Ironic German crime procedural Tatort has found an American home. Specialist streamer MHz Choice, owned by New York-based art house distributor Kino Lorber and focused on international TV series, has picked up North American rights to the long-running, phenomenally successful series, inking a deal with sales group Beta Film for 250 episodes of the show.
It’s hard to overstate the impact of Tatort (Crime Scene) on German pop culture. The show, which airs every Sunday night on public broadcaster Ard, regularly draws more than 10 million viewers. Top-rated episodes have peaked at more than 14 million, a 40 percent-plus share of the country’s overall TV audience.
The series is a variant of the classic “case of the week” format, with alternating teams of detectives from different German cities and regions (Berlin, Munich, Cologne) investigating murders and other crimes. Since its premiere Nov. 29, 1970 — the show still uses the same 1970s intro music, written by Klaus Doldinger,...
It’s hard to overstate the impact of Tatort (Crime Scene) on German pop culture. The show, which airs every Sunday night on public broadcaster Ard, regularly draws more than 10 million viewers. Top-rated episodes have peaked at more than 14 million, a 40 percent-plus share of the country’s overall TV audience.
The series is a variant of the classic “case of the week” format, with alternating teams of detectives from different German cities and regions (Berlin, Munich, Cologne) investigating murders and other crimes. Since its premiere Nov. 29, 1970 — the show still uses the same 1970s intro music, written by Klaus Doldinger,...
- 10/20/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Wolfgang Petersen, the German writer-director who surfaced in Hollywood following the triumph of his submarine masterpiece Das Boot to make the action blockbusters In the Line of Fire, Air Force One and The Perfect Storm, has died. He was 81.
Petersen died Friday at his Brentwood home of pancreatic cancer, publicist Michelle Bega of Rogers & Cowan Pmk told The Hollywood Reporter.
Petersen will be remembered as one of cinema’s great craftsmen, a director who was able to handle big-budget pieces while deploying a human touch.
The Dustin Hoffman-starring Outbreak, his 1995 thriller about a pandemic, saw renewed relevance amid the real-world coronavirus outbreak.
Petersen spent 18.5 million — then the biggest movie budget in German history — to make the antiwar classic Das Boot (1981). Several submarines of different sizes, including one that mimicked the claustrophobic innards of a real U-96, were constructed, and filming took a year,...
Wolfgang Petersen, the German writer-director who surfaced in Hollywood following the triumph of his submarine masterpiece Das Boot to make the action blockbusters In the Line of Fire, Air Force One and The Perfect Storm, has died. He was 81.
Petersen died Friday at his Brentwood home of pancreatic cancer, publicist Michelle Bega of Rogers & Cowan Pmk told The Hollywood Reporter.
Petersen will be remembered as one of cinema’s great craftsmen, a director who was able to handle big-budget pieces while deploying a human touch.
The Dustin Hoffman-starring Outbreak, his 1995 thriller about a pandemic, saw renewed relevance amid the real-world coronavirus outbreak.
Petersen spent 18.5 million — then the biggest movie budget in German history — to make the antiwar classic Das Boot (1981). Several submarines of different sizes, including one that mimicked the claustrophobic innards of a real U-96, were constructed, and filming took a year,...
- 8/16/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With award season coming fast around the corner, the Chicago International Film Festival has recently revealed their full lineup, which includes a very enticing mix of well-known and new talents. With the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis closing the fest and Alexander Payne’s Nebraska as its centerpiece, the festival includes focus on “After Dark” features, Lgbtq films in their “Out-Look” category, special presentations (like Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave), and more. Below is the press release that fills in the rest:
The 49Th Chicago International Film Festival Announces Films In Competition
Chicago, Il (September 17, 2013) – The 49th Chicago International Film Festival announced today the full lineup of films selected to screen in the International Feature, New Directors, Docufest, After Dark, Q Hugo, and Short Film Competitions. The competitions feature a diverse mix of established and new filmmakers and genres as well as World, North American and Us premieres. Sixteen...
The 49Th Chicago International Film Festival Announces Films In Competition
Chicago, Il (September 17, 2013) – The 49th Chicago International Film Festival announced today the full lineup of films selected to screen in the International Feature, New Directors, Docufest, After Dark, Q Hugo, and Short Film Competitions. The competitions feature a diverse mix of established and new filmmakers and genres as well as World, North American and Us premieres. Sixteen...
- 9/24/2013
- by Nick Allen
- The Scorecard Review
The U.K. government has apologized to British Equity actor Michael Sheldon, who was told that he could not provide a reference on a passport application because "acting is not a proper job," The Stage reported on Wednesday.Alan Brown, deputy director of policy for the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service, has written to Equity President Malcolm Sinclair to apologize after Sinclair complained on behalf of Sheldon, a West End actor who had provided a reference on a passport application for his daughter’s boyfriend. The application was rejected at interview by the passport office, because it said it did not regard an actor as an acceptable reference."I share fully concern about the remark made on the status of acting as a suitable occupation for passport purposes," Brown wrote in his letter to Sinclair. "That is both inappropriate and inaccurate. Please accept my apologies for the offence this has caused.
- 3/21/2012
- by help@backstage.com (Daniel Lehman)
- backstage.com
A great theme tune forms the backbone of any classic war movie, but which are the best? Here’s Mark’s selection…
When I was growing up in the 60s, there was a definite nostalgia for the war that stimulated the making of some excellent movies, mostly based on real events in World War II. But through some entirely inexplicable quirk of fate (or the fact that they had big enough budgets), many of them ended up with such evocative theme music. Just hearing some of the music stirs up the emotions.
I bought a few such themes on various movie soundtrack albums, but eventually hit gold with a record put out by Geoff Love and his orchestra called Big War Movie Themes. This has, without exception, some of the best examples of the genre.
I don't really need an excuse to talk about war movies, so which were the most stirring themes?...
When I was growing up in the 60s, there was a definite nostalgia for the war that stimulated the making of some excellent movies, mostly based on real events in World War II. But through some entirely inexplicable quirk of fate (or the fact that they had big enough budgets), many of them ended up with such evocative theme music. Just hearing some of the music stirs up the emotions.
I bought a few such themes on various movie soundtrack albums, but eventually hit gold with a record put out by Geoff Love and his orchestra called Big War Movie Themes. This has, without exception, some of the best examples of the genre.
I don't really need an excuse to talk about war movies, so which were the most stirring themes?...
- 11/22/2011
- Den of Geek
Sony have announced a new system that will allow you to play your Umd games on your shiny new Ps Vita. Sort of.
They have announced a program called Umd Passport, which will allow you to register your PSP Umd games to your Psn account, then download them to your Ps Vita at a discount price, as can be seen in this handy picture below.
As you can probably see, the process is rather simple.
On your PSP you download the Umd Passport program, once you insert the Umd to the system you are able to register it to your Psn account following the on screen prompts. The game will then be available for purchase at a discount on your Ps Vita.
You will also be able to easily transfer your PSP saves to your Vita. This can be done through your PS3 or PC via the Ps Vita Content Management program,...
They have announced a program called Umd Passport, which will allow you to register your PSP Umd games to your Psn account, then download them to your Ps Vita at a discount price, as can be seen in this handy picture below.
As you can probably see, the process is rather simple.
On your PSP you download the Umd Passport program, once you insert the Umd to the system you are able to register it to your Psn account following the on screen prompts. The game will then be available for purchase at a discount on your Ps Vita.
You will also be able to easily transfer your PSP saves to your Vita. This can be done through your PS3 or PC via the Ps Vita Content Management program,...
- 11/11/2011
- by Harriet Jones
- Obsessed with Film
As Age Of The Dragons arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, Duncan takes a look at the history of dragons in the movies…
It's no wonder so many of us have grown up geeky, for dragons have been a strong mainstay of children's movies for decades now. With their inextricable link to the fantasy genre, many of us have been brainwashed into a fixation with them before we even knew what was happening. Well, that's a decent enough excuse, anyway, should you ever find yourself needing one in a dragon-based argument, which I'm sure there aren't nearly enough of.
Pity the children growing up from the mid-nineties onwards, as they've barely been able to make it through one whole year without a dragon movie being released, a trend which sees no sign of slowing. This year has already seen the release of Age Of The Dragons, starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones...
It's no wonder so many of us have grown up geeky, for dragons have been a strong mainstay of children's movies for decades now. With their inextricable link to the fantasy genre, many of us have been brainwashed into a fixation with them before we even knew what was happening. Well, that's a decent enough excuse, anyway, should you ever find yourself needing one in a dragon-based argument, which I'm sure there aren't nearly enough of.
Pity the children growing up from the mid-nineties onwards, as they've barely been able to make it through one whole year without a dragon movie being released, a trend which sees no sign of slowing. This year has already seen the release of Age Of The Dragons, starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones...
- 3/24/2011
- Den of Geek
A duplicitous blonde, a dumb guy and a lot of money at stake. These things can go a long way, especially if you steam them up in a Florida bedroom town. But "Palmetto" is no "Body Heat", merely a limp reincarnation of a sexy, noir thriller, and is likely to drop fast at the boxoffice for Castle Rock. With a fetching cast -- Woody Harrelson, Elisabeth Shue, Gina Gershon -- it promises some sizzle, but its endless seascape and dreary compositions merely give us drizzle.
In this lust-boiler, Harrelson stars as Harry, a bitter reporter who has served hard time for exposing some graft in his corrupt little town. Harry's a victim and he's bitter about it, wants to get back at the powers that be. Vulnerable and broke, he's an easy mark, especially for a leggy blonde (Shue) with a fetching offer. It's simple enough and illegal -- make a phone call to Rhea's money-bags, terminally ill husband and say their daughter has been kidnapped and to bag up $500 grand. No deep thinker -- in fact, he's so incredibly dumb it's hard to fathom this dunderhead as an investigative reporter -- Harry agrees to do the deed. He's able to carry it off with only minor hitches and, still pissed about his incarceration, he's developed a hard set of situational morals that don't get in the way of his small thought processes.
Unlike his brainier generic predecessors -- most prominently, Fred MacMurray in "Double Indemnity" and William Hurt in "Body Heat" -- this guy does not see the ramifications of his actions, even on a simple crime level. He is such a stooge that any moral or emotional contradictions or misgivings don't even apply here, indicative of E. Max Frye's skimpy screenwriting. Even more woeful, "Palmetto" is riddled with plot contrivances, logical lapses and other inadequacies that turn us off.
Our disbelief, disinterest and ultimate distaste are further aggravated by the casting. As the hapless Harry, Harrelson's slow-moving performance only magnifies the knucklehead dimension of this guy and never taps his cerebral side. Part of the reason the Hurt character was so appealing in "Body Heat" was that his undoing came from personal flaws and cracks that emanated from positive traits in his character. No such richness here -- this guy is merely a shallow bonehead. Who cares? While Harrelson may be a very obvious choice to play such a chap, Shue as the bad blonde and Gershon as the steadfast girlfriend are not the obvious choices, and the against-the-grain casting simply doesn't work. We admit it's very creative, but again, it rattles the sensibilities -- just another goof in this off-kilter calamity. On the positive side, Chloe Sevigny is alluring and aptly unpredictable in a nymphette role.
Further enervating the production is Volker Schlondorff's dour, chilly direction. There is no heat in this stiff cinematic -- no overpowering lusts, no uncontrollable urges. The juices just don't flow on either a philosophical or sexual level, and they are further deadened by the grim technical contributions: cinematographer Thomas Kloss' dull palettes (dim greens, blues and browns) and composer Klaus Doldinger's dreary score make one think we are watching a film about Teutonic depression set in the North Sea, not sex and murder in Florida -- indicative of the film's overall botched chemistry.
PALMETTO
Columbia Pictures
Castle Rock Entertainment
Producers: Matthias Wendlandt, Al Corley
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Screenwriter: E. Max Frye
Based on the novel "Just Another Sucker" by: James Hadley Chase
Executive producers: Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt, Eugene Musso
Director of photography: Thomas Kloss
Editor: Peter Przygodda
Production designer: Claire Bowin
Costume designer: Terry Dresbach
Music: Klaus Doldinger
Color/stereo
Cast:
Harry Barber: Woody Harrelson
Nina: Gina Gershon
Rhea: Elisabeth Shue
Donnelly: Michael Rapaport
Renick: Tom Wright
Odette: Chloe Sevigny
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
In this lust-boiler, Harrelson stars as Harry, a bitter reporter who has served hard time for exposing some graft in his corrupt little town. Harry's a victim and he's bitter about it, wants to get back at the powers that be. Vulnerable and broke, he's an easy mark, especially for a leggy blonde (Shue) with a fetching offer. It's simple enough and illegal -- make a phone call to Rhea's money-bags, terminally ill husband and say their daughter has been kidnapped and to bag up $500 grand. No deep thinker -- in fact, he's so incredibly dumb it's hard to fathom this dunderhead as an investigative reporter -- Harry agrees to do the deed. He's able to carry it off with only minor hitches and, still pissed about his incarceration, he's developed a hard set of situational morals that don't get in the way of his small thought processes.
Unlike his brainier generic predecessors -- most prominently, Fred MacMurray in "Double Indemnity" and William Hurt in "Body Heat" -- this guy does not see the ramifications of his actions, even on a simple crime level. He is such a stooge that any moral or emotional contradictions or misgivings don't even apply here, indicative of E. Max Frye's skimpy screenwriting. Even more woeful, "Palmetto" is riddled with plot contrivances, logical lapses and other inadequacies that turn us off.
Our disbelief, disinterest and ultimate distaste are further aggravated by the casting. As the hapless Harry, Harrelson's slow-moving performance only magnifies the knucklehead dimension of this guy and never taps his cerebral side. Part of the reason the Hurt character was so appealing in "Body Heat" was that his undoing came from personal flaws and cracks that emanated from positive traits in his character. No such richness here -- this guy is merely a shallow bonehead. Who cares? While Harrelson may be a very obvious choice to play such a chap, Shue as the bad blonde and Gershon as the steadfast girlfriend are not the obvious choices, and the against-the-grain casting simply doesn't work. We admit it's very creative, but again, it rattles the sensibilities -- just another goof in this off-kilter calamity. On the positive side, Chloe Sevigny is alluring and aptly unpredictable in a nymphette role.
Further enervating the production is Volker Schlondorff's dour, chilly direction. There is no heat in this stiff cinematic -- no overpowering lusts, no uncontrollable urges. The juices just don't flow on either a philosophical or sexual level, and they are further deadened by the grim technical contributions: cinematographer Thomas Kloss' dull palettes (dim greens, blues and browns) and composer Klaus Doldinger's dreary score make one think we are watching a film about Teutonic depression set in the North Sea, not sex and murder in Florida -- indicative of the film's overall botched chemistry.
PALMETTO
Columbia Pictures
Castle Rock Entertainment
Producers: Matthias Wendlandt, Al Corley
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Screenwriter: E. Max Frye
Based on the novel "Just Another Sucker" by: James Hadley Chase
Executive producers: Al Corley, Bart Rosenblatt, Eugene Musso
Director of photography: Thomas Kloss
Editor: Peter Przygodda
Production designer: Claire Bowin
Costume designer: Terry Dresbach
Music: Klaus Doldinger
Color/stereo
Cast:
Harry Barber: Woody Harrelson
Nina: Gina Gershon
Rhea: Elisabeth Shue
Donnelly: Michael Rapaport
Renick: Tom Wright
Odette: Chloe Sevigny
Running time -- 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 2/13/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Not since Columbia Pictures released the restored "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1989 has a film classic re-emerged so mightily expanded and improved as Wolfgang Petersen's masterpiece "Das Boot".
One of the great war films -- for its unparalleled action scenes and one's emotional involvement with the characters -- the 31Ú2-hour subtitled epic is an unforgettable voyage on a German U-boat during World War II.
Petersen, producer Ortwin Freyermuth, star Jurgen Prochnow and many of the top production and cast members were present at the premiere of "Das Boot -- The Director's Cut" on Wednesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. There's also a six-hour version that was shown on German television, but the present 210-minute edition from Columbia, without intermission, is more than an hour longer than the six-time Oscar-nominated version released stateside in 1982.
Based on Lothar-Gunther Buchheim's novel, "Das Boot" is a titanic feat of filmmaking that is more than ever a feast for the senses when seen in a proper theater. Set almost entirely in the sub, with two long sequences of intense pressure from attacking Allied destroyers, the film is so compelling it tempts one to "root" for the protagonists, but the overall scheme is to personalize and humanize the defeated.
Prochnow's performance is a towering achievement. His character is admirable for showing strength and discipline under extreme conditions, but there's never any doubt that he cares deeply about his crew. One can't help but admire his naval prowess, and he earns the loyalty of his men during several close calls and through his overall relaxed attitude.
The supporting cast is flawless, and there have been few films that have captured so vividly the atmosphere of warfare. The cinematography, production design, editing and Klaus Doldinger's score are all major accomplishments.
As a cinematic achievement, "Das Boot" re-creates the submarine setting with stunning success. The Oscar-nominated sound work, now redesigned into eight-channel digital, is a total knockout. From ships sinking miles away and their own submarine cracking under increasing pressure, the sailors are attuned to every telltale groan and underwater bang.
There is a haunting scene in which the Captain orders a sinking ship torpedoed and unwittingly kills Allied men. When they are ordered to slip through the Straits of Gibraltar, the crew and Captain go a little mad, in keeping with the impossible task. The fate that awaits them at the end underscores both the justice and tragedy of war, challenging the audience with the bitter truths of human conflict.
DAS BOOT
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
From PSO
A Bavarian Film production
Twin Bros. Prods.
A film by Wolfgang Petersen
Writer-director Wolfgang Petersen
Producer Gunter Rohrbach
Director's cut producer Ortwin Freyermuth
Based upon the novel by
Lothar-Gunther Buchheim
Director of photography Jost Vacano
Music Klaus Doldinger
Production designer Rolf Zehetbauer
Art director Gotz Weidner
Editor Hannes Nikel
Costume designer Monika Bauert
Sound Mike Le-Mare, Milan Bor, Trevor Pyke
Color/stereo
Cast:
The Captain Jurgen Prochnow
Lt. Werner Herbert Gronemeyer
Chief engineer Klaus Wennemann
1st Lieutenant Hubertus Bengsch
Running time -- 210 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
One of the great war films -- for its unparalleled action scenes and one's emotional involvement with the characters -- the 31Ú2-hour subtitled epic is an unforgettable voyage on a German U-boat during World War II.
Petersen, producer Ortwin Freyermuth, star Jurgen Prochnow and many of the top production and cast members were present at the premiere of "Das Boot -- The Director's Cut" on Wednesday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills. There's also a six-hour version that was shown on German television, but the present 210-minute edition from Columbia, without intermission, is more than an hour longer than the six-time Oscar-nominated version released stateside in 1982.
Based on Lothar-Gunther Buchheim's novel, "Das Boot" is a titanic feat of filmmaking that is more than ever a feast for the senses when seen in a proper theater. Set almost entirely in the sub, with two long sequences of intense pressure from attacking Allied destroyers, the film is so compelling it tempts one to "root" for the protagonists, but the overall scheme is to personalize and humanize the defeated.
Prochnow's performance is a towering achievement. His character is admirable for showing strength and discipline under extreme conditions, but there's never any doubt that he cares deeply about his crew. One can't help but admire his naval prowess, and he earns the loyalty of his men during several close calls and through his overall relaxed attitude.
The supporting cast is flawless, and there have been few films that have captured so vividly the atmosphere of warfare. The cinematography, production design, editing and Klaus Doldinger's score are all major accomplishments.
As a cinematic achievement, "Das Boot" re-creates the submarine setting with stunning success. The Oscar-nominated sound work, now redesigned into eight-channel digital, is a total knockout. From ships sinking miles away and their own submarine cracking under increasing pressure, the sailors are attuned to every telltale groan and underwater bang.
There is a haunting scene in which the Captain orders a sinking ship torpedoed and unwittingly kills Allied men. When they are ordered to slip through the Straits of Gibraltar, the crew and Captain go a little mad, in keeping with the impossible task. The fate that awaits them at the end underscores both the justice and tragedy of war, challenging the audience with the bitter truths of human conflict.
DAS BOOT
Sony Pictures Releasing
Columbia Pictures
From PSO
A Bavarian Film production
Twin Bros. Prods.
A film by Wolfgang Petersen
Writer-director Wolfgang Petersen
Producer Gunter Rohrbach
Director's cut producer Ortwin Freyermuth
Based upon the novel by
Lothar-Gunther Buchheim
Director of photography Jost Vacano
Music Klaus Doldinger
Production designer Rolf Zehetbauer
Art director Gotz Weidner
Editor Hannes Nikel
Costume designer Monika Bauert
Sound Mike Le-Mare, Milan Bor, Trevor Pyke
Color/stereo
Cast:
The Captain Jurgen Prochnow
Lt. Werner Herbert Gronemeyer
Chief engineer Klaus Wennemann
1st Lieutenant Hubertus Bengsch
Running time -- 210 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
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