In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death: A female prostitute and thief makes her way through the city with a female GDR spy. Frankfurt, 1974. It's Carnival time. At the same time police forcibly evict students from occupied buildings). Strong-Man Ferdinand: A fundamentalist of the security forces. The chief of plant security Rieche (played by Heinz Schubert) has more proficiency in his job than his superiors permit. He needs to somehow demonstrate that his position is valuable. "The most dangerous opponents of a system are its protectors." The 2-disc DVD also offers short films, texts and short stories by Alexander Kluge.
The films
In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod / In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death - West Germany 1974 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge & Edgar Reitz - Cinematography by: Edgar Reitz, Alfred Hürmer, Günter Hörmann - Edited by: Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus - Cast: Dagmar Bödderich, Jutta Winkelmann, Norbert Kentrup, Kurt Jürgens, Alfred Edel, Jutta Thomasius - Produced by: Kairos-Film, Munich & Reitz-Film, Munich - Première: December 18, 1974 (Leopold 2 Munich)
Der starke Ferdinand / Strong-Man Ferdinand - West Germany 1976 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge - Cinematographed by: Thomas Mauch - Edited by: Heidi Genée, Agape von Dorstewitz - Cast: Heinz Schubert, Verena Rudolph, Gert Günther Hörmann, Joachim Hackethal, Heinz Schimmelpfennig, Siegfried Wischnewski - Produced by: Kairos-Film, Munich - Première: April 27, 1976 (Metropol Bonn)
Porträt einer Bewährung / Policeman's Lot - West Germany 1964 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge - Cinematography by: Winfried E. Reinke, Günter Hörmann - Edited by: Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus - Produced by: Kairos-Film, Munich - Première: February 24, 1965 (Oberhausen Short Film Festival)
Biermann-Film / Biermann Film - West Germany 1974 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge - Cinematography by: Edgar Reitz, Vit Martinek - Edited by: Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus - Produced by: Kairos-Film, Munich - Première: December 18, 1974 (Leopold 2 Munich)
Ich war Hitler's Bodyguard / I Was Hitler's Bodyguard - West Germany 1999 - Directed and written by: Alexander Kluge - Cast: Peter Berling - Produced by: Kairos-Film, Munich - Première: January 18, 1999 (SAT 1)
DVD features (2 discs)
DVD 1
- In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod 1974, 86'
- Chapter selection
- Porträt einer Bewährung 1964, 12'
- Biermann-Film 1974, 3'
- Die Frau auf dem Schlachtfeld 2006, 1'
- Booklet with a text by Alexander Kluge
- Texts by Alexander Kluge and Edgar Reitz as ROM features (only in German)
DVD 2
- Der starke Ferdinand 1976, 91'
- Chapter selection
- Ich war Hitlers Bodyguard 1999, 45'
- La Habanera 2006, 1'
- Short stories "Ein Bolschewik des Kapitals" and "Wenn man sein Gewissen dressiert" as ROM features (only in German)
DVD edited by: Filmmuseum München and Goethe-Institut, funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation
DVD authoring: Ralph Schermbach
DVD supervision: Stefan Drössler
First edition June 2007, Second edition January 2009
Reviews
