The judge and his executioner (1975)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Judge and His Hangman |
| Country of production | Germany , Italy |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1975 |
| length | 92 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Maximilian Schell |
| script |
Friedrich Dürrenmatt , Maximilian Schell |
| production | Maximilian Schell, Arlene Sellers |
| music | Ennio Morricone |
| camera | Roberto Gerardi |
| cut | Dagmar Hirtz |
| occupation | |
| |
The judge and his executioner is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Friedrich Dürrenmatt from 1975 . Maximilian Schell , who wrote the script with Dürrenmatt, directed.
As early as 1957, SDR and DRS produced a television film based on the novel under the direction of Franz Peter Wirth . Dürrenmatt also worked on the screenplay.
action
Decades ago, the then young policeman Hans Bärlach made a bet with Gastmann that he would commit a murder in his presence without Bärlach being able to prove it. Bärlach later made a career as a police officer in Bern, Gastmann as a criminal. Many decades later, Hans Bärlach is an old detective inspector in Bern. His best colleague, Robert (in the book Ulrich) Schmied, is found shot dead on a country road. Since Bärlach is ill, he has the investigation carried out mainly by the detective Tschanz, a professional and private rival of Schmied. Schmied investigated incognito with Gastmann, who had friends and patrons in the highest circles.
Tschanz is investigating Gastmann. He not only wants to close the murder case, but also to follow in Schmied's footsteps thanks to the criminalistic success. At the same time, Bärlach warned Gastmann that he would send him an "executioner". Tschanz, determined to do everything, seeks a confrontation with Gastmann; When he defends himself, Tschanz shoots him. In this way, Bärlach “judged” Gastmann - because he could not judge him for the crimes he had committed, for one that he did not commit, because the murderer Schmied is Tschanz. Tschanz later committed suicide and Bärlach had to undergo an operation because he was seriously ill.
analysis
The script is based heavily on the novella, right through to the inclusion of original dialogues. A scene that occurs much later in the book, namely when Bärlach meets Gastmann, is placed at the beginning: Nadine's murder - in the book a German businessman is the victim - Gastmann's probably first crime as the result of the bet he made and Bärlach had closed “in high spirits”. A dialogue between the two in the opening sequence makes this clear:
- Gastmann: "[...] And as we continued arguing, we made a wager in high spirits, the wager that I would commit a crime in your presence without you being able to prove this crime to me."
- Bärlach: “You're right, we made that bet back then. I just didn't think that you would keep them [...] "
This opening sequence, carried by Ennio Morricone's elegiac soprano melody, is significant in two ways: the audience knows from the start that Gastmann and Bärlach know each other. This becomes clear to Tschanz, who supports Bärlach, much later in the film when he meets the writer Friedrich and in the submission only when the final account is settled. And: In the film there are two murders at the beginning with a time gap of 28 years. The question immediately arises as to what role Barlach has in the second murder. Due to the skillful flashback right at the beginning, the further course of the film plot only becomes clear, gets additional speed and compensates for lengths in the investigation during the first half an hour.
Compared to the original, the action takes place in 1975 instead of 1948, which doesn't detract from the film as a whole. The black, sometimes bitterly angry joke in Dürrenmatt's novella was largely retained. A police officer kills his colleague because he is jealous of his success, his skills, his position, his car and his girlfriend. A constellation that is rarely implemented in crime novels / crime films to this day. And if they do, then even more rarely so convincingly. The tranquil Switzerland does not come off well, because the background for the investigations is formed by industrialists and a “foreign embassy”, which should not be mentioned with the industrialists under any circumstances. Sure: Either it's about arms deals and / or industrial espionage. And all of this on the soil of the Alps, in a property in the Swiss Jura. A Swiss village policeman is afraid of a corpse and therefore removes it from the scene, which (apparently) completely removes all traces from the start.
Narrated scenes are translated into images, for example when Bärlach, after visiting Gastmann, when Tschanz killed the bloodhound, later takes off his coat, an armband for tackling dogs and a pistol. Or the assault scene on Bärlach, when he managed to drive the murderer away with targeted shots at a window pane.
There are also differences in the final account between Bärlach and Tschanz. A lavish “eating” of Bärlachs is staged here too, but the big surprise - Bärlach has been hunting Gastmann since his first crime - is no more. The accounting is limited to the fact that Bärlach denies his stomach illness and Tschanz proves the murder of Schmied.
occupation
Jon Voight as Walter Tschanz, the director Martin Ritt as Hans Bärlach and Robert Shaw as Richard Gastmann took on the leading roles . The role of Schmied's fiancé Anna, which was significantly expanded compared to the book, was played by Jacqueline Bisset . In other roles: Helmut Qualtinger as National Councilor of Schwendi, Friedrich Dürrenmatt , who made a brief appearance as the writer Friedrich, and Donald Sutherland , who portrayed the body of the murdered blacksmith when it was being transported away.
Others
The film was shot in English for the international market. In the German-language dubbed version, German is spoken in rough. The reason for this is that the SDR and DRS wanted the film to be dubbed in Swiss German, but only used features of it so that it could be understood by a wider audience. The film first appeared on BluRay in 2011 . For this edition it was extensively restored in terms of image and sound. In 2010 Beat Records released Ennio Morricone's original film music in a limited edition for the first time on CD.
Awards
In 1979 the film received a silver German Film Prize (category of other feature-length films ), and Dagmar Hirtz received a golden German Film Prize for editing.
Reviews
"[...] bloodless compared to the original." (Rating: 2 out of 4 possible stars = average) - Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz , Lexicon "Films on TV"
“The most important change that benefits the film lies in the upgrading of Anna, the fiancé of the murdered blacksmith, who is almost neglected in the novel, but takes on decisive contours in the film as an observer outside the game of Bärlach, Gastmann and Tschanz [... ] and is played very concentrated by Jacqueline Bisset. ”- Hans Gerhold im Filmdienst 11/1978
“Psychological crime film based on a novel by Dürrenmatt. A reflection on good and bad; captivating, if not staged without showmanship, with excellent actors. "
literature
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt : The judge and his executioner. Detective novel . 16th edition (paperback). Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 2002, 181 pages, ISBN 3-257-22535-0 or ISBN 978-3-257-22535-8 .
Web links
- The Judge and His Hangman in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The judge and his executioner at filmportal.de (with photo gallery)
Individual evidence
- ^ Il giudice e il suo boia | Beat Records | CDCR90
- ^ Adolf Heinzlmeier, Berndt Schulz in: Lexicon "Films on TV". (Extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 678.
- ↑ The judge and his executioner. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 8, 2016 .