Panamericana - dream road in the world
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Panamericana - dream road in the world |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1958 (1st part), 1962 (2nd part), 1968 (new one-part version) |
| length | 84 (part 1, 1958), 92 (part 2, 1962), 121 (one-part version 1968) minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hans Domnick |
| script | Heinz Kuntze-Just (comment) |
| production | Hans Domnick |
| music | Winfried Zillig |
| camera | Hans Domnick |
| cut | Hans Domnick |
| occupation | |
| |
Panamericana - Traumstraße der Welt is an originally two-part German documentary about the Panamericana . The director was expedition leader Hans Domnick , who was also responsible for the image management and editing.
action
For the first six and a half minutes, Richard Münch, as off-speaker, gives an ethnographic introduction to the settlement of the American double continent, with the graphic representation of North, Central and South America as a visual background, which ends with the presentation of the route of the Panamericana.
The action begins with aerial images over the snow- and ice-covered peaks in southern Alaska , the starting point of the “dream road in the world”, which is still called the Pan-American Highway here. This is followed by pictures of grizzly bears fishing for salmon, of totem poles and other evidence of Indian culture in Alaska, as well as of gold washers at work. Impressions from the road in the northernmost part of the USA as well as from Fairbanks follow. The following recordings follow the Indian culture in Canada, but also show modern entertainment achievements such as rodeo shows. Impressions from Yellowstone National Park with its steaming springs and water-spouting geysers follow. After passing several large cities, the Bryce Canyon with its unusual rock shapes as well as the Grand Canyon and the Monument Valley , known from numerous film wests of the 1940s and 1950s, are paid a visit.
The course of the road now crosses Mexico in its entire north-south orientation. Here lush agave plantations and palm trees surround the Panamericana. Impressions of the rural population follow. A visit will also be made to the capital, Mexico City . But then Domnick's travel report leads to the ancient temple complex of Teotihuacán , where he traces the traces of the Mexican indigenous peoples' culture destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores. Further impressions of Indian Mayan temples follow , including Chichén Itzá . The cinematic Mexico section ends with colorful folklore dances.
The next stop is the Panama Canal , then the film continues its report in northern South America. There are aerial photos of the Orinoco and the Gran Sabana in Venezuela. The Venezuelan episode ends with shots of the street canyons of Caracas. Then the road leads through the Cordilleras with its subtropical vegetation to the left and right of the road and its coffee pickers, banana trees and orchids that cover the ground. Finally the equator is crossed. We continue along the volcanoes in the Altiplano , through arid areas to the Pacific , where huge colonies of birds form an attractive contrast.
Soon Lake Titicaca is reached and the customs of the indigenous people living there as well as a great festival, the tradition of which goes back to the Inca emperors, is filmed. Another highlight of the film is the ancient Inca city of Cuzco in Peru , where some monuments such as the fortress Sacsayhuamán testify to the greatness of the Inca culture, which fell in the 16th century. The last place of refuge for the Indians before the Spanish conquerors was the city of Machu Picchu, which was built high on a mountain ridge in the middle of the Andean wasteland and remained undiscovered until the 20th century.
Chile is finally reached via the rocky gorges and an inhospitable landscape in Bolivia characterized by extreme drought and a flying visit to La Paz . The route now leads south along an endless stretch of coast until the first ice floes appear and drifting glaciers form bizarre formations. After shots of a colony of penguins frolicking in the seawater of the South Pacific, there is a radical cut to bathing Argentine vacationers in the Atlantic seaside resort of Mar del Plata , the landmark of which is a huge casino building. The Panamericana reaches Buenos Aires through the pampas . Short impressions of Argentinian national sports like polo follow .
The next stop is the Uruguayan capital Montevideo . Surrounded by flat palm trees, the road now leads straight north, to Brazil. The Panamericana finally reaches Rio de Janeiro along peculiar rock formations . Finally, a detour leads deep inland until the new capital Brasilia (which was still under construction at the time) is reached. This is followed by images of the modern architecture of this city created on the drawing board, as well as those of parades and formation flights by the Brazilian Air Force. The Iguazú waterfalls are reached in the middle of a dead straight road that divides the (then still untouched) jungle of the country in the south . The film ends with images of their enormous water masses.
Production notes
Panamericana - dream road in the world , also only dream road in the world , was probably made in 1956/57 as a two-part film. The first part was premiered on July 2, 1958, the second part on September 28, 1962. Both parts together measured three hours of playing time. A two-hour, recut, one-piece new version was released on October 31, 1968.
The well-known actor Richard Münch speaks the entire accompanying text from off.
Award
Domnick was awarded the Silver Bear for the first part (1958) of his documentation at the Berlinale and was nominated for the Golden Bear .
Reviews
“The enterprising solo filmmaker Hans Domnick captured an abundance of brilliant brochures in Cinemascope format by following the highways from the bitter beauties of Alaska through the popular merrymaking of the US western states to the temple ruins of Mexico. While a factual text in Domnick's first travelogue 'The Golden Garden' was still able to provide skilful information, this time gossipy comments and banal noisy orchestral sounds cloud the cheerful impression, which, however, did not seem drastic enough to the film evaluation body to withhold the title of 'particularly valuable' from the work. "
“The people who live on this street appear in this widescreen travelogue only as tourist guides for drivers in a hurry. The text of the speaker, who throws around with pathetic words, believes, since this is America, not to be allowed to save on superlatives. The music also kills the often strong images with bombastic effects, with angel choirs and organ tones. "
Paimann's film lists summed up: "A, again dazzling (panor.) Color-photographed second episode, which is full of poetry and atmosphere despite the contrast of loneliness and business, maintains the level and ... will impress the cultural film audience remarkably."
"Documentation that shows the attractions of the New World between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego as a colorful tourist picture book."
In Kay Weniger's Das Großes Personenlexikon des Films , the following can be read in Hans Domnick's biography: "Hans Domnick made famous the two-part documentary about the Panamericana" Traumstrasse der Welt ", one of the most widely acclaimed travel films of early post-war Germany."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Traumstrasse der Welt, 2nd part in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from September 13, 2016 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.
- ↑ Panamericana - dream road in the world. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ^ The large personal lexicon of films, Volume 2, p. 417. Berlin 2001
Web links
- Dream road in the world in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dream Street in the World - Part 2 in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Panamericana - dream road in the world in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dream road in the world at filmportal.de
- Dream Road of the World - Part 2: South America at filmportal.de
- Panamericana at filmportal.de
- One-part film on Youtube