Stories from the Vienna Woods (1979)
Movie | |
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Original title | Tales from the Vienna Woods |
Country of production | Germany , Austria |
original language | Austrian German , Viennese |
Publishing year | 1979 |
length | 90 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Maximilian Schell |
script | Christopher Hampton , Maximilian Schell |
production | Maximilian Schell, Dagmar Hirtz , Franz Seitz film production |
music | Toni Stricker |
camera | Klaus Koenig |
cut | Dagmar Hirtz |
occupation | |
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The film Tales from the Vienna Woods was made in 1979 under the direction of Maximilian Schell . The film is based on the play Tales from the Vienna Woods by Ödön von Horváth . The film is a German-Austrian joint production by MFG-Film GmbH ( Munich ) and Arabella-Film ( Vienna ), in collaboration with Solaris-Film (Munich) and Bayerischer Rundfunk . The occurring couplet “Lachen's nur” comes from André Heller (text) and Toni Stricker (music). The choreography in the then still existing Viennese night club Maxim is by William Milie.
A quote from Ödön von Horváth is faded in to the first film images of the main location:
"Nothing gives
the feeling of infinity
as much as stupidity"
action
Marianne, the daughter of the “Zauberkönig” (owner of a toy shop), is with Oskar, a butcher's owner , who she doesn't really love , at his request . At the engagement she meets Alfred, a young Strizzi who is only interested in women, money and horse racing . He has just separated from Valerie, a tobacconist . Meanwhile, Valerie hooks up with Erich, a nephew of the magical king. Alfred manages to make Marianne docile so that she breaks her promise to marry Oskar. Her father, whose "pension plan" would have been the butcher's shop, offends Marianne. She moves in with Alfred and soon has a child from him. In order to get away from his lover, whose attachment to him soon becomes a nuisance, Alfred places her in a "dance group". She gives the child to Alfred's mother in the Wachau . Oskar still loves Marianne and wants to marry her, but he doesn't want to take in the strange child.
Marianne ends up in Maxim, a famous Viennese night club , where she has to pose half-naked in the so-called "Living Pictures". A rich guest (Mister, a Viennese who has returned from America), who offers her money to sleep with him, blames her for stealing his wallet when she refuses his offer. The magical king, who is also present as a guest at Maxim and realizes that his own daughter is being arrested there for alleged theft, suffers a stroke from excitement that paralyzes him on one side. After being released from prison, Marianne returns to her parents' house in despair. Her father, thanks to Valerie's help, forgives her and gets well again; Oskar wants to marry her - now also with her child. Meanwhile, Alfred returns to Valerie. When everyone comes to Alfred's grandmother in the Wachau to pick up the child, Marianne learns that her child has died through the fault of the grandmother, who wanted to free Alfred from this “burden”. Broken and deeply sad, Marianne leaves with Oskar.
Reviews
"Image-sound contrasts and formal breaks alienate the folk piece into an evil, comical, tragic, sometimes ostensibly cabaret revue of morbid conditions on the eve of the National Socialist takeover."
Awards
In 1980 the film was awarded the Silver Film Prize at the German Film Prize.
Others
- This was the last movie with actress Lil Dagover , who had been one of the great women of the German screen since the silent film era ( Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari , Der müde Tod ).
- The "Rittmeister" was also the last film role for Norbert Schiller .
- Some actors had already participated in earlier film versions of stories from the Vienna Woods . Jane Tilden was seen as "Valerie" both in the TV version from 1961 (directed by Erich Neuberg ) and in the one from 1964 (directed by Michael Kehlmann ). Adrienne Gessner also played the role of "grandmother" in the 1964 version. Helmut Qualtinger , now the "Magic King", played "Oskar" in the 1961 film.
- The shooting locations were in front of the Vienna Belvedere , Ulrichsplatz below the Ulrichskirche in Vienna- Neubau as the main location , the Vienna floodplain on the Danube (now Danube Island ) at the Stadlauer Ostbahnbrücke , the Café Sperl and the Wachau .
literature
- Ödön von Horváth : Stories from the Vienna Woods. Folk piece in three parts . With a comment by Dieter Wöhrle . (Suhrkamp-Basis-Bibliothek, Volume 26.) Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2001, 167 pages, ISBN 3-518-18826-7
Web links
- Stories from the Vienna Woods (1979) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stories from the Vienna Woods. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed January 28, 2017 .