Enemy Mine (1985)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen Starring Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., Brion James

Portraits: Matthias Hinze (1988)

Matthias Hinze was one of the most prolific voice actors in Germany. For instance he was the German voice of Matt Damon. In 1988 (the year this picture was taken in) he dubbed Michael Jackson in "Moonwalker". Hinze died in 2007. He was only 38.

Die unendliche Geschichte aka The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. With Barret Oliver, Gerald McRaney and Noah Hathaway.

Drei gegen drei (1985)

Directed by Dominik Graf. Starring Stephan Remmler, Gert 'Kralle' Krawinkel, Peter Behrens

A truly awful movie. 

Das Arche-Noah-Prinzip (1984)

Directed by Roland Emmerich. Starring Richy Müller, Franz Buchrieser, Aviva Joel

Alles im Eimer (1981)

Directed by Ralf Gregan. Staring Dieter Hallervorden, Rotraud Schindler, Manfred Lehmann, Rainer Brandt

Behind the Scenes: The NeverEnding Story aka Die unendliche Geschichte (1984)

Barret Oliver, director Wolfgang Petersen and Tami Stronach at the set of "The Neverending Story".

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Barret Oliver, Regisseur Wolfgang Petersen und Tami Stronach am Set von "Die unendliche Geschichte".

Zabou (1987)

Directed by Hajo Gies. Starring Götz George, Claudia Messner, Eberhard Feik

Movie Stills: Zahn um Zahn (1985)

Two stills from the german crime movie "Zahn um Zahn" with Götz George starring as Kommissar Horst Schimanski.

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Zwei Fotos aus dem ersten Schimanski-Film "Zahn um Zahn".

Zahn um Zahn (1985)

 

Directed by Hajo Gies. Starring Götz George, Renan Demirkan, Rufus

Didi - Und die Rache der Enterbten (1985)

Directed by Dieter Hallervorden, Christian Rateuke. With Dieter Hallervorden, Wolfgang Kieling, Gerhard Wollner.

To describe the german humor of the 80s is a difficult task. The typical 80s comedies from Hollywood like the Griswolds movies or "Police Academy" were quite successful over here. But german movie-goers craved for something different: They wanted to see german comedians, who usually only appeared on tv, in the theatre. The key players of this movement were Otto Waalkes, Mike Krüger, Thomas Gottschalk and last but not least Dieter Hallervorden, nickname Didi. All of their work makes "Porky's" look like a movie by Ingmar Bergman. Hallervorden used his popularity wisely and produced at least one movie each year in the 80s. "Didi - Und die Rache der Enterbten" was his take on the classic "Kind Hearts and Coronets". Six people want to inherit the millions of the late Gustav Böllemann. But instead of Alec Guiness, it was Didi himself who starred in all the leading roles, like the obese Titus, wise guy Emilio or the mercenary Kongo-Otto.

In "Didi - Und die Rache der Enterbten" präsentierte Dieter Hallervorden uns seine Version des Klassikers "Adel verpflichtet". Sechs Menschen wollen ans Erbe des verstorbenen Gustav Böllemann. Anstatt Alec Guiness ist es Didi selbst, der alle Hauptrollen verkörpert. Star des Films ist eindeutig Kongo-Otto:

Die unendliche Geschichte aka The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. With Barret Oliver, Gerald McRaney and Noah Hathaway.

This is an ad for the german video release of "The NeverEnding Story". Alongside movies like "Das Boot", "The NeverEnding Story" was one of the few German movies of the 80s with some success in the states. Until now it's one of the true 80s classics. Compared to todays lifeless CG effects, the hand-made special effects of this movie stand out. After "The NeverEnding Story" Wolfgang Petersen headed for the US and directed the great "Enemy Mine". From then on, everything went downhill. Petersens movies after "Enemy Mine" all had the same problem: They were professionally made but ultimately boring Hollywood fare.

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Dies ist eine Anzeige von Constantin Video für die Videoveröffentlichung von "Die unendliche Geschichte". Zusammen mit einer Handvoll anderer Filme wie "Das Boot" war dies eine der wenigen deutschen Produktionen in den 80ern, die auch in den USA erfolgreich waren. Der ganz große kommerzielle Erfolg in den Staaten blieb jedoch aus und es war deshalb keine Fortsetzung geplant. 1990 wurde der Film dann doch fortgesetzt. Sieht man sich den Film heute an, fallen insbesondere die handgemachten Spezialeffekte auf. Im Gegensatz zu den sterilen CG-Effekte des modernen Hollywoodkinos haben diese bis heute nichts von ihrer Klasse verloren. Regisseur Wolfgang Petersen zog nach diesem Film nach Hollywood und drehte dort das gelungene Science-Fiction-Drama "Enemy Mine". Danach ging es mit ihm jedoch bergab. Petersens Filme nach "Enemy Mine" sind alle zwar professionell gemacht, aber letztendlich leider auch langweilige und uninspirierte Hollywoodware.