Howard Hawks: A Hell of a Good Life

Der Aufstand

June 17, 1953 - the day on which workers in the former Soviet Union took a stand against their government for the first time to protest against excessive labor standards. The protests escalated into a political uprising, which was only ended by the Soviet army using tanks. 50 years later, the docudrama "The Uprising" captivatingly depicts the historical events of those days that threatened to unhinge the SED system.

Planet der Kannibalen

A television reporter searches for alien life forms and gets entangeled in a web of intrigue.

Die Stunde der Offiziere

A well documented re-enaction of the July 20th, 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler, aka Operation Valkyrie.

Beim nächsten Kuß knall ich ihn nieder

Reinhold Schünzel is one of the most sought-after actors and directors of cinema of the Weimar Republic. When the National Socialists come to power in 1933, he just releases his legendary gender comedy “Viktor and Victoria“. Despite his Jewish faith, Schünzel is under the special protection of Hitler and can work unhindered due to a special permit. But Schünzel's days in Germany are also numbered. In his sparkling and pointed artist portrait, director Hans-Christoph Blumenberg tells about the rise and fall of Reinhold Schünzel. The grandiose Peter Fitz mimes a charming, witty and ambitious director. By letting some performers play several roles, Blumenberg cleverly illustrates the recurring conditions with which Reinhold Schünzel faces everywhere. Schünzel's irony, language joke and sophistication in particular congenially transfers Blumenberg to his film.

Three Shake-a-Leg Steps to Heaven

A clumsy Elvis-imitator and an unsuccessful russian dancing-master save a banker from the attempted murder of the Mafia.

Die letzte Schlacht

The 13 days from April 20th to May 2nd, 1945, are unique in the history of Germany: They are the final act in the history of the Third Reich, which was supposed to last for a thousand years and succumbed after twelve in an orgy of violence and fire. In the catacombs of his bunker under the Reich Chancellery in the capital city of Berlin, which Adolf Hitler wanted to make the centre of the world, the dictator operates with ghost divisions during the final days of the war. Only in the final moment, he takes his own life. Meanwhile, On the streets, in the ruins, and the basements of the destroyed city, the final battle wages on: Adolescents are sacrificed without purpose, women get raped, loyal party comrades commit suicide in the thousands, Jews who were in hiding for years hope for the liberation.

Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street

A private detective infiltrates a gang of drug-dealing extortionists who prey on politicians.

Der Madonna-Mann

Australian geologist Graves meets Juliane in a Hamburg variety show. She mistakes Graves for a killer and lures him to gangster Tanzmann. When the mistake is discovered, they only have ten hours to find the real killer...

Aimée & Jaguar

In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women – one a Jewish member of the underground, the other an exemplar of Nazi motherhood.

NDR Talk Show

Move

Eleven moving dates, eight friends: Philipp, Wiebke, Jessica, Maria, Swantje, Michael, Thomas, Dina – all in their twenties and mutually lonesome. And always searching: For a new city, a new job, an own apartment, a new, or even an old love. The search is never-ending, and so they repeatedly find themselves at a ritual gathering: someone moving. Boxes are shifted from one side of Berlin to the other, or the length and breadth of Germany, from one abode to the next as one life is exchanged for another. In 3 ZIMMER/KÜCHE/BAD, director Dietrich Brüggemann portrays existences in which relationships, social networks and backdrops are in a constant state of flux; where best friends are the only, and therefore the most valuable constant. Humorous sketches of the self-conception of a generation for whom moving has become the symbol of a life on the go.

Tausend Augen

Hamburg student Gabriele constantly dreams of her boyfriend in Australia. The reality is different, because while she sits in lecture halls during the day, she is a dancer in a peep show at night. The place is run by the mysterious Arnold, who not only has his eye on Gabriele, but is also carrying around a secret that he soon lets Gabriele in on: his strip joint is just a pretext for a much more lucrative business, in which a certain Mrs. Lohmann is pulling the strings. Her boss Arnold, with whom she is having an affair, is doing dirty business. He is threatened by a killer because he wants out.

Der Sommer des Samurai

In Hamburg, the police are faced with a mystery after a series of burglaries: there are no clues at the crime scene except for a Japanese character. The characters are soon found all over the city. A retired detective and a journalist finally uncover a huge conspiracy that goes back to the Japanese Middle Ages.

Scene of the Crime

Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland.

Virgin Machine

A German woman travels to San Francisco to find her mother, but winds up distracted by the sexually flamboyant culture of the city.

Warten auf Angelina

Nothing is more persistent than an unconfirmed rumor. And the less likely it sounds, the more seriously some people take it. Years ago, when reports circulated in the German media that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were about to take up residence in Berlin, the media were mesmerized and kept churning out new reports where there was actually nothing to report. Film critic Hans-Christoph Blumenberg has made this initial situation the focus of his film Waiting for Angelina, which, in the guise of a summery light comedy, takes aim not only at the media's lust for celebrities, but also at the trials and tribulations of supposedly "normal" relationships.