With Jahrgang 45, Jürgen Böttcher wanted to establish a culture of film making within the DEFA which "developed authentically, straight from reality". Yet like his earlier works, Drei von vielen and Barfuß und ohne Hut, whose youthful, anti-dogmatic vitality and spirit was not 'representative' enough for the GDR culture functionaries, the film was banned. This double DVD traces its history from the censored version to its final restoration.
The films
Jahrgang 45 - GDR 1966/1990 - Directed by: Jürgen Böttcher - Written by: Klaus Poche, Jürgen Poche - Cinematography by: Roland Gräf - Music by: Matthias Suschke, Wolf Biermann (songs) - Cast: Monika Hildebrand (Li), Rolf Römer (Al), Paul Eichbaum (Mogul), Holger Mahlich (Hans), Gesine Rosenberg (Rita), Walter Stolp (Kaderleiter), Werner Kanitz (Napoleon), Ingo Koster (Heinz), Anita Okon (Sylvi), Ruth Kommerell (mother), Richard Rückheim (grandfather), Ralf Winkler alias A. R. Penck (friend) - Produced by: DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Drei von vielen - GDR 1961 - Directed and written by: Jürgen Böttcher - Cinematography by: Christian Lehmann - Music by: Gerhard Rosenfeld - With: Peter Hermann, Peter Graf, Peter Makolies, Ralf Winkler (A. R. Penck), Erika Dobslaff Produced by: DEFA-Studio für Dokumentarfilme
Barfuß und ohne Hut - GDR 1964 - Directed and written by: Jürgen Böttcher - Cinematography by: Christian Lehmann - Music by: Gerhard Rosenfeld Produced by: DEFA-Studio für Dokumentarfilme
Penck und Strawalde malen ein Bild - Germany 1991 - Directed and written by: Heiner Sylvester - With: Jürgen Böttcher (Strawalde), Ralf Winkler (A. R. Penck) Produced by: Inter Nationes
Der Maler und Filmemacher Jürgen Böttcher Strawalde - Germany 2004 - Directed and written by: Hans-Peter Dürhager Mit: Jürgen Böttcher Produced by: Goethe-Institut
Zeitzeugengespräch: Jürgen Böttcher - Germany 2015 - Directed and photographed by: Katrin Teubner, Ferdinand Teubner With: Jürgen Böttcher Produced by: FTV Fischer-Teubner Film- & Fernsehproduktion
DVD features (2-disc DVD set)
DVD 1
- Jahrgang 45 1966/1990, 91'
- Barfuß und ohne Hut 1964, 16'
- Zeitzeugengespräch: Jürgen Böttcher 2015, 21'
DVD 2
- Jahrgang 45 - Zensurfassung 1966, 75'
- Drei von vielen 1961, 33'
- Strawalde und Penck malen eine Bild 1991, 29'
- Der Maler und Filmemacher Jürgen Böttcher - Strawalde 2004, 13'
- Im Lohmgrund 1977, 26'
- 16 page trilingual booklet with texts by Jürgen Böttcher and Claus Löser
Edited by: Filmmuseum München, Goethe-Institut und DEFA-Stiftung
DVD authoring: Tobias Dressel
DVD supervision: Stefan Drössler, Ralf Schenk, Franziska Schuster
First edition July 2016
