At the golden lake

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Movie
German title At the golden lake
Original title On Golden Pond
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1981
length 109 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Mark Rydell
script Ernest Thompson
production Bruce Gilbert at
Universal Pictures
music Dave Grusin
camera Billy Williams
cut Robert L. Wolfe
occupation
synchronization

At the Golden Lake is an American film from 1981 directed by Mark Rydell . It was based on the play Das Haus am See (original title: On Golden Pond ) by Ernest Thompson . The melodrama won three Oscars : for Thompson's screenplay and for the two leading actors Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda , which was Fonda's last film role before his death.

action

Ethel and Norman Thayer are an old couple who have spent the summers in their vacation home on Golden Pond in New Hampshire for decades . For the 80th birthday of the university professor emeritus Norman, daughter Chelsea comes to visit the parents after a long time. Chelsea never got along with her troubled father, as she constantly felt that she was inferior to him and never suited him. The holiday home on the lake has bitter memories in store for her, which is why she rarely visits her parents. This year she comes with her future second husband, the dentist Bill Ray, and his son Billy Ray. Chelsea and Bill Ray want to spend the summer in Europe and leave their pubescent son with the grandparents.

Neither Norman nor city kid Billy Ray are enthusiastic about it. Norman notices that his memory and his powers decline noticeably with age, which he tries to cover up with his biting cynicism and constant talk about death. The lively sprightly Ethel is almost motherly concerned about him. Nevertheless, Norman continues to indulge his greatest hobby. He goes out on the lake to fish. Through fishing, Norman and young Billy Ray become friends. Together they hunt for "Walter", the largest fish in the lake, which Norman has been trying to catch for years in vain. Her boat capsizes on a stone while hunting, Norman is thrown out and can only save himself thanks to Billy's help. Eventually they can catch Walter, but then release him. When Chelsea returns from Europe at the end of summer, old Norman and young Billy Ray are transformed. Together they experienced old age and youth anew and survived various adventures together. After her mother has encouraged her, Chelsea takes a step towards her father and she succeeds in a backward somersault at the lake, which she had never tried before and which her father now notes with jubilation.

When Norman and Ethel want to leave in the fall, the old man tries to carry out a heavy box but collapses in the process. Ethel desperately tries to get the hospital on the phone and fears that her husband will die any minute - but the heart problems go away and Norman can recover quickly. Ethel thoughtfully notes that for the first time she was confronted with the mortality of herself and her husband. At the end they both go out to the lake, where they watch the old loons who raised their young there over the summer, but are now alone again.

background

Ernest Thompson's play On Golden Pond premiered on Broadway in 1979 with only average success. Thompson would later write the script for the film himself. Jane Fonda was able to secure the film rights of the play from Thompson in order to make a film with herself and her father out of it. In addition to Jane Fonda, James Stewart , a close friend of her father's, had also tried in vain for the film rights. On the Golden Lake , Henry Fonda's last movie was and at the same time the only film he made with his daughter Jane . A distant relationship between father Henry and daughter Jane existed for a long time in real life, which gives the film additional autobiographical traits. Henry Fonda died two years after filming.

Filming took place on Squam Lake , New Hampshire between July and September 1980. On board was Katharine Hepburn, alongside Henry Fonda, another film legend. However, both had never shot together before. 74-year-old Hepburn did all of her stunts herself, including the scene where she jumps off the motorboat. Hepburn gave Henry Fonda the hat of her partner Spencer Tracy , who died in 1967 - Fonda wore Tracy's old hat in many scenes of the film. At the Golden Lake premiered in late 1981 to be eligible for the 1981 Academy Award nomination for best films. It had its actual cinema premiere in January 1982. In America, the drama became the second most successful film of the year behind Raiders of the Lost Ark, with revenues of over 100 million US dollars . In Germany, the film was released in April 1982.

Besides Fonda, this was also the last film for film editor Robert L. Wolfe , who died shortly after finishing his work. Therefore, Wolfe was dedicated to the film in the credits.

synchronization

The German synchronous processing originated in 1982 at Berliner Synchron GmbH. The dialogue book was written by Arne Elsholtz , who also directed .

role actor Voice actor
Norman Thayer, Jr. Henry Fonda Ernst Fritz Fürbringer
Ethel Thayer Katharine Hepburn Tilly Lauenstein
Chelsea Thayer Jane Fonda Judy Winter
Billy ray jr Doug McKeon Oliver Rohrbeck
Bill Ray Sr. Dabney Coleman Joachim Kerzel
Postman Charlie Martin William Lanteau Friedrich G. Beckhaus
Sumner Todd Christopher Rydell Torsten Sense

Reviews

On the whole, the golden lake receives mostly positive reviews. When it was released, star film critic Roger Ebert gave the film the highest rating of four stars: “ On Golden Pond is a treasure trove for many reasons, but I think the best is, I think I could believe it. I could believe in the main characters and their relationships (...) ”. Ebert particularly emphasized the acting and the script by Ernest Thompson. The film is something "rare and valuable".

In Germany, Hellmuth Karasek wrote in Der Spiegel , 14/1982: “Of course, actors who have such a great past with them like the Fonda / Hepburn couple are still able to play something like this hauntingly. You could also play the phone book, which is more realistic than the kitsch play from the golden lake. It remains to be admired how the two virtuoso iron down all even suggestive marital and age conflicts; Fragility is just a quirk, and you just have to love the Hepburn for her slight head wobble. " Prisma Online wrote:" Mark Rydell succeeded in a wonderful dialogue piece with picturesque images of nature and brilliant leading actors. "The lexicon of the international film , on the other hand, was critical of the golden lake : “A predominantly sentimental comedy that takes up and reinforces all clichés about old age. Funny and ironic only in individual moments. "

Awards

Several awards from the renowned American Film Institute followed :

  • 22nd place on the list of the 100 best romance films of all time
  • Number 45 on the list of the 100 Most Inspirational Movies of All Time
  • Dave Grusin's film score reached number 24 on the list of the 25 Best Film Scores of All Time

Remake

In 2001 a remake was made for US television. The play writer Ernest Thompson directed it himself; the leading roles were played by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer .

DVD release

  • At the golden lake . Universal 2005

literature

  • Ernest Thompson : The Lake House. Play in 2 acts (Original title: On Golden Pond ). German by Gerty Agostón . Hunzinger, Bühnenverlag, Bad Homburg vdH, and Stauffacher, Zurich, 1980, 193 pp. [Reproduced as an unsaleable manuscript.]

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ IMDb Trivia
  2. ^ At the golden lake in the German synchronous files; accessed on April 19, 2020
  3. ↑ "On Golden Pond" by Rotten Tomatoes
  4. ↑ http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/on-golden-pond-1981
  5. ↑ "At the golden lake" at DER SPIEGEL
  6. ^ Prism Online
  7. ^ "Am Goldenen See" at Kabeleins with the criticism of the Lexicon of International Films