Watership Down (film)

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Movie
German title Watership Down
Watership Down - Down by the river (alternative title)
Down by the river (alternative title)
Original title Watership Down
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1978
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Martin Rosen
script Martin Rosen
production Martin Rosen
music Angela Morley ,
Malcolm Williamson ,
Mike Batt
cut Terry Rawlings
synchronization

Watership Down (alternatively: Down by the river ) is a British cartoon by director Martin Rosen based on the novel of the same name by Richard Adams . It is about the adventurous journey of a group of rabbits who escape from their ancestral home and find a new home in the English hill country Watership Down .

action

The film begins with an explanation of the rabbit mythology: at the beginning the sun god Frith created the world, the trees, the stars and also all animals, which were all the same at the beginning. But when the rabbits multiply more and more uncontrollably and take over the majority, Frith wants to talk into the conscience of the rabbit prince El-ahrairah - but the latter describes his people as the strongest and therefore as legitimate that they take over the majority. Frith, on the other hand, does not want to accept this and now gives each animal its own characteristics - he gives weasels, foxes, falcons and cats the hunting instinct. These are decimating the rabbit population and driving fear into the heart of El-ahrairah. But Frith also gives him qualities: big ears to hear dangers and strong hind legs to be able to flee quickly. The opening credits end with the motto that could be read on the film posters: “All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed "(" The whole world will be your enemy, prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, Graves, eavesdroppers, runners, prince of quick warning. Be smart and full of lists, and your people will never be destroyed. ")

The young rammer Hazel lives with many others of his kind in a burrow in the English countryside. His life seems carefree until his skinny brother Fiver has visions of an impending disaster and urges him to leave home as soon as possible. At first Hazel hesitates, but eventually he, Fiver, and a few other rabbits set off against their leader's wishes. A little later the den is fumigated and destroyed by humans and almost all rabbits left behind are killed by the poisonous smoke that the humans had led into the den.

The survivors - a group of young, weak and inexperienced rammers - wander into the hilly landscape of Watership Down and dig a new burrow there. Soon they meet new friends like the seagull Kehaar and some barn rabbits, which they can free from human captivity. But enemies are not long in coming either: the authoritarian rabbit tribe of the Efrafa controls the neighborhood; whose powerful leader General Woundwort rules like a dictator over far too many subjects.

When Hazel and his friends free some females from Efrafa, war breaks out among the rabbits and Woundwort leads his fighters against the construction of Watership Down. With the help of their allies and a daring plan, the defeated rabbits can achieve victory at the last minute by freeing a farm dog and driving him to Watership Down. Bigwig meanwhile defends his friends against Woundwort. The dog kills several of Woundwort's combat troops, when Woundwort appears, the dog attacks him too, but his body was never found. From now on Hazel and his friends can live in peace.

Hazel, who is now very old, is picked up at the end of the film by the "black rabbit of death" and thus leaves earthly life to serve in the rabbit beyond in the Owsla (bodyguard) of El-ahrairah, the eternal rabbit head .

background

  • Art Garfunkel's version of the theme song Bright Eyes became a global hit.
  • Originally, John Hubley was hired to direct Down by the River . But when the work stagnated after a year, the producer Martin Rosen fired him and took over the direction himself. The only thing that remains of Hubley's work is the opening sequence of the film. This differs significantly from the “rest” of the film and reveals Hubley's characteristic style.

reception

Watership Down has been hailed as one of the first serious adult animated films to be made in the West. Total Film magazine voted him in the top 50 list of the greatest British films of all time in 2004 .

Due to the plot in which a group of rabbits used informers and did not allow people to leave the community, analogies were drawn to dictatorships, specifically to the GDR .

In Germany, the low age rating (FSK from 6) was criticized because the film - like the book - contains many violent and disturbing scenes for children. Forty years after its premiere, reactions in Great Britain were similar, even though the film was shown in theaters there without age restrictions when it was shown on Channel 5's program at Easter 2016. The film was described on Twitter as "sadistic", and a user demanded the resignation of the responsible program director.

The film has an 82% positive rate on Rotten Tomatoes , a website that scores reviews.

synchronization

The film was set to music at Berliner Synchron . Joachim Kunzendorf wrote the dialogue book and directed the dialogue.

role English speaker German speaker
Hazel John Hurt Norbert Gescher
Fiver Richard Briers Stefan Krause
Bigwig Michael Graham Cox Andreas Mannkopff
Blackberry Simon Cadell Lutz Riedel
Hyzenthlay Hannah Gordon Rebecca Völz
Pipkin Roy Kinnear Wolfgang number
Silver Terence Rigby Mogens von Gadow
Kehaar Zero Mostel Wolfgang Völz
General Woundwort Harry Andrews Hubert Suschka
Clover Mary Maddox
Holly John Bennett Gerd Duwner
Dandelion Richard O'Callaghan Ulrich Matthes
Chef rabbit Thearah Ralph Richardson Michael Chevalier
Cowslip Denholm Elliott Horst Gentzen
Campion Nigel Hawthorne Ulrich Gressieker
Blackavar Clifton Jones Alexander Duke
Vervain Derek Griffiths Joachim Cadenbach
cat Lynn Farleigh Inken summer
Frith Michael Hordern Alexander Duke
The black rabbit Joss Ackland Frank Glaubrecht
teller Michael Hordern Joachim Nottke

Awards

Reviews

  • “A delightful, detailed cartoon that deserves attention because of its multilayered references to human existence. The intelligent and imaginative made film often judges bitterly in its critical approaches about social conditions and human behavior such as abuse of power, unfair property relations and the increasing destruction of nature. His life-affirming optimism, however, also suggests the possibility of a change in these conditions. " -" Lexicon of international film "
  • "Even if the music is sometimes quite intrusive, especially the song Art Garfunkels, Rosen's film is more than many recent productions from the Disney workshop: an odyssey of some clairvoyant loners, an allegory of society and a utopia of a harmonious life." Anne Frederiksen, Die Zeit , November 14, 1980

Blu-ray release

In 2010 a version of the film was released on Blu-ray . The picture is “quite solid, but limited due to style and age” and the “conventional 2-channel stereo mix” shows its age, but “still a long way off”, according to the specialists at blurayreviews .ch . On the negative side it was noticed that the contrast was sometimes changeable or “flickering” and the picture was generally “rather flat”. The bonus elements “could still be seen for a film of this age”. The essential elements included are two interview features ( a conversation with the filmmakers lasting approx. 17 minutes and the development of a style lasting approx. 12 minutes), in which Martin Rosen (director) and Terry Rawlings (film editor) also have some the animators and background artists are involved to talk about the making of the film. In addition, there are u. a. still see storyboard drafts and archive photos.

New edition

At the end of 2018, the film was reissued as a four-part miniseries in cooperation with Netflix and the BBC . It was u. a. the animation was replaced by computer-generated graphics, instead of Art Garfunkel ("Bright Eyes"), the title melody was voiced by James Bond interpreter Sam Smith ("Fire on Fire") and the content was presented according to the BBC, according to the SZ , "More suitable for children". Spokespersons were "an amazing number of well-respected British actors," including James McAvoy , Oscar-winning Ben Kingsley , John Boyega and Gemma Arterton .

literature

Soundtrack

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Timo Nöthling: “Below the River” - new edition: more hopeful, more child-friendly, uglier. In: quotenmeter.de. December 23, 2018, accessed March 5, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Benjamin Bartsch: Down at the river (Watership Down). In: movicfreakz.de. March 30, 2017, accessed March 5, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Watership Down - Down by the river. In: kinderfilmwelt.de. January 14, 2016, accessed March 5, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Nadja Schlueter : Remake of Netflix and BBC - Ernst des Hoppelns. In: sueddeutsche.de. December 23, 2018, accessed March 5, 2019 .
  5. ^ Watership Down . November 1, 1978. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Watership Down in the German dubbing index
  7. ^ Lexicon of international films (CD-ROM edition), Systhema, Munich 1997. See also Watership Down. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 7, 2018 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  8. ^ The time of November 14, 1980
  9. ↑ Blu-Ray Reviews - Watership Down (Cartoon Animation) HD high-definition film review / rating. In: blurayreviews.ch. February 15, 2011, accessed March 5, 2019 .