west germany

The Reader

Wed, 10 Dec 2008

The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.

The American Friend

Fri, 24 Jun 1977

Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.

Red Heat

Tue, 28 May 1985

East Germans abduct a U.S. coed (Linda Blair) and throw her in a women's prison run by a brutal inmate (Sylvia Kristel).

21 Hours at Munich

Sat, 25 Dec 1976

A dramatization of the incident in 1972 when Arab terrorists broke into the Olympic compound in Munich and murdered 11 Israeli athletes.

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Mon, 07 Jul 1975

After a worker kills a superior and commits suicide, each of his family members attempts to forge a path forward in life.

Germany in Autumn

Fri, 03 Mar 1978

Germany in Autumn does not have a plot per se; it mixes documentary footage, along with standard movie scenes, to give the audience the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The movie covers the two month time period during 1977 when a businessman was kidnapped, and later murdered, by the left-wing terrorists known as the RAF-Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Fraction). The businessman had been kidnapped in an effort to secure the release of the orginal leaders of the RAF, also known as the Baader-Meinhof gang. When the kidnapping effort and a plane hijacking effort failed, the three most prominent leaders of the RAF, Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, all committed suicide in prison. It has become an article of faith within the left-wing community that these three were actually murdered by the state.

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz

Wed, 03 Jan 1968

A beautiful East German Olympic hopeful pole-vaults over the Berlin Wall to freedom.

Black Gravel

Wed, 12 Apr 1961

Tensions rise when a U.S. military base is built in a small village in post-war Germany.

Kraftwerk and the Electronic Revolution

Tue, 02 Sep 2008

Kraftwerk's vision of a keyboard-driven world of clicking metronomic rhythms and digitised sound bites may have been the stuff of avant fantasy in the 1970s (the decade that saw the band's first groundbreaking albums), but it is a reality in the new millennium. Their visionary style is explored in KRAFTWERK AND THE ELECTRONIC REVOLUTION, a study of the group, their career and their emergence as the most influential electronic band in the world.

Kalter Krieg der Konzerte - Wie Bruce Springsteen den Osten rockte

Sat, 09 Nov 2013

Berlin, summer 1988: While Michael Jackson and Pink Floyd perform in the West, East Berliners can look forward to Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode and James Brown. The documentary reveals how the organizers enforced the concerts with the state authorities. On the anniversary of the fall of the Wall.

Gladbeck: The Hostage Crisis

Wed, 08 Jun 2022

In August 1988, two armed bank robbers keep German police at bay for 54 hours during a hostage-taking drama that ends in a shootout and three deaths.

Westler

Thu, 28 Mar 1985

Felix from West-Berlin falls in love with Thomas in East-Berlin. At first they keep their relationship going by regular visits from Felix, but the curfew forces him to return every evening. When the East-German authorities become suspicious, Thomas decides to try and flee to the West.

Heading For Glory

Thu, 30 Jan 1975

The 1974 finals in West Germany saw the emergence of "Total Football" in the shape of the classy Dutch led by the legendary Johan Cruyff. The Dutch swept all before them until they came up against the solid hosts in the final. Beckenbauer led West Germany to a tense 2-1 victory.

Das Zugunglück von Radevormwald – Leben mit der Katastrophe

Fri, 28 May 2021

May 27th, 1971 was a rainy day. In the small town Radevormwald, the world seems to be still in order. But on this day, 46 people die in a train crash, amongst them 41 schoolchildren. Since then, Radevormwald has been connected with one of the worst railway catastrophes of Germany. The touching documentary reconstructs the tragedy and shows how much the event still influences the life in the town until today.

1989, les trains de la liberté

Sun, 01 Jun 2014

Autobahn

Thu, 27 Feb 2020

Traffic on the B61 road, which connects Rotterdam to Warsaw and cuts through the German spa town of Bad Oeynhausen, is permanently gridlocked. The promised cure is a bypass whose construction is documented for a period of eight years: the efforts of the mayor, police, fire brigade and construction companies, the delays in the construction of the northern bypass and above all the reactions of the affected residents.

Glimpses of Western Germany

Sat, 13 Feb 1954

This James A. FitzPatrick Traveltalks short visits the West German cities of Hamburg, Bremen, Munich, and Heidelberg. Included are scenes of World War II destruction that lingered at the time.

Fatal News

Sat, 27 Jun 2015

West Germany, 1987. The politician Uwe Barschel (1944-87), member of the Christian Democratic Union party and Minister-President of the Schleswig-Holstein region, is found dead in very sinister circumstances. Reporter David Burger pledges to find the truth behind one of the most important political scandals in German history, investigating countless speculations and conspiracy theories as he fights his own personal demons.

Germany Year 90 Nine Zero

Sun, 01 Sep 1991

The supremely world-weary Lemmy Caution, last seen in Godard's "Alphaville" (France/1965), has several strange encounters while trying to make his way from the former East Germany to "the west."

Tor! Total Football

Invalid Date

Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten, The brothers Koeman… These were some of the superstars from Holland whose blazing talents made the European Championship of 1988 so memorable and one to log indelibly in the whole recent legend of outstanding international football. Eight teams qualified for the tournament finals, including England who scored more goals than any other side, 18, to reach the final stages – and the Cinderella side from the Republic of Ireland, managed by Jack Charlton. But most of all Euro ’88 had a winning side who swept all before them in a colourful and passionate series of displays that will be viewed again and again by anyone fascinated and intrigued by the way the world’s most popular game is so sumptuously developing as it enters its second organised century. It is a must for fans and serious students alike.