Grim reaper (film)

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Movie
Original title The Grim Reaper
Country of production GDR
original language German
Publishing year 1980
length 76 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Wolfgang Huebner
script Wolfgang Hübner,
Wera Küchenmeister ,
Claus Küchenmeister
production DEFA on behalf of
East German television
music Karl-Ernst Sasse
camera Hans-Jürgen Sasse
cut Karin Kusche
occupation

Gevatter Tod is a fairy tale film produced by the DEFA studio for feature films and directed by Wolfgang Huebner in 1980. The film was based on the fairy tale Der Gevatter Tod from the children's and household tales by the Brothers Grimm .

The film was shown for the first time on December 28, 1980 in the first television program of the German television station .

action

Görlitz around 1500: A poor farmer is looking for a godfather for his 13th child Jörg . After declining offers from God and the devil, he chooses death to be the godfather of his son. He later lets his godchild study medicine at the universities of Perugia and Casablanca . As a doctor, he soon became a famous and wealthy city medic. After an agreement with his godfather he can cure all patients in whom he has not seen but are at their feet to death at their head, because "When it's over, it's over." In the city breaks in 1530 the plague of . Jörg saves the life of the little Krakow boy Stanislaus, whose mother and father have previously died. The city's mayor falls seriously ill shortly afterwards and is supposed to die if he wants to. Jörg outwits death by laying the mayor with his feet on the head of the sickbed. Death overlooks this, but warns him not to try it a second time. The mayor promises Jörg to appoint him as heir. As a result, the mayor's daughter, Barbara, with whom Jörg fell in love, fell ill. He outsmarts death again. Death then takes him into a cave with lights of life, including his and Barbara's. The latter has almost burned down and is about to go out. Death asks “Say, how vigorously do you want to see the girl's life?” Jörg makes a momentous decision: He reaches into the sea of ​​candles and pulls out a large candle. Death takes the candle and presses the girl's light on it with the words “For your sake Jörg”. After the doctor has returned to town, he sees that the candle of life belonged to his young adoptive son Stanislaus, who is now lying dead on the floor of his house. After meeting his godfather for the last time, Jörg fled the city. In the last scene, Barbara, who would prefer not to live anymore, meets death who says to her: "Use your life, girl, you will live well for many years to come."

Location

The historical old town of Görlitz , where the action takes place, served as a medieval film set . In an early scene there is talk of the cloth makers' revolt of 1527, elsewhere of the status as an imperial city at that time.

Reviews

“Parable about the power (and necessity) of death; played powerfully and confidently staged, with the figure of death being cast against the cliché with the lively, comical actor Dieter Franke. "

- The two thousand and one film dictionary.

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