Volker Schlondorff's Cinema: Adaptation, Politics, and the ''Movie-Appropriate''

385 Pages·2002·10.48 MB·English

by  Hans Bernhard Moeller

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Volker
Schlöndorff’s
Cinema
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Volker
Schlöndorff’s
Cinema
A D A P TAT I O N , P O L I T I C S , A N D
T H E “ M OV I E - A P P R O P R I AT E ”
Hans-Bernhard Moeller and George Lellis
Southern Illinois University Press Carbondale and Edwardsville
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Copyright © 2002by the Board of Trustees,
Southern Illinois University
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
05 04 03 02 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moeller, Hans-Bernhard.
Volker Schlöndorff’s cinema : adaptation, politics, and the “movie-
appropriate” / Hans-Bernhard Moeller and George Lellis.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Schlöndorff, Volker—Criticism and interpretation. I. Lellis,
George. II. Title.
PN1998.3.S353M64 2002
791.43'0233'092—dc21
2002018804
ISBN 0-8093-2451-2(cloth : alk. paper)
Printed on recycled paper.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. ∞
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Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
1. Introduction: The Historical Importance of Schlöndorff 1
2. Schlöndorff and His Sources 11
PART ONE
The Early Schlöndorff:Suppression,Pop,and Protest
3. Young Törless 25
4. ADegree of Murderand “An Uneasy Moment” 40
5. Michael Kohlhaas 48
PARTTWO
Brechtian and Profeminist Schlöndorff
6. “Amphibious” Movies and Formal Experiments 63
7. Baal 78
8. The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach 88
9. The Morals of Ruth Halbfassand Overnight Stay in Tyrol 100
10. AFree Woman 112
11. Georgina’s Reasons 121
12. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum 128
13. Coup de Grâce 144
v
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vi Contents
PARTTHREE
The International Schlöndorff
14. AGerman Consciousness for an International Audience 157
15. The Tin Drum 164
16. Just for Fun, Just for Play—Kaleidoscope Valeska Gert, The Candidate,
and War and Peace 183
17. Circle of Deceit 194
18. Swann in Love 206
PART FOUR
The American Schlöndorff
19. AGerman Filmmaker in the United States 219
20. Death of a Salesman 223
21. AGathering of Old Men 234
22. The Handmaid’s Tale 247
PART FIVE
The Post-Wall Schlöndorff
23. AFilmmaker for the European Community 265
24. Voyager 275
25. The Ogre 289
26. Billy, How Did You Do It?and Palmetto 303
27. The Legend of Ritaand “The Perfect Soldier” 309
28. Conclusion 319
Filmography 329
Appendix: U.S. Film, DVD, and Video Sources 334
Notes 337
Works Cited and Consulted 340
Index 357
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Illustrations
1. Coup de Grâce. Valeska Gert, an icon of Weimar culture 19
2. Schlöndorff and Billy Wilder in Berlin 22
3. Young Törless. The title figure glancing at his mother 29
4. Young Törless. The adolescent’s sensuality emerging 33
5. Young Törless. Basini, the victim, hanging upside down 36
6. ADegree of Murder. The young hedonists disposing of the body 44
7. Michael Kohlhaas. The hero and setting evoking the
Western and Heimatfilm genres 51
8. Michael Kohlhaas. The unsuccessful revolutionary’s execution 59
9. “Antigone” of Germany in Autumn. Angela Winkler as
the classical Greek rebel 71
10. Baal. Rainer Werner Fassbinder as the title figure 81
11. Baal. Baal, the poet and vulgar sensualist 85
12. The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach. Arobber
turned would-be aristocrat and a peasant 96
13. The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach. The rural rebels
on their way to the execution 98
14. The Morals of Ruth Halbfass. The title figure and her husband 104
15. AFree Woman. Art historian Farner suggesting to Sophie that
images of women have traditionally been dominated by men 117
16. Georgina’s Reasons. The bigamist title figure with Captain Benyon 123
17. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. The police moving in on
the vulnerable domestic 134
18. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. The victimized woman being
overpowered by males 137
19. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. The stand-in voyeur couple
gazing at the heroine 139
20. Coup de Grâce. Sophie von Reval among the military men 147
21. Coup de Grâce. Aseduction scene between Sophie and
Eric von Lhomond 150
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viii Illustrations
22. The Tin Drum. Oskar’s grandmother hiding his grandfather-to-be
from the police 166
23. The Tin Drum. The double Oskar—the observer and his reflection 174
24. The Tin Drum. Father Matzerath trying to take the drum away
from Oskar 180
25. War and Peace. The director on the set with the Russian astronaut 191
26. Circle of Deceit. Reporter Laschen and embassy employee Ariane 200
27. Circle of Deceit. Laschen standing in the rubble of Beirut 204
28. Swann in Love. The older Swann and Charlus contemplating
their past 209
29. Swann in Love. Swann and Odette in a moment of idealized
tenderness 214
30. Arthur Miller, Schlöndorff, and Dustin Hoffman during filming
of Death of a Salesman 225
31. Death of a Salesman. The tableau of Willy Loman’s funeral 232
32. AGathering of Old Men. Louis Gossett Jr., Holly Hunter,
and Richard Widmark 237
33. AGathering of Old Men. The group of black rebels 246
34. The Handmaid’s Tale. Acircle of handmaids surrounding a
condemned man 259
35. Margarethe von Trotta and Schlöndorff at the Montreal
film festival 267
36. Voyager. Faber and Sabeth at a threshold 284
37. The Ogre. John Malkovich as Abel Tiffauges 293
38. The Ogre. Apied piper Abel stealing children 294
39. The Legend of Rita. Rita and her rebellious GDR coworker Tatjana 313
40. The Legend of Rita. Rita’s final escape 317
41. German chancellor Gerhard Schröder with a group of filmmakers 324
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Acknowledgments
We thank colleagues who read sections of our manuscript at various
stages, including Robert Reimer, Hubert Heinen, Kathie Arens, Charles
Ramirez Berg, Lois Gibson, Cristóbal Serrán-Pagán, Charles Affron, David
Desser, and Klaus Phillips. We are grateful to the two anonymous readers who
reviewed our manuscript on behalf of Southern Illinois University Press and
provided helpful criticism to us.
Our gratitude is also directed to many institutions and archives for their sup-
port and the use of their facilities. The University of Texas at Austin awarded
a crucial early research grant and provided the continued stimulus of students’
involvement in film courses. Coker College provided faculty development
funds, a sabbatical, and much encouragement, and particular mention is due
Malcolm C. Doubles and Ronald L. Carter. We also cite Hessischer Rundfunk;
the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), which provided an early
research grant; the Niedersächsische Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung; the
Goethe Institute; the Munich Filmmuseum; the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek,
especially the ever-helpful staff of the Library Archive; the Hochschule für
Fernsehen und Film in Munich; the Technische Universität Berlin; the
Universität/Gesamthochschule Wuppertal; the Universität Marburg; the
Filmausschnittsammlung der Volkshochschule Dortmund; the Kommunales
Kino Dortmund; the Frankfurt/M. Opera; the Berlin Opera; Handicap
International; Franz Seitz Filmproduktion; dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur);
Süddeutsche Zeitung; Der Spiegel; and Die Zeit. We are indebted to the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for both the release of the text of Schlöndorff’s
acceptance speech to us and permission to quote from it here. (Copyright ©
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1980.)
Special people we should mention are Peter Hoffmann, Ute Gräfin von
Baudissin, Helga Belach, Gero Gandert, Friedrich Knilli, Thomas Koebner,
Norbert Kückelmann, Ulrich Kurowski, Wolfgang Längsfeld, Günter
Giesenfeld, Hans Prescher, Enno Patalas, Horst Schäfer, Klaus Bertisch, Sylvia
Sommella, Ernst Schreckenberg, Frau Bien, and Siegfried Zielinski. All helped
us use the resources of their respective institutions to full advantage. Karl Heinz
Stahl made available to us Petra Schubert-Scheinmann’s Magisterarbeit.
We owe a debt to Bioskop Films and the Babelsberg Studios for the infor-
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