In danger and in dire need, the middle way brings death

Movie
Original title	In danger and in dire need, the middle way brings death
Country of production	Germany
original language	German
Publishing year	1974
length	90 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Alexander Kluge , ; Edgar Reitz
script	Alexander Kluge, ; Edgar Reitz
production	Alexander Kluge, ; Edgar Reitz
music	Richard Wagner , ; Giuseppe Verdi
camera	Günther Hörmann , ; Alfred Hürmer , ; Edgar Reitz
cut	Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
occupation
	Dagmar Bödderich : Inge Maier; Jutta Winkelmann : Rita Müller-Eisert; Alfred Edel : Bieringer; Norbert Kentrup : Max Entrich; Willi Muench; Jutta Thomasius; Hans Drawe : Dietzlaff; Christoph Giercke; Utz intoxication; Kurt Jürgens : Police Vice President; André Mozart : Rusche;

In danger and in dire straits, the middle way brings death is a satirical film by the German directors Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz from 1974. The title goes back to a quote from Friedrich von Logau .

action

Frankfurt am Main in the 1974 Carnival: Two women with different goals are out and about in the city independently of each other. One is called Inge Maier and is a " sleep thief ". After sleeping with men, she then steals from them unnoticed. As a reason for this, she says: “What the men promise always turns out to be too little in retrospect. For this deficit, I'll take her wallets. ”The other is Rita Müller-Eisert, a GDR spy who is supposed to report on life in the Federal Republic. While Inge sleeps with the police vice-president, Rita sees an evacuation operation directed against squatters, as well as a strike in front of the opera.

background

With its combination of fictional (staged) and documentary material, the film is reminiscent of a documentary film .

Alexander Kluge said of the title: “We found the title of the film as a graffito in the basement of one of the occupied houses.” This is how the first shot of the film shows. The camera slowly approaches a room door on which is written by hand: “In danger and greatest need, the middle way brings death.” However, this is nothing more than the slightly modified epigram ( symbolic poem ) “The middle way” of the Silesian Poet Friedrich von Logau : "In danger and great need // The middle way brings death." (See Wikiquote ).

Reviews

"Especially in the staging of the 'speaking of public events', as Kluge calls it, a remarkable film with satirical sharpness."

- Lexicon of international film

Awards

In 1975 the film won two German film awards : Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus for the best editing and Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz for the best musical dramaturgy .

Web links

In Danger and Dire Distress the Middle of the Road Leads to Death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
In danger and in dire straits, the middle way brings death in the online film database
In danger and in dire straits, the middle way brings death to filmportal.de
Movie poster and background information on the film in the Deutsches Filmhaus

Individual evidence

↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ In danger and in great need, the middle path brings death. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .

[1] Archive link ( Memento of the original from October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[2] In danger and in great need, the middle path brings death. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .