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Pyotr Andreyich Grinyov is the only child of a retired army officer. When Pyotr turns 17, his father sends him into military service at Orenburg. En route, Pyotr gets lost in a blizzard, but is rescued by a mysterious man. As a token of his gratitude, Pyotr gives the man his hareskin coat. Arriving in Orenburg, Pyotr reports to his commanding officer and is assigned to serve at Fort Belogorsky under Captain Ivan Mironov. The fort is little more than a fence around a village, and the captain's wife Vasilisa is really in charge. Pyotr befriends his fellow officer Shvabrin, who has been banished there after a duel resulted in the death of his opponent. When Pyotr dines with the Mironov family, he meets their daughter Masha and falls in love with her. This causes a rift between Pyotr and Shvabrin, who was turned down by Masha earlier. When Shvabrin insults Masha's honor, Pyotr and Shvabrin duel and Pyotr is injured. Pyotr asks his father's consent to marry Masha, but is refused.
This time, FBI-agent Jerry Cotton is up against the Charles Gang, who ambushed and robbed an armored car, which took off with a double load and was specially guarded (with the final approval given by Agent Cotton). After this ingenious assault, which led to the loss of $6,000,000, Cotton cuts short his vacation to hunt down the robbers on his own. A lot of the leads bring him to the singer Violet, whose friend Tommy Wheeler is murdered a short time later by the the gang (led by Charles Anderson).
Diesmal bekommt es FBI-Agent Jerry Cotton mit der Charles-Bande zu tun, die einen Geldtransport überfällt und ausraubt, der mit Cottons Zustimmung als besonders gesichert und mit doppelter Ladung gestartet ist. Sechs Millionen Dollar verschwinden nach dem raffinierten Überfall in der Riesenstadt New York. Cotton, der eigentlich Urlaub hat, beteiligt sich auf eigene Faust an der Fahndung nach den Tätern. Eine heiße Spur führt ihn zur Barsängerin Violet (Yvonne Monlaur), deren Freund Tommy Wheeler kurze Zeit später von der Bande unter Führung von Charles Anderson ermordet wird.
Moral "play" about how sudden wealth corrupts character. Having made a killing in Germany's economic recovery of the 1950s, industrialist Jupp Grapsch finds himself floating in money and success. His simple wife, Lisbeth, whom he's been married to for twenty years, no longer seems enough for him. He finds a new lover, a young girl, chiefly interested in his wallet. And when his wife, who still loves him, doesn't consent to a divorce, he hires a professional adulterer to break up their marriage.
Plötzlicher Reichtum verdirbt den Charakter: Im Wirtschaftswunderland emporgekommen, hat der Industrielle Jupp Grapsch auf einmal Erfolg und Geld. Jetzt genügt ihm seine einfache Frau Lisbeth nicht mehr, mit der er seit zwanzig Jahren verheiratet ist. Er legt sich eine junge Geliebte zu, die hauptsächlich an seinem Geld interessiert ist. Und als Lisbeth, die ihn immer noch liebt, nicht in die Scheidung einwilligt, engagiert er einen professionellen Ehebrecher.
 THROUGH FIRE, WATER AND BRASS PIPES (1968) * with switchable English subtitles *
One day, Vasya journeys into the forest to meet his beloved Alyonushka, only to have her forcibly whisked away by the wretched Kashchej. To save her, Vasya must face a number of fabulous, archetypal tests. . . .
. .
Srubov is a part of CHEKA, the secret police Lenin established after the Bolshevik Revolution. They arrest, interview for a minute, try in ten seconds, and execute intellectuals, aristocrats, Jews, clergy, and their families. In a basement, five people at a time are shot as they stand naked facing wooden doors. No one is there to remember their last words; no martyrs, just anonymous bodies. Daily, the kangaroo court, the executions, the loading of bodies onto wagons. Srubov is cold, distant, sexually dysfunctional, and a deep thinker, hated by former friends and his family. As he tries to reason the nature of revolution and the purpose of CHEKA, he slowly goes mad.
Sequel to "Das Wirtshaus im Spessart" ("The Spessart Inn"): As punishment, a gang of robbers from the previous film is walled into the inn’s basement. More than 100 years later, the gang resurfaces when a highway is built at the same place. The former criminals and current ghosts vow to do a good deed to atone for their crimes. They accommodate themselves in the nearby castle of the destitute Countess Charlotte, a descendant of Countess Franziska, whose life the robbers had once made miserable. In the attempt to help Charlotte, the ghosts cause a big mess. Some tongue-in-cheek humor about the former Nazi regime and Wilhelmian Reich round off some of the film's funnier moments.
Fortsetzung von "Das Wirtshaus im Spessart": Die Räuberbande aus dem vorherigen Film wird zur Strafe im Keller des Wirtshauses eingemauert. Mehr als hundert Jahre später kommt sie beim Bau einer Autobahn an derselben Stelle wieder zum Vorschein. Die einstigen Verbrecher und jetzigen Gespenster geloben, als Sühne für ihre Verbrechen eine gute Tat zu vollbringen. Ganz in der Nähe quartieren sie sich im Schloss der verarmten Gräfin Charlotte ein, einer Nachkommin der Komtesse Franziska, der sie einst das Leben schwer gemacht haben. Beim Versuch, Charlotte zu helfen, lösen die Gespenster allerlei Schlamassel aus.
Guatemala, 1951. The flotsam of various European nations have ended up in the village of Las Piedras, a miserable place, where poverty and unemployment prevail. One day, an oil rig is ravaged by a huge fire. An American oil company, SOC, decides to hire four men to transport four hundred pounds of nitroglycerin in two trucks to the damaged wells. Four of these outcast Europeans will make the journey: Mario, Jo, Luigi and Bimba. But the task won't be an easy one, because the roads are almost impassible.
Village of Sin (aka Baby ryazanskie) was one of several Soviet films of the 1920s, which pointed out the hypocritical behavior of "the older generation." Chafing under the domination of her puritanical father, the heroine goes to live with her blacksmith lover, whereupon she's immediately disowned. Meanwhile, the father arranges a loveless, but wealthy, marriage for his son. Left alone with his new daughter-in-law, the father rapes the girl -- and when she bears his child, he refuses to acknowledge the baby is his. The father's unreasonable behavior drives his own wife to suicide and it's only after his son returns from WWI, that the old man is forced to account for his miserable behavior.
Inspector Maigret receives a call for help from an old friend. The Countess of St. Fiacre has received an anonymous letter, which predicts her death the following day, on Ash Wednesday. And, in fact, at the morning mass, the countess drops dead of an apparent heart attack. There was nothing Maigret could do to prevent the "accidental death", but he can look into the case and find the murderer. Lord knows, there are plenty of suspects.
Kommissar Maigret wird von einer alten Freundin um Hilfe gebeten. Die Gräfin von Saint-Fiacre hat einen anonymen Brief erhalten, der ihren Tod für den nächsten Tag, den Aschermittwoch, ankündigt. Und tatsächlich, beim morgendlichen Gottesdienst bricht die Gräfing tot zusammen. Maigret hat es nicht verhindern können, umso unerbittlicher betreibt er die Ermittlungen. Verdächtige gibt es genug.. . . . .
Two dangerous criminals, Bachmann and Willi, are determined to get out of Berlin after a robbery goes very badly for them. On the way to the airport, in a taxi driven by Freddy, Bachmann loses an ammunition clip to his pistol. Now, they're not only determined to find Freddy and eliminate him (for surely, he's found the clip by now), but in the meantime rob one of his good friends, Paule. Freddy, however, knows nothing about all of this and goes with his new girlfriend, Ilse the flower seller, to a bachelor party for his boss. Even when an attempt to shoot him down goes wrong, Freddy still has no clue how much danger he's in. Only when the radio reports about the attack on Paul does he realize what's going on. Now, he's determined to bring the robbers to justice and avenge his friend's misfortune.
Zwei gefährliche Verbrecher, Bachmann und Willi, wollen nach einem missglückten Raubüberfall ihre Heimatstadt Berlin schnellstmöglich verlassen. Auf dem Weg zum Flughafen verlieren sie jedoch im Taxi von Freddy eines ihrer Pistolenmagazine. Nun wollen sie nicht nur Freddy, der das Magazin findet, aus dem Weg räumen, sondern überfallen zwischendurch auch noch Freddys guten Freund und Kollegen Paul. Freddy weiß von alledem noch nichts und geht mit seiner Freundin, der Blumenverkäuferin Ilse, auf eine Party. Selbst als ein Attentat auf ihn schief geht, ahnt Freddy noch nicht, in welcher Gefahr er schwebt. Erst als er im Radio von dem Überfall auf Paul erfährt, geht ihm ein Licht auf. Nun ist er fest entschlossen, die Täter zur Strecke zu bringen, allein schon um das Verbrechen an seinem Freund zu rächen. .
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The very first Polish feature film after the War and reissued in both 1947 and 1948 with various changes to the film, Forbidden Songs turned out to be one of the most beloved and popular films introduced to a shattered public in immediate postwar Poland. The film tells the story of the occupation of the Generalgouvernement from the defeat of the Second Republic in October 1939 till the "liberation" of the country in 1945 by the Soviets and the Polish People's Army following on their coattails. The musician Roman Tokarski tells the story of the occupation to a young Polish soldier, who fled to England to fight the Germans and is clueless as to how difficult life was under the occupiers. Roman describes the daily trials and tribulations Poles had to face and how these "forbidden songs" -- practically any song in the Polish language was forbidden -- helped to keep people's spirits up and preserve Polish culture. Along with Roman, there's his sister Halina, who's part of an underground organization fighting the Germans; who participates in sabotage; works with the partisans; and eventually participates in the Warsaw Uprising. There's the cowardly musician, Cieslak; the hidden Jew; the collaborators, who work hand-in-glove with the occupiers. But the real hero of the film are the authentic songs of occupation: patriotic; humorous; satirical; which are performed in the film with great talent. Sitting through this film reveals more about daily life in occupied Poland than any number of books put together.
In der zeitgenössischen Rahmenhandlung hat die Schauspielerin Agnes zwei Ehepaare eingeladen, um sich mit ihrem Mann die Ausstrahlung eines Fernsehspiels anzusehen, in dem sie die Hauptrolle spielt. Das erste Ehepaar sind der Vorgesetzte ihres Mannes und seine Frau, das zweite Uschi, die ebenfalls im Fernsehfilm mitwirkt, und ihr Mann. Agnes’ Mann ist Chemiker, hat einen neuen Treibstoff erfunden und ein finanziell viel versprechendes Angebot aus den Vereinigten Staaten erhalten. Seine Frau fürchtet aber, dass die Ergebnisse seiner Arbeit letztlich dem Militär zugutekommen. Das Fernsehspiel ist in der Antike angesiedelt. Athen und Sparta befinden sich seit langem in einem zerstörerischen Krieg, und Lysistrata ruft Frauen aus beiden Städten zusammen, um die inakzeptable Lage zu beenden. Sie schlägt vor, dass die Frauen sich alle so lange den Männern sexuell verweigern, bis diese den Krieg beenden.
In this contemporary handling of the classic story by Aristophenes, the actress Agnes has invited two couples over to watch a teleplay she's starring in. The first couple is made up of her husband's boss and his wife; the second of Uschi, who also stars in the teleplay and her husband. Agnes' husband is a chemist, who's invented a new form of fuel and who's gotten a lucrative offer from the United States to come and work for the Americans. His wife fears, however, that the results of his work will end up serving the military. The teleplay takes place in antiquity. Athens and Sparta have been engaged in a destructive war for a long time already and Lysistrata has called all the women of Greece together to find a solution to this unacceptable situation. She suggests the women withhold sex from their men til peace is made.
Ein konservatives Sittendrama aus dem Hafenmilieu: Der Schiffer Henner Classen lebt und arbeitet mit seiner Familie auf einem Schleppkahn. Bei einem Landgang rettet Classens Frau Marie den jungen Jakob vor dessen betrunkenem Vater. Die Classens nehmen Jakob mit auf die Fahrt, und in der Bordgemeinschaft findet der Heranwachsende familiäre Geborgenheit. Doch als Henner die junge Kriminelle Gescha aus dem Hafenbecken rettet und auf das Schiff bringt, gerät das Idyll in Gefahr.
A conservative moral play from the lives of harbor families: the sailor Henner Classen lives and works with his family on a barge. One day, Classen's wife Maria saves young Jacob from his drunk father. The Classens take Jacob along on the barge and soon, the young man becomes part of the family. But when Henner rescues the young criminal Gescha from the basin of the harbor and brings him on board, the idyll situation on the barge is endangered.
In a working-class district of Paris, Albert, an impecunious street singer, lives in an attic room. He meets a beautiful Romanian girl, Pola, and falls in love with her; but he is not the only one, since his best friend Louis and the gangster Fred are also under her spell. One evening Pola dares not return home, because Fred has stolen her key and she does not feel safe. She spends the night with Albert who, reluctantly remaining the gentleman, sleeps on the floor and gives his bed to Pola. They soon decide to get married, but fate prevents them from doing so, when Émile, a thief, gives Albert a bag full of stolen goods. It’s discovered by the police and Albert is sent to prison. Pola finds consolation with Louis. Later Émile is caught in his turn and admits that Albert was not his accomplice, which earns Albert his freedom. Fred has just gotten back together with Pola, who’s had a falling out with Louis, and in a jealous fury at Albert's return, Fred decides to provoke a knife fight with him. Louis rushes to Albert's rescue and the two comrades are re-united; but their friendship is clouded by the realization that each of them is in love with Pola. Finally Albert decides to give up Pola to Louis.
A legendary production plagued by problems almost from the outset, the making of QUE VIVA MEXICO cured Sergei Eisenstein of the desire ever to work in North America again. On the verge of leaving Hollywood in disgust in 1930, Eisenstein accepted financing from a group of investors, led by writer Upton Sinclair, to make an ambitious film on Mexican culture. When the director ran out of money before shooting was completed, Sinclair shut down production and seized the extant footage. More than 40 years later, the film was turned over to Eisenstein's assistant, Grigori Alexandrov, and he edited what remained according to the director's notes. The film consists of three vignettes: Sandunga, Manguei, and Fiesta. The first explores the precolonial world of the Incas, observing ancient architecture and detailing pagan religious practices and langorous mating rituals. In the second, a murderer is punished for his crime in an unusually graphic and barbaric manner. The third features a brilliantly photographed bullfight. There was to be a fourth episode, Soldadera, dealing with the 1910 revolution. Although it was never shot, Alexandrov describes Eisentein's intentions with the aid of still photos and sketches. Despite its fragmentary nature, this unique document, permeated by images of eroticism and death, contains what is likely the most breathtaking photography of Mexico on celluloid.
In einer nächtlichen Villenstraße in einem westlichen Vorort von Berlin. – Dr. Lessner, ein bekannter Strafverteidiger, sieht entsetzt am Wagenschlag einer Taxe. Ein Mann, der mit dem Hilferuf: Fs geht um mein Leben!» den Rechtsanwalt telefonisch angefleht hatte, ihn trotz der nächtlichen Stunde zu empfangen, ist tot. Die Mordkommission erscheint. - Sofortige Vernehmung aller Beteiligten. Der Chauffeur bekundet, dass der Fahrgast noch unverwundet war, als er die Fahrt antrat. Weder er, noch die Bewohner der Villa haben einen Schuss gehört. Die Gattin Dr. Lessners, die Filmschauspielerin Christa Galeen, liegt fast ohnmächtig in den Armen ihres Mannes. Sie gibt an, dass sie in ihrem Schlafzimmer war. Das Personal der Villa schlief bereits. Nur der Diener Fritz hätte den Schuss hören müssen; - er war zur Zeit der Ankunft der Taxe im Vorgarten. Über den Zweck seines Aufenthalts vor dem Hause befragt, verweigert er die Aussage. Da wird unterhalb des Musikzimmers der Villa im Vorgarten eine Geschosshülse gefunden. - Der Diener wird verhaftet, - Bei' den Nachforschungen der Polizei stellt sich heraus, dass der Erschossene, ein gewisser Navarro, Stimmungssänger im Astoria, mit seiner Braut Franziska Koch in der Nacht, als er erschossen wurde, plötzlich sein Engagement verlassen wollte. - Im Astoria sind die Kollegen, der Manager Stephan, der Tänzer.
In a taxi in front of the house of the lawyer Dr. Lessner in Grunewald, the body of the singer Juan Navarro is found shot. Dr. Lessner's servant is the first to be suspected of the murder and is arrested (apparently, he didn't like opera). However, he is soon cleared and released. Then Dr. Lessner's wife is suspected (she was found to have thrown away all her Caruso records the week before). She was once engaged to Navarro and was being harrassed by Navarro. Dr. Lessner, it seems, was also being blackmailed over some compromising letters written by his wife (she confessed in them that she actually preferred Can-Can music to operettas). When Dr. Lessner meets with the blackmailer, the police show up unexpectedly (what? no murders to solve tonight?). At first, the blackmailer is able to get away; but then it turns out that he is discovered to be another singer, named Bogroff. Was he the murderer of Navarro? Will Dr. Lessner be able to regain those compromising letters? Will Can-Can music make a comeback? Do you really care?
Irene Beck glaubt die Zuneigung des Malers Walter Frank entdeckt zu haben, als dieser ihr Profil während eines Besuches auf einer Servierte skizzierte. Mit vielversprechenden Blicken lädt dieser sie zu einem Gegenbesuch ein. Doch ihr Ehemann Thomas Beck hält nichts von dieser Gesellschaft und schränkt sie in ihrer Bewegungsfreiheit ein. Doch die beiden treffen sich heimlich und verabreden eine Flucht nach Wien, die vom Ehemann in letzter Minute vereitelt wird. Frustriert stürzt Irene sich in das pulsierende Nachtleben Berlins mit Alkohol- und Drogenexzessen. Eine belanglose Beziehung mit dem Boxer Sam Tayler entfremdet das Ehepaar noch weiter.
Irene Beck believes she's discovered the painter Walter Frank's affection for her after he sketched her profile on a napkin during a visit. With glances that promise much, he invites her to visit him at his place. But her husband Thomas Beck doesn't think much of the man and restricts her freedom of movement. Nevertheless, the two meet secretly and arrange to flee to Vienna, which is thwarted by her husband at the last minute. Frustrated, Irene buries herself in Berlin's vibrant nightlife, complete with the consumption of alcohol and drugs. An insignificant affair with the boxer Sam Taylor only alienates the couple even further.
 10 DVD SET: THE GEORG WILHELM PABST COLLECTION * with switchable English subtitles *
10 DVD collection of Georg Wilhelm Pabst's films at a discounted price (see the individual film listings for screenshots and video samples!):
KAMERADSCHAFT (1931) ABWEGE (1928) DER SCHATZ (1923) DIE FREUDLOSE GASSE (1925) DIE HERRIN VON ATLANTIS (1931) GEHEIMNISSE EINER SEELE (1926) + DAS WACHSFIGURENKABINETT (1924) SKANDAL UM EVA (1930) TAGEBUCH EINER VERLORENEN (1929) WESTFRONT 1918 (1930) THE WHITE HELL OF PITZ PALU (1930) . . . .
Die Tochter des Pariser Grafen Lafitte, "Baby" genannt, soll in ein englisches Internat, interessiert sich aber mehr für das Varieté. Trotzdem reist sie gemeinsam mit ihrer Freundin Susette, die den Hang zur Wissenschaft hat, aber bei den "Singing and Dancing Babies" Karriere machen soll, nach London. Während der Überfahrt wird "Baby" für die angehende Künstlerin gehalten, und sie bestätigt die Vermutung zweier junger Lords. Die Mädchen bleiben bei ihrem Identitätstausch auch in der Zukunft: "Baby" wird Solistin bei den "Babies", und Suzette besteht als "Comtesse Lafitte" ihr Examen. Am Schluss gibt es eine Doppelhochzeit.
The daughter of the Parisian countess Lafitte, named "Baby", is supposed to go to an English boarding school, but she's much more interested in variety shows. Nevertheless, she travels with her friend Susette to London, who also wants to make a career for herself as a showgirl. During the journey, Baby is mistakenly considered to be a showgirl and she does nothing to dissuade two young English lords from believing so. The girls continue to live under false pretenses even when they arrive in England, with Baby being a soloist with the group "Babies" and Suzette passing herself off as the Contessa Lafitte for school exams. At the end -- a double marriage.
Seit fünf Jahren kommt der berühmte Tenor Tino Dossi am Todestag seiner Verlobten Maria an ihr Grab nach Paris und singt dort das "Ave Maria". Als die Chansonette Claudette und ihr Freund Michel davon erfahren, beschließen sie, sich an den reichen Dossi heranzumachen. Claudette fingiert auf dem Friedhof einen Schwächeanfall und gibt vor, Maria zu heißen und ebenfalls ihren Verlobten verloren zu haben. Dossi nimmt sie mit auf seine Villa nach Italien, und dort kommen die beiden sich langsam näher. Bald bereut Claudette, dass sie Dossi ausnutzen wollte, da sie ihn inzwischen wirklich liebt. Sie schreibt ihm einen Brief, in dem sie alles gesteht, aber dann stimmt sie doch einer Heirat zu. Daraufhin versucht Michel, Claudette zu erpressen, und als ihm dies nicht gelingt, erzählt er Dossi alles. Dossi ist zutiefst enttäuscht. Erst als Claudette einen Unfall hat, wird ihm klar, dass auch er sie wirklich liebt. Im Krankenhaus singt er für sie das "Ave Maria".
Since the death of his fiancee, Maria, the famous tenor, Tino Dossi has shown up at her grave on every anniversary of her death and sang the "Ave Maria". When the singer Claudettte and her friend Michel discover this, they decide to take advantage of the rich Dossi. Claudette manages to hang around the cemetery on the day Tino shows up and pretends to faint. Tino "revives" her and she says her name is Maria and that she's lost her fiancee. Dossi takes her to his villa in Italy and slowly, they become closer. Soon, Claudette regrets trying to take advantage of Dossi, who she in the meantime has begun to love. She writes a letter confessing to everything, but agrees nonetheless to marry him. Michel finds about this and tries to blackmail Claudette before she can send the letter off. When this fails, he tells Dossi everything. Dossi is deeply disappointed. Only when Claudette has a bad accident is it clear to him how much he loves her. In the hospital, he sings the "Ave Maria" to her.
 DER KAMPF UM ALKAZAR (1940) * with switchable English subtitles *
IMPORTANT: The Italian version of this film is available under the title, L'Assedio dell' Alcazar, also with subtitles. This version of the film in German, however, is visually much poorer in quality. Also, the dialogue in the German-dubbed version is, in many places, quite different. Of note is the cutting of about five minutes of the film from the original; especially noticeable is the excising of almost all references to God and religion found in the original film.
Toledo im Juli 1936. In Spanien beginnt jener furchtbare Kampf, der das Land mit Haß- und Blutwellen überflutet. Die Kadetten des Alkazar kehren bei den ersten Alarmnachrichten aus den Ferien zurück und verbarrikadieren sich in der Festung, in die sich auch ein Teil der Bevölkerung flüchtet, darunter 600 Frauen und Kinder. Die verwöhnte Carmen vermag sich nicht mit den Entbehrungen in den Kellerräumen des Alkazar abzufinden und beklagt sich bei Kapitän Vela, dem großen Vorbild der Kadetten, der ihr aber empört erklärt, daß die Rechte und Pflichten aller Eingeschlossenen die gleichen sind. - Der Ring der Roten sitzt eng um die hochgelegene Burg, die Granaten der Artillerie krachen, Maschinengewehre bellen Handgranaten platzen, Flieger werfen ihre Bomben herab. Der tägliche Anblick von Not und Tod bewirkt allmählich die Wandlung in Carmen, die sich bald zu Kapitän Vela, dem Mann, der sie als erster mit Offenheit behandelt hat, in Bewunderung und Liebe hingezogen fühlt und um sein Leben und seine Achtung bangt. Immer heftiger wüten Hunger und Feuer im Alkazar, dick ist die Luft von Verwesung, Pulverdampf und Schmutz. Aber die heldenhaften Verteidiger halten unter ihrem Kommandanten Oberst Moscardo der feindlichen Übermacht stand. Moscardo weist alle Aufforderungen zur Übergabe, selbst unter der Drohung der Roten, daß sein in ihre Hände gefallener Sohn erschoßen würde, unbeugsam zurück. Seinen todesmutigen Verteidigungswillen, in dem ihn der blutjunge Sohn noch bestärkt, der aufrecht und tapfer sein Leben für die Idee opfert, vermag nichts zu brechen! Eines Nachts hören die Alkazarleute unter sich Bohren und Klopfen. Die roten Mordbrenner unterminieren die Festung, um sie mit Dynamit in die Luft zu sprengen. Bei einem missglückten Versuch, die Eingänge der Stollen zu finden, um den teuflischen Anschlag zu vereiteln, wird Pedro, ein früherer Verehrer Carmens, tödlich verwundet. Seine letzten Worte enthüllen Kapitän Vela Carmens Liebe. Angesichts der bevorstehenden Entscheidung über Leben und Tod findet nun Vela die ersten Liebesworte für Carmen, und während hier zwei junge Menschenherzen voll heißer Wünsche dem Leben entgegenschlagen, gilt es für Carmens Freundin Conchita, letzten Abschied zu nehmen von ihrem Francisco. - Die Mine- explodiert! Ungeheure Mengen Dynamit reißen den Turm auseinander, sprengen die Mauem verwandeln den Alkazar in ein Trümmerfeld, aber noch durch diese Hölle stürmen die Verteidiger und schlagen den Generalangriff der bolschewistischen Horden zurück, holen die rote Fahne herab, die schon über den Ruinen weht, und pflanzen die Fahne den nationalen Spanien auf. Tag und Nacht geht der Kampf weiter, dann rücken Francos Truppen als Befreier heran. Zwischen in noch rauchenden Trümmern der Akademie erstattet Oberst Moscardo kurz danach General Franco Meldung: „Nichts Neues im Alkazar, Herr General!"
The day the Spanish Civil War breaks out, Colonel Jose Moscardó, a veteran of the war in Africa, arrives in Madrid to prepare for his trip to Berlin with the Spanish delegation that is going to participate in the Olympic Games. Learning of the military uprising, he returns quickly to Toledo. As commander of the fortress at Alcazar, Moscardó has no doubts and at seven o'clock in the morning of July 21 1936, announces which side of the conflict he's on. Aware of the precariousness of the situation he is in, he digs in at Alcázar with 1,800 people, where they resist constant attacks and bombings until the arrival of Nationalist troops on September 27. One of the first post-Civil War films put out, it features the current spirit of militarism and patriotism, as well as a respect for traditions that prevailed in those years. Filmed in co-production with Italy, there were two versions, in Italian and Spanish, both directed by the Italian Augusto Genina. For the filmmaker Augusto Genina, this film was a response to the "revolutionary destructiveness" of "Battleship Potemkin", a film so effective in promoting Bolshevism, that no other than Josef Goebbels called it a propaganda masterpiece.
IMPORTANT: The German version of this film is available under the title, Der Kampf um Alkazar, also with subtitles. This version of the film in Italian, however, is visually of much better quality. Also, the dialogue in the German-dubbed version is, in many places, quite different.
The day the Spanish Civil War breaks out, Colonel Jose Moscardó, a veteran of the war in Africa, arrives in Madrid to prepare for his trip to Berlin with the Spanish delegation that is going to participate in the Olympic Games. Learning of the military uprising, he returns quickly to Toledo. As commander of the fortress at Alcazar, Moscardó has no doubts and at seven o'clock in the morning of July 21 1936, announces which side of the conflict he's on. Aware of the precariousness of the situation he is in, he digs in at Alcázar with 1,800 people, where they resist constant attacks and bombings until the arrival of Nationalist troops on September 27. One of the first post-Civil War films put out, it features the current spirit of militarism and patriotism, as well as a respect for traditions that prevailed in those years. Filmed in co-production with Italy, there were two versions, in Italian and Spanish, both directed by the Italian Augusto Genina. For the filmmaker Augusto Genina, this film was a response to the "revolutionary destructiveness" of "Battleship Potemkin", a film so effective in promoting Bolshevism, that no other than Josef Goebbels called it a propaganda masterpiece.
This version is a later restoration of the film, which, after WWII, was gutted by Italian censors in a gesture of political correctness and in an attempt to downplay Italy's support of the Nationalists. The original film had a prologue explaining the premise and background of the film. The restored version replaces that prologue with information about the restoration of the film from various sources to supplement the heavily censored postwar Italian version. The German version of this film, Der Kampf um Alkazar, which we also sell with switchable subtitles, but whose quality is nowhere near as good as this version, has a much more sinister prologue in the film's beginning.
5 DVD SET: ROSSELLINI'S WAR FILMS * with switchable English subtitles *
5 DVD set of the following Rossellini films at a discounted price:
La Nave Bianca (1941) Un Pilota Ritorna (1942) L'Uomo della Croce (1943) Rome Open City (1945) Germany Year Zero (1948)
(FILM DESCRIPTIONS IN THE LISTING)
During the Second World War, the sailors onboard a battleship of the Royal Italian Navy maintain a regular correspondence with female penpals. The stoker Augusto Basso exchanges his letters with a young woman named Elena, a teacher in an elementary school. Elena has split a medal into two halves, keeping hers and sending one to the young seaman. The two are to meet for the first time at a train station in Taranto; but just as Augusto is to go on leave, the ship suddenly sails off to take part in the naval battles at Calabria and Capo Teulada. During the battle, many sailors are wounded, including Augusto, who must undergo surgery. He is transferred to the hospital ship "Arno" and entrusted to the care of volunteer nurses ... one of whom just happens to be Elena.
Der Wiener Operettenfilm schlechthin propagierte in Zeiten der NS-Herrrschaft das "Österreichtum" durchaus in Opposition zum preußisch geprägten Hitler-Deutschland. Während des Wiener Kongresses weilt der norddeutsche Graf Wolkersheim als Diplomat vor Ort und schmäht den beliebten Walzer als "sinnloses Gehopse", worüber er mit seiner Frau Melanie in Streit gerät. Schon bald wird er eines besseren belehrt und verfällt obendrein der charmanten Tänzerin Liesl. Seine unerwartet zurückgekehrte Gattin wird auf dem Hofball mit dieser verwechselt.
The Viennese operetta films promoted a "feeling of Austria" in the times of Nazi rule, which very much contrasted the Hitler Germany dominated by Prussia. During the Vienna Congress, the north German Count Wolkersheim is bored to tears as Prussian diplomat in the Habsburg court and smears the city's beloved waltzes as "senseless garbage", which leads to a fight with his wife, Melanie. He's taught otherwise pretty soon and falls for the charming dancer, Liesl. The unexpected return of his wife is confused with the dancer at the court ball.
Grandpa Slishko tells a wonderful, old fairy tale about stone carvers. As a child, Daniel mastered the secrets of exquisite stonecutting. All of his works are universally admired, especially by his bride-to-be Katya. But Daniel isn't satisfied and wants to achieve perfection. The Mistress of Copper Mountain tempts the young master into her underground kingdom, where he is to make a stone flower, which will be indistinguishable from a real one. She believes that her beauty, enormous wealth and the ability to make him into a superior craftsman will result in Daniel forgetting about the real world above and hold him in her power forever.
Marie (Simone Signoret, who bears an amazing resemblance to Romy Schneider), a woman of considerable beauty, is distressed at her treatment by Roland, a criminal who is a part of a local syndicate. When Marie is introduced to the handsome stranger Georges, a humble carpenter, she falls in love with him instantly, much to the chagrin of Roland. When Roland's jealousy builds after a number of meetings between Marie and Georges, Roland decides to confront Georges behind a club where a number members of his syndicate watch. After Georges gains control of a knife that had been thrown between them to initiate the fight, George manages to stab Roland in the back after a brief scuffle, killing him almost instantly. When the police arrive at the scene everyone flees, including Marie, who seeks refuge away from the syndicate at a nearby village. Georges decides it is best to flee town. He is lured to a rendezvous with Marie by a note she sends. The two live an idyllic life in the nearby village, until Georges is brought word that a friend, Raymond, had been arrested for the murder of Roland. Félix, the leader of the syndicate, has placed blame on Raymond in an attempt to bring Georges out of hiding and win control of Marie. Not realizing this plan, Georges confesses to the police that he is the real killer. While being transported between jails, he breaks free with the help of a diversion by Marie. Georges immediately seeks out Félix to seek his revenge. When he finds him in the presence of the police, he kills him anyway, condemning himself in the process. With the two murders on his hands, Georges is sentenced to die by the guillotine while a broken Marie watches in horror as he is executed.
CESTA DO PRAVEKU (1955) * with switchable English subtitles *
The story involves four teenage comrades who take a rowboat along a "river of time" that flows into a mysterious cave and emerges on the other side onto a strange, primeval landscape. As they make their way upstream, they realise that they are travelling progressively farther back in time, and facing various perils as they do so (but learning much about prehistoric life in the process).
Berlin Anfang der 1950er Jahre: Die junge Polin Pauline Karka kommt in die Stadt, um nach Westdeutschland zu gehen. Sie ist schwanger und ohne feste Bleibe. Als Pauline die Wäschereibesitzerin Anna John trifft, keimt Hoffnung für Pauline auf. Anna John ist kinderlos und trifft eine Übereinkunft mit Pauline. Sie wird sich um das Mädchen bis zur Geburt kümmern und das Kind als ihr eigenes annehmen. Das Kind wird geboren und Pauline kommt, bevor sie nach Westdeutschland geht, noch einmal zu Frau John zurück, um sich von dem Kind zu verabschieden. Anna John verweigert ihr jedoch den letzten Blick auf das Kind. Pauline will das Kind in ihrer Not entführen, nimmt allerdings versehentlich das Kind der Nachbarin Frau Knobbe an sich. Frau John beauftragt ihren Bruder Bruno, Pauline zu suchen und zu töten.
Berlin in the early 1950s: The young Pole, Pauline Karka has come to the city on her way to settle in western Germany. She is pregnant and homeless. When Pauline meets Anna John, the owner of a laundry, hope blossoms in her. Anna John has no children and comes to an agreement with Pauline. She'll take care of the girl till she comes to term and will then take the child as her own. The child is born and Pauline goes to Frau John to say goodbye to her child before leaving for West Germany. Anna John, however, refuses to let the young Pole take a final look at the child. Upset, Pauline wants to kidnap her own child from Frau John, but ends up unintentionally taking the neighbor's child --- Frau Knobbe's --- by mistake. Frau John instructs here brother Bruno to track down Pauline and kill her.
1921: On Turkey's western fringes, the Greek minority is being persecuted by the Turkish majority during the birthing pains of the nation after its crushing defeat in the First World War. In their attempt to cleanse the newborn country of what it considers to be troublesome minorities, whole villages are being uprooted, killed and/or expelled. In the small Greek village in this film, a passion play is put on each year. The residents of this village get on well with the Turks and have been left in peace. The leading citizens of the town, under the auspices of the Patriarch, choose those that will play the parts in the Passion. A stuttering shepherd is chosen to play Jesus. The town butcher (who wanted to be Jesus) is chosen as Judas. The town prostitute is chosen as Mary Magdalene. As the movie unfolds, the Passion Play becomes a reality. A group of villagers, uprooted by the war and impoverished, arrive at the village led by their priest. Fearing terrible retribution from the Turks, the wealthier citizens of the town want nothing to do with these people and manipulate a massacre. In the context of the post-WWI battles for the establishment of a sovereign Turkish nation, each of the characters in the Passion Play finds himself/herself mirroring the events of biblical times on a modern day stage of ethnic cleansing and intolerance.
After the fall of the Communists in Hungary's 1919 civil war, Anna's godfather urges her to take on a position as a maid to a bourgeois couple. Mrs. Vizy, head of the household, appreciates the hardworking servant, but has no interest in the welfare of her employee nor does she treat him well. Desperate for affection of any kind, Ana takes to the woman's nephew, to whom she is grateful for any nice word he throws her way. But when he gets Anna pregnant, the nephew abandons her and the ensuing humiliation drives everyone involved to tragedy.
Elise, die geschiedene Frau des bekannten Komponisten Stefan Laurin, liegt nach einem Verkehrsunfall schwer verletzt im Krankenhaus und bittet Laurin inständig, sie vor Cabano zu schützen. Dieser besitzt Briefe von ihr, mit denen er sie erpresst. Stefan verspricht der Sterbenden, alles für sie zu tun, eilt zu Cabanos Wohnung, doch es wird nicht geöffnet. Als er es wieder versucht, findet er Cabano tot vor: erschossen. Hastig steckt er die gefundenen Briefe ein und wird am nächsten Tag unter Mordverdacht verhaftet. Als Kriminalkommissar Radloff von dem Mord erfährt, hat er gerade Besuch von der schönen Sängerin Jelena Rakowska, und es entgeht ihm nicht, wie sie dem Gespräch angespannt zuhört. Stefan hat vor Gericht kaum eine Chance, denn es fehlt ihm ein Alibi für die Mordzeit. Da behauptet Jelena, dass er bei ihr war, und er kommt auf freien Fuß. Doch Radloff lässt nicht locker. Er überredet Stefan, eine Oper zu schreiben, die den Fall Cabano zum Inhalt haben soll, mit Jelena in der Hauptrolle. Bei der Premiere sitzt Radloff neben Jelenas Schwester Nina, die plötzlich in Tränen ausbricht.
After a traffic accident, Else, the former wife of the well-known composer Stefan Laurin, lays seriously wounded in a hospital. She begs her former husband to retrieve some letters from a certain Cabano, who is blackmailing her because of them. Stefan Laurin finds Cabano shot dead in his apartment. He quickly finds and hides the letters and thus is later suspected of committing murder and is arrested. Stefan Laurin doesn't have a prayer in court, because he has absolutely no alibi for the time of the murder. Will he go free? Will he regret not listening to his lawyer's earlier advice to stay away from people you've once divorced?
Die junge Sekretärin Mathilde kommt aus der Provinz nach Berlin, um Filmschauspielerin zu werden. Sie erhält ein Engagement als Komparsin und lebt in bescheidener Ehe mit einem Beleuchter. Und dabei erlebt sie die großen Stars, die Welt hinter den Kulissen, den Glanz, die Eitelkeiten, aber auch die Schattenseiten der Glitzerwelt. Die Story bildet die Rahmenhandlung eines aufwändigen Revuefilms, in dem zahlreiche Stars der 1930er Jahre von Film, Sport und Unterhaltung auftreten.
Mathidle Burk, a secretary, wants to go to Berlin to become a movie star (played by Carla Rust). As she enters the city, you start seeing montages of Berlin with everyone singing, "Berlin". In one of the scenes, you see people on the sidewalk singing, while for a couple of seconds, you also see soldiers marching on the streets with Nazi uniforms; but then the camera quickly moves away. She goes to Tobis studios and tells Rudi Godden, one of the heads of the studio, that she wants to get into movies. He then jumps all over her (not literally) and tells her how difficult it is to become a star. She ends up doing extra work. She rooms with another hopeful, Carla Walton, played By Vera Bergmann, who has a boyfriend, who is an aspiring song writer. It turns out they are looking for a new, fresh actress, who can do a role in their new film. And guess who ends up getting it?
In Ländern mit Alkoholverbot wird trotz aller Kontrollen getrunken, das Geschäft der Schmuggler blüht. Zollwachtmeister Arne Kolk gehört zu den Männern, die die Schmuggler um jeden Preis festsetzen wollen. Es ist auch ein persönliches Motiv, das Arne treibt, denn sein Bruder wurde in einer "Teestube", wo man billigen Fusel aus Tassen trinkt, erschossen. In jener Teestube trifft er bei Ermittlungen die reizvolle Sängerin Kaja. Sie umgarnt den Polizisten, nimmt ihn mit in ihre Garderobe und verführt ihn schließlich. Allerdings tut sie dies nicht nur aus Berechnung. Vielmehr will Kaja den Polizisten vor ihrem Bruder, dem Schmuggler Kai retten, einem skrupellosen Typ, der nicht gezögert hätte, auf Arne zu schießen. Dieser Umstand bewahrt Arne jedoch nicht davor, dass ihm gekündigt wird. Scheinbar aus Rache für diese Ungerechtigkeit schließt er sich einer Schmugglerbande an. Doch als die Polizei immer öfter geheime Alkohollager der Gang aushebt, liegt für die Verbrecher auf der Hand, wer der Verräter ist. Auf einem Schiff der Schmuggler kommt es zum dramatischen Finale.
It's the United States during the time of Prohibition and the American government has been just as successful at stopping drinking as they have been in the War on Drugs. Customs Officer Arne Kolk is one of those men who is determined to stop the alcohol smugglers at any price. And there's a reason for his fanaticism: his brother was shot in a speak-easy where they allegedly only served non-alcoholic, but oh-so-stimulating beverages. During an investigation of the incident, Kolk meets the attractive singer Kaja, whose beauty is more intoxicating than the beverages the bar is illegally serving. She ensnares the cop, lures him into her wardrobe and manages to thoroughly seduce him (against his will, of course). But there's more than mere calculation involved in her seduction of the policeman: more than lust, she wants to protect Arne from her brother, an unscrupulous smuggler, who wouldn't have given a second thought to shooting him. Arne, however, is not one to be dissuaded from reckless stupidity. With other motives other than legality, he manages to infiltrate the band of smugglers in an attempt to mix justice and revenge. But while Arne may be a good cop, intellectually, the man's a moron: Up til then, the smuggling operation was going splendidly; but ever since Arne joined the gang, the cops have been busting up operation after operation. It doesn't take the smugglers long to figure out there's a rat among them. And while the smugglers are indeed products of an American public school education, even they are soon able to figure out that the rat must be .... duhhh! Eventually, there's a scene with a ship ... and smugglers ... and smuggling ... and a dramatic finale involving nasty things going down.
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