Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th fleet
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th fleet |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1972 |
| length | 77 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alexander Kluge |
| script | Alexander Kluge |
| production | Alexander Kluge |
| camera |
Dietrich Lohmann Thomas Mauch Alfred Tichawsky |
| cut |
Maximiliane Mainka Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus |
| occupation | |
| |
Willi Tobler and the Downfall of the 6th Fleet is a German science fiction film directed by Alexander Kluge from 1969. Although originally produced for the cinema, the film was not shown when it was completed. Instead, the film was broadcast on January 19, 1972 on ZDF . In 1977 a new cut version of the film was released under the title Too bad battle, I'm so scared tonight .
action
In the year 2040, several power blocs called “fleets” compete in a civil war for supremacy in the galaxy , ruthlessly attacking, bombing and overrun planetary systems . The cyberneticist Willi Lerchenberger, who lives with his wife Dorle and three children on the planet "Graf Grafenbeer", is forced to flee after an attack and decides to seek closeness to power. He spends his family in an undetermined place, henceforth calls himself Willi Tobler, and appears on the planet " Krüger 60 " at Admiral Bohm, the commander of the 6th Fleet, and hires him as the third press spokesman. First of all, he is responsible for giving the Admiral a positive image on radio and television.
However, it soon comes to battle: After it was revealed that Tobler official gave information to companies to extend through insider trading to enrich himself, he is demoted and front probation as a second lieutenant demoted in the ice belt-sector in which an attack by the warring 1 Fleet is expected. The units of the 6th fleet are surprised and surrounded , but Tobler manages to escape to Krüger 60. With this success Tobler is rehabilitated. He is promoted to captain by Bohm and appointed commander of the 6th destroyer flotilla. This is in turn enclosed in the front arc Mira by enemy units, but under Tobler's orders the breakout succeeds by flying through the star in a risky maneuver. Tobler then got his post as press officer back.
An initially victorious offensive by the 6th Fleet culminates in the attack on the planet “ Feodor Liedke ”, whom Tobler accompanies as a front reporter on the Admiral's staff. But the attack, under the command of the Chief of Staff Rear Admiral von Carlowitz, gets stuck on the outskirts, and the 6th Fleet faces another defeat. Large parts of the fleet desert during the retreat . At this moment there is subversion: Bohm is by a commission headed by Chief Justice Davis, the possible war crimes aimed at analyzing, from office coup . Tobler, who, according to his own statement, always “goes for the side of power” and desperately wants a job, cooperates and helps ministerial director Weitling with the distribution of relevant propaganda material. But then the putschists for their part withdraw, and Tobler is charged with collaboration by Police Inspector Schroeder-Mahnke after the unsuccessful attempt to destroy incriminating documents .
production
"Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th Fleet" was produced by Kluge's own production company, Kairos-Film .
In terms of content, the film ties in with the film “ Der große Verhau ”, shot in 1968 and set in 2034 , as well as the short film “We build 3 × 27 billion dollars into an attack slaughter” (1970), which was shot with largely identical staff. The entire scenario of the galactic civil war around Krüger 60 was adopted, however, "Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th Fleet" does not focus on the economic and social situation, but on the war and fighting itself. The production also intends to include many references to the Second World War and there in particular to the Battle of Stalingrad . Historical footage is cut in again and again, and historical props such as a people's receiver or snow shirts are also used. The eponymous 6th Fleet alludes to the 6th Army of the German Wehrmacht , which was wiped out in the battle for Stalingrad. Analogous to this, a short scene in which a toy tank with the number 62 is shown refers to the Soviet 62nd Army , which was able to successfully defend Stalingrad.
Kluge himself was quoted as saying that he originally intended a “'thoroughly conventional' future film”. During the filming, however, he recognized "that our historical experience captivates the imagination." Thus, the film's concept has become "the space heroes with all the inadequacies of historical military leaders", which distorts the science fiction clichés and the utopia turn into a grotesque .
In terms of style, the film attracts attention through the frequent fade-ins of subtitles and star maps, which was seen as a parallel to comic strips . Kluge commented that a film should “stimulate the imagination” and “only emerge in the mind of the viewer”. The use of comparatively cheap trick effects and models has been interpreted as a reference to early science fiction films by Georges Méliès . In the baroque uniforms worn by Tobler, Bohm and von Carlowitz, viewers saw a reference to the Beatles album " Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ".
In 2007, “Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th Fleet” was released on DVD in the Edition Filmmuseum together with “Der große Verhau” .
reception
A contemporary review interpreted "Willi Tobler and the sinking of the 6th Fleet" not only as a parable on Stalingrad, but also stated that the film shows "above all the disparity between technology and morality: while monstrous space cruisers chase through space at faster than light speeds, is eaten, drunk and whored in the command centers. ”In connection with“ The big mess ”, Kluge's view of the future was interpreted as follows:
“Because in the space age, the author wants to say with his utopian parables, the predatory greed and misanthropy of late capitalism are merely increased to the oversized. Only violent creatures will survive, and space becomes a huge garbage dump. "
A look back in view of the DVD release in 2007 understood the film as a "science fiction parody, parody of German television history games and historical essay at the same time". The film is "wild fun that only seems tame because of its length" and a "devious assassination attempt on the melodramas of the New German Cinema to come to terms with the past ", which, however, went unnoticed in 1972.
Web links
- Willi Tobler and the Decline of the 6th Fleet in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ THIS WEEK ON TV . In: Der Spiegel . No. 4/1972 , January 17, 1972 ( spiegel.de ).
- ↑ a b Kirkland A. Fulk: From Outer Space to the Circus Tent. Science Fiction and the Problems of '68 in Alexander Kluge's 'The Unbeliever' . In: Textpraxis . No. 3 , February 2013 ( uni-muenster.de ).
- ^ Rolf G. Renner: Back to the present. To the clever science fiction project “The Big Bang” . In: Valentin Mertes, Christian Schulte, Stefanie Schmitt, Winfried Siebers (eds.): World of forms of dialogue. Alexander Kluge yearbook . tape 3 . V&R Unipress, Göttingen 2016.
- ↑ a b c TELEVISION: Through the sun . In: Der Spiegel . No. 4/1972 , January 17, 1972 ( spiegel.de ).
- ↑ Ralph Eue: “In addition, I am also a practical researcher.” In: Rolf Aurich, Wolfgang Jacobsen (Ed.): Das Edelbuch . Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-935843-36-4 .
- ↑ The last fleet. In: faz.net. September 7, 2007, accessed July 2, 2018 .