Doomsday (1984)
Doomsday is a German-Austrian television film about the assassination attempt in Sarajevo and the July crisis that it triggered , which led to the outbreak of the First World War .
action
The film begins with the journey of the Austrian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Archduchess Sophie through Sarajewo , the capital of Bosnia annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1908 . A bomb attack on the couple's car fails, but later both are shot by another assassin. One of the many spectators on the roadside is the lawyer Leo Pfeffer with his wife Alma and daughter Anna. Pfeffer is used as an examining magistrate and is supposed to interrogate the arrested assassins. His superiors and the government in Vienna are hoping for evidence that the attackers acted on behalf of the Serbian government . However, Pfeffer initially found no evidence of this.
Pfeffer receives a visit from the American Robert Lewis, a distant relative of his wife, who is supposed to report on the events in Sarajevo as a correspondent for the New York Times . He can persuade Pfeffer to be present at one of the interrogations. Robert and Pepper's daughter Anna grow closer, but their relationship is interrupted by the start of the war and Robert's departure.
In the European capitals of Berlin, Vienna, Moscow and London, diplomatic and strategic maneuvers and plans for mobilization begin. The worsening of the situation is made clear by the fact that the film cuts the conversations in the offices of Emperor Franz Joseph , Kaiser Wilhelm II , Tsar Nicholas II and two English diplomats one after the other. Meanwhile, pepper is coming under increasing pressure to provide the government with the expected evidence. He works late into the night, which also affects his family life. The Foreign Ministry sends Friedrich Wiesner to Sarajevo. In the end, Pfeffer cannot prevent Wiesner from only looking for information that is appropriate for him from the reports and interrogation protocols in order to give the government an occasion to declare war against Serbia.
production
Doomsday is based on the novel The Last Sunday - Report on the Assassination attempt in Sarajevo by Milo Dor and is a co-production between NDR , ORF and TeleCulture , made by the television film production Dr. Heinz Scheiderbauer Vienna. The film was shot in Vienna and Payerbach - Reichenau . The first broadcast on German television was on July 1, 1984.
Web links
- Doomsday in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Doomsday on YouTube