The German Chainsaw Massacre

GER 1990, 60 min

After the German reunification-syrup, here comes the film to wake you up! Loud and aggressive! Christoph Schlingensief’s unscrupulous response to German reunification!

Synopsis

On 29th November 1990 THE GERMAN CHAINSAW MASSACRE hit the German cinema screens. Christoph Schlingensief had shot his radical comment to German reunification within two weeks, shortly after 3rd October 1990. The events of that day were to lead to the discovery of one of the most bizarre crimes in the annals of German history, in which a 6-headed West German family from the Ruhrpott (played by Alfred Edel, Volker Spengler, Udo Kier, Susanne Bredehöft, Dietrich Kuhlbrodt and Brigitte Kausch) butchered GDR emigrants one after the other.

Schlingensief’s breakthrough film propelled him into public consciousness as one of Germany’s most unconventional, daring and refreshing filmmakers. Shot in gloriously grainy 16mm in a stunning industrial area in Mülheim an der Ruhr, it mixes trash horror aesthetics – production design by Uli Hanisch (THE INTERNATIONAL, THE PERFUME – THE STORY OF A MURDERER a.o.) – with Schlingensief’s experimental roots. A gory, shrieking and abrasively satirical horror movie full of political humor, exposing the free market as the meat market that it is, THE GERMAN CHAINSAW MASSACRE rightfully deserves its status as an enduring cult film.

THE GERMAN CHAINSAW MASSACRE is the second part of Schlingensief’s GERMAN TRILOGIE, which also includes 100 YEARS OF ADOLF HITLER (1989) and TERROR 2000 (1992).

Streaming-Info

Rent or buy the movie on our Vimeo channel. For other providers, see “Watch Movie”.
Language: German, Subtitles: English, French, Polish, Spanish

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Stills

Awards and Festivals

- Internationale Hofer Filmtage 1990

Galerie Extras

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Credits

Director and Screenplay
Christoph Schlingensief
With
Karina Fallenstein, Susanne Bredehöft, Artur Albrecht, Volker Spengler, Alfred Edel, Brigitte Kausch-Kuhlbrodt, Dietrich Kuhlbrodt, Reinald Schnell, Udo Kier, Irm Hermann, Eva-Maria Kurz, Ingrid Raguschke, Mike Wiedemann, Renate Koehler, Volker Bertzky, Irmgard Freifrau Baronin von Berswordt-Wallrabe, Dieter Lersch, Biber G. Jakob, Christoph Schneiderbanger
Director of Photography
Christoph Schlingensief, Voxi Bärenklau
Camera Assistant
Ralf Malwitz, Günther Hablik
Editor
Ariane Traub
Assistant Editor
Christoph Schlingensief (Thekla von Mühlheim)
Music
Jacques Arr
Production Design, Title, Poster
Uli Hanisch
Props
Sven Dülfer
Costume Design
Ariane Traub
Make-up Artist
Melanie Schumacher
Sound, Still Photos
Eckhard Kuchenbecker
Special Effects
Thomas Göttemann
Light Design
Voxi Bärenklau
Lighting
Francisco Larrin, Hans von Sonntag
Mixing
Stephan Konken
Script
Artur Albrecht
Care
Philipp Homberg
Assistant Director
Udo Kier
Production Coordinator
Rüdiger Jordan, Melanie Schumacher, Dirk Piepenbring
Production Manager
Christian Fürst
Producer
Christoph Schlingensief
Produced by
DEM Film
In Co-production with
Rhewes Filmproduktion
Funded by
means of cultural film funding in NRW and Hamburg
German Premiere
26.10.1990, Hof, Internationale Filmtage
German theatrical release
29.11.1990

DVD-Details

Restored film, 2K scan, original theatrical version
Extras
„Ich rieche Menschenfleisch“ (dctp.tv, 1993, 24 min – English subtitles), Historic location video (1989, 5 min), Interview with Christoph Schlingensief (2002, 15 min), Interview with Production Designer Uli Hanisch (2010, 19 min), Schlingensief - film trailer
Language
German
Subtitles
English, French, Polish, Spanish
Country Code
Code-free
System
PAL / Color
Length
60 min (25 fps) + 63 min Extras
Aspect ratio
16:9
Sound format
DD 2.0
Set-Content
Digipack (Set Content: 1), Poster-Booklet with film poster (A3), original documents, and photos
Release date
23.10.2020
Rating
From 16 years

Distribution Details

Screening Format
DCP (2K, 24 fps, 5.1)
Blu-ray Disc
35mm (Mono, contact Deutsche Kinemathek)
Aspect Ratio
Normal-16mm, 1:1,38 (35mm Blow up)
Language
German
Subtitles
English, French (DCP, BD)
Promotion Material
A1 poster (rent only)
License Area
Worldwide
Rating
From 16 years

The German Chainsaw Massacre

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