Divided Heaven (film)

Divided Heaven (film)
Divided Heaven

Guests in the premiere of Divided Heaven in the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 12 July 1964.
Directed by Konrad Wolf
Produced by Hans-Joachim Funk
Written by Christa Wolf, Gerhard Wolf, Konrad Wolf, Willi Brückner, Kurt Barthel
Starring Renate Blume
Music by Hans-Dieter Hosalla
Cinematography Werner Bergmann
Editing by Helga Krause
Studio DEFA
Distributed by PROGRESS-Film Verleih
Release date(s) 9 March 1964 (1964-03-09) (commercial release)
Running time 116 minutes
Country East Germany
Language German

Divided Heaven (German: Der geteilte Himmel) is an East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was released in 1964.

Contents

Plot

While recovering from a mental breakdown, the young Rita Seidel recalls the last two years: in which she fell in love with Manfred, a chemist who is ten years older. As Manfred became disillusioned with life in East Germany, he moved to the West. Rita followed him there and tried to convince him to return, but realized he would never do it. Rita comes to terms with the past and decides to concentrate on her work.

Cast

  • Renate Blume as Rita Seidel
  • Eberhard Esche as Manfred Herrfurth
  • Hans Hardt-Hardtloff as Meternagel
  • Hilmar Thate as Ernst Wendland
  • Martin Flörchinger as Herrfurth
  • Erika Pelikowsky as Mrs. Herrfurth
  • Günther Grabbert as Ernst Schwarzenbach
  • Horst Jonischkan as Martin Jung
  • Petra Kelling as Sigrid
  • Jürgen Kern as Hänschen
  • Horst Weinheimer as Ermisch
  • Hans-Joachim Hanisch as Kuhl
  • Frank Michelis as Karßuweit
  • Paul Berndt as Melcherr
  • Werner Eberlein as Yuri Gagarin's voice

Production

The film's script was adapted from Christa Wolf's novel Divided Heaven, released in 1963. Director Konrad Wolf had read the author's manuscript, before the book was published, and decided to film it. Principal photography took place in Halle from late 1963 to early 1964.[1]

Reception

Divided Heaven was viewed by 1.5 million people in the first year after its premiere.[2] In 1965, Konrad Wolf and leading actor Eberhard Esche both received the Erich Weinert Medal for their work on the film.[3]

A contemporary critic from the West German Süddeutsche Zeitung's described the film as "perhaps the best German film since the war."[4] Die Zeit's reviewer wrote "Although it was made by communists... Konrad and Christa Wolf had to break away from their belief in the party in order to make this picture... And that is why it is so convincing."[5] West German author Hans Helmut Prinzler called it "the first candid attempt to portray the national consciousnesses in East Germany."[2]

The film was removed from circulation on several occasions in the following years, when the Socialist Unity Party of Germany decreed it, depending on the political situation.[6] In one resolution to remove it, in 1970, a Ministry of Culture official concluded that it "unnecessarily over-stresses the theme of the flight from the Republic."[7]

In 1995, a group of historians and cinema researchers chose Divided Heaven as one of the 100 most important German film ever made.[8]

References

  1. ^ Ralf Schenk. Der Geteilte Himmel. Published in Film-Dienst, Issue 1. Katholisches Institut für Medieninformationen (2004). ISSN 0720-0781. Page 12.
  2. ^ a b Daniela Berghahn. Hollywood Behind the Wall: the Cinema of East Germany. ISBN 978-0719061721. Page 193.
  3. ^ Der Geteilte Himmel. defa.de.
  4. ^ Divided Heaven on the University of Massachusetts's DEFA Film Library.
  5. ^ Paul Sethe. Deutschlands geteilter Himmel. Die Zeit, 4 February 1966.
  6. ^ Frank Burkhard Habel. Das große Lexikon der DEFA-Spielfilme. ISBN 3-89602-349-7. Page 211.
  7. ^ DEFA commission protocol, 25 August 1970. filmportal.de.
  8. ^ Der geteilte Himmel. progress-film.de.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Divided Heaven — (Der geteilte Himmel) is a German novel written by Christa Wolf in 1963. The author describes society and problems in the German Democratic Republic in the 60s. The book won the Heinrich Mann Prize, and has been translated into many different… …   Wikipedia

  • Kingdom of Heaven (film) — Infobox Film name = Kingdom of Heaven image size = caption = director = Ridley Scott producer = Ridley Scott writer = William Monahan narrator = starring = Orlando Bloom Eva Green Jeremy Irons David Thewlis Edward Norton Marton Csokas Liam Neeson …   Wikipedia

  • Film noir — Two silhouetted figures in The Big Combo (1955). The film s cinematographer was John Alton, the creator of many of film noir s iconic images …   Wikipedia

  • Heaven with a Gun — Infobox Film name = Heaven with a Gun image size = caption = director = Lee H. Katzin producer = Frank King Maurice King Herman King (associate producer) Red Hershon (associate producer) writer = Richard Carr narrator = starring = Glenn Ford… …   Wikipedia

  • Sound film — …   Wikipedia

  • Gates of Heaven — Infobox Film name = Gates of Heaven imdb id = 0077598 director = Errol Morris released = October 19, 1980 runtime = 85 min. language = English Gates of Heaven is a 1978 documentary film by Errol Morris about the pet cemetery business. It was made …   Wikipedia

  • Art film — An art film (also called an “art cinema”, “art movie”, or in the U.S., an independent film or “art house film”) is a typically serious, noncommercial, independently made film that is aimed at a niche audience, rather than a mass audience. [ [http …   Wikipedia

  • BAFTA Award du meilleur film — British Academy Film Award du meilleur film Les British Academy Film Awards du meilleur film sont décernées par la British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) lors de la cérémonie annuelle des British Academy Film Awards depuis 1948.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • BAFTA Award du meilleur film britannique — British Academy Film Award du meilleur film Les British Academy Film Awards du meilleur film sont décernées par la British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) lors de la cérémonie annuelle des British Academy Film Awards depuis 1948.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • BAFTA Award du meilleur film étranger — British Academy Film Award du meilleur film Les British Academy Film Awards du meilleur film sont décernées par la British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) lors de la cérémonie annuelle des British Academy Film Awards depuis 1948.… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”