Der rote Baron (2008)

Director:

Nikolai Müllerschön

Writer (WGA):

Nikolai Müllerschön (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 2008 (Austria)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

One warrior ruled the sky.

Plot:

Baron Manfred von Richthofen (Schweighöfer) is the most feared and celebrated pilot of the German air force in World War I...

Plot Keywords:

Pilot | Propaganda | Nurse | Love | Automatic Weapon

Cast

Tomás Koutník	...	Young Manfred von Richthofen
Tomás Ibl	...	Young Lothar von Richthofen
Albert Franc	...	Young Wolfram von Richthofen
Matthias Schweighöfer	...	Manfred von Richthofen
Maxim Mehmet	...	Friedrich Sternberg
Hanno Koffler	...	Lehmann
Til Schweiger	...	Werner Voss
Richard Krajco	...	Lanoe Hawker
Joseph Fiennes	...	Capt. Roy Brown
Steffen Schroeder	...	Bodenschatz
Lukás Príkazký	...	Kirmaier
Lena Headey	...	Käte Otersdorf
Ondrej Volejník	...	1st German Soldier
Jirí Wohanka	...	2nd German Soldier
Iveta Jirícková	...	Redhead Whore

Also Known As:

The Red Baron (International: English title)

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

Germany | UK

Language:

English | German | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-13 | UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Krizeneckeho namesti, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Niama Film

Trivia:

Val Kilmer was initially considered for the title role.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Red Baron shoots down Lanoe Hawker flying an Se5a, but Hawker flew (and was shot down in) an Airco DH2.

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

A treat for aviation fans.

If you're an aviation fan, you're going to love this movie. The aerial scenes of World War I era biplanes in action are truly astounding.

The lead role of the Baron is played by Matthias Schweighöfer whose boyish good looks and magnetic smile are fully exploited to make the Red Baron impossible to dislike. The character of the Baron is portrayed as a young man of high principals who struggles to reconcile his humanity in the completely inhumane circumstances of war. He is torn between his sense of duty to his country and it's megalomaniac leadership and his conscience. Now I don't know if any of that is actually true, but it makes for a touching story nonetheless.

Overwhelmingly I was aware that the makers of this movie wanted to transmit the message that Germans are not the stereotype so often portrayed in war movies as either emotionless auto-bots of death and destruction or blood thirsty hums. Is this done in an effort to raise public opinion of Germans (it is a German production by the way) or because audiences are growing intolerant of stereotyping and it's injurious, evil nature. I can't say, I'd like to believe the latter, but you'll certainly find the Baron and his fellow pilots all endearing characters and you'll be saddened when most of them meet their maker in the course of the story.

The writer – director Nikolai Müllerschön isn't very loyal to historical facts in many respects. I was particularly disturbed by the portrayal of the German Emperor (Kaiser Wilhelm) as a warmongering protagonist and Paul Von Hindenburg as a foolish smiling fat man. However, in order for the character of the Baron to shine so brightly the Baron needed dark forces to nobly resist and therefore these men were transformed to serve that purpose. I strongly advise the viewer not to expect to get a history lesson from his movie.