from one disillusionment to another, constantly deluding herself about the intentions of her lovers. close
A Polish woman and a German man fall in love against the odds and decide to set up a cemetery for exiles. But can their daring venture survive the call more
A Polish woman and a German man fall in love against the odds and decide to set up a cemetery for exiles. But can their daring venture survive the call of the toad? Adapted from Gunter Grass’ novel. close
The film presents dazzling, creative, and surprisingly diverse "home theater" from five decades. And especially on the basis of the sometimes explicit more
The film presents dazzling, creative, and surprisingly diverse "home theater" from five decades. And especially on the basis of the sometimes explicit sexual scenes, van Ackeren draws a very specifically German picture. This includes twenty-five Super 8 films with such beautiful titles as "Lady Di's Hat" (The VIP Movie), "Skin the Cock" (The Leisure Movie) or "Model Experiment" (Sex Film Without A Highpoint). close
18th century Vienna. Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart's, lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure more
18th century Vienna. Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart's, lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor's innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music. close
As he did with his critically-acclaimed "Blockade," a documentary re-creation of the WWII siege of Leningrad, which received its NY theatrical premiere more
As he did with his critically-acclaimed "Blockade," a documentary re-creation of the WWII siege of Leningrad, which received its NY theatrical premiere in March 2007, filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa has once again scoured the Russian film archives for "Revue," selecting excerpts from newsreels, propaganda films, TV shows and feature films that present an evocative portrait of Soviet life during the 1950s and 1960s. With scenes taken from the length and breadth of the “Soviet Motherland,” "Revue" illustrates industry and agriculture, political life, popular culture, and technology. The film’s fascinating flow of disparate scenes representing typical Soviet life of the period is, seen from today’s perspective, alternately poignant, funny, and tragic close
Three people rob a bank to help a day care center that's in debt. Wolf is captured, Werner identified, police suspect Christa is the third. She and Werner more
Three people rob a bank to help a day care center that's in debt. Wolf is captured, Werner identified, police suspect Christa is the third. She and Werner ask Hans, a clergyman, to launder the money and give it to the kindergarten. He refuses. They try Ingrid, Christa's friend, who tries to help, but the school rejects the money. When tragedy strikes Werner, Hans helps Christa bolt to a collective in Portugal. Ingrid visits her; their relationship makes the collective nervous, so she returns to Germany and ceases living in hiding. The police are still looking for her and so is a witness to the robbery, Lena, a bank clerk. Lena's interest brings Christa's second awakening. close
Frida unexpectedly falls pregnant and Felix, the father of her child, breaks up with her to reunite with his ex using methods which are absurd, exaggerated and often hilarious.
Frida unexpectedly falls pregnant and Felix, the father of her child, breaks up with her to reunite with his ex using methods which are absurd, exaggerated and often hilarious. close
Anna and Lisa, two young women, meet by chance in the vestibule of a bank, and decide after that to go on together leaving a successful trail of bank-robberies through Germany.
Anna and Lisa, two young women, meet by chance in the vestibule of a bank, and decide after that to go on together leaving a successful trail of bank-robberies through Germany. close