German/Austrian/Swiss Challenge - Official; August 2020

[sol]

.
Germany / Austria / Switzerland / Liechtenstein Challenge



Pictured: Cover art for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Despair' (1978)



Goal
Watch as many movies from Germany / Austria / Switzerland / Liechtenstein as you can from August 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020.

Eligible Countries
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- East Germany
- West Germany

All have a very large number of co-productions. I would ask you to think carefully about whether you think that any co-productions really represent German, Austrian and Swiss cinema. As a general rule of thumb, anything nominated for a national award (Lola Award; Swiss Film Award etc) is eligible.

Films can be in any language (not just German) as long as they come from the above countries, so French language Swiss films etc are eligible.

Rules
- Each feature film (over 40 minutes) counts as one entry.
- 60 minutes of short films counts as one entry.
- 1 episode of any miniseries counts as one entry.
- 1 entire season of a television show counts as one entry.
- Individual television episodes are not eligible.
- Rewatches are allowed and are good for the soul.
- Please include year of release when listing your viewings.
- Please indicate each film's country when listing your viewings otherwise your score will NOT be included in the leaderboard.

Fair play (adapted from albajos)
- Remember this is a community event, so participating is not only about listing titles. If you post early, this gives the other participants suggestions for their own viewings and it brings the community closer together.
- If you're in the top 5 please post at least once every three days.
- I will not allow anyone to enter the top 5 during the final three days with their first post.

I reserve the right to exclude participants who intentionally number their viewings incorrectly. If you play the game, you're expected to play properly.

DEADLINE
Final results will be posted between 2:30pm and 3:00pm GMT on September 2 - at which point it will have been September everywhere in the world for more than a whole day. While you are welcome to post updates beyond this point, any such updates will not be included in the final results. Your choice whether you miss the deadline or not; besides, if it's September on your side of the world, shouldn't you be starting on one of next month's challenges?

Stuck for ideas of what to watch? Look no further: (big shout-out to klaus whose links I have shamelessly copy-and-pasted)

Official Lists
- UNESCO - 259-273 are German; 32-53 are Austrian; 699-713 are Swiss
- The 100 Most Significant German Films
- Lola Award for Best German Film

Non-Official Lists
- iCM Forum's Favourite German Films
- German submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Austrian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- Swiss submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
- The 100 Best Swiss Films
- New Austrian Film

This Challenge has never been held before in an Official capacity as far as I can tell.

Similar (German-only) challenges have been run five times before:

2011 Challenge - hosted by 3eyes and won by Crinderman with 70 points
2013 Challenge - hosted by HMV and won by HMV with 53 points
2014 Challenge - hosted by HMV and won by PretentiousHipster with 35 points
2015 Challenge - hosted by HMV and won by klaus78 with 49 points
2018 Challenge - hosted by klaus78 and won by 72allinncallme with 67 points

Any Fun Stats?

Maybe. Certainly not if this Challenges gets very busy, but I would at least like to be able to present a Germany vs Austria vs Switzerland vs Liechtenstein pie chart.

There will be an AWARDS CEREMONY at the end of the Challenge. See this example if you're unsure what I am talking about.

This thread will be updated at least once every 48 hours (more often if I am around and feel like it). Please list new films seen in a new post.

Bonus Challenge #1: Watch Despair by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (iCM) - a challenge TRIPLE this month

Bonus Challenge #2: Get something in every column below... except the last column. The only way to do this is by watching Despair as well as something from each of Germanosphere countries and remembering to include the country with every viewing.

Any points in the "undeclared" column will not count towards your final score. You must declare the country when listing your viewings.

Participants

Rank	Participant	Count	Saw 'Despair'?	Germany	Austria	Switz.	Leicht.	Undeclared
1	blueboybob	94	-	67	9	18	-	-
2	St. Gloede	58	-	58	-	-	-	-
3	jdidaco	50	-	30	10	10	-	-
4	sol	43	-	36	2	5	-	-
5	flavo5000	38	-	34	2	2	-	-
6	AB537	26	-	25	1	-	-	-
7	Mario Gaborović	20	-	16	1	1	2	-
8	OldAle1	17	-	17	-	-	-	-
9	ororama	14	-	13	-	1	-	2
10	peeptoad	13		10	1	1	1	-
11	hurluberlu	11	-	10	1	-	-	-
12	Lonewolf2003	10	-	10	-	-	-	-
13	allisoncm	8	-	8	-	-	-	-
14	blocho	7		6	-	1	-	-
15	cinephage	6	-	5	-	1	-	-
16	maxwelldeux	5		5	-	-	-	-
16	Obgeoff	5	-	5	-	-	-	-
18	Samar	3	-	3	-	-	-	-
19	frbrown	2	-	2	-	-	-	-
19	Melvelet	2	-	2	-	-	-	-
21	connordenney	1	-	1	-	-	-	-
21	morrison-dylan-fan	1	-	1	-	-	-	-
21	RogerTheMovieManiac88	1	-	1	-	-	-	-
21	vortexsurfer	1	-	1	-	-	-	-

[peeptoad]

I'm down for a few, sol... have ~15 lined up for this. I'll also try to find that Fassbinder film.

[maxwelldeux]

Here's a link for 1970s movies that fit this challenge (vet the countries): https://trakt.tv/search/movies/?countri ... =1970-1979

The triangle under each poster will display the streaming services (if any; JustWatch data) you can watch it on. It *should* localize to your country.

[flavo5000]

Dude, I JUST watched Despair last week for the Run the Director Challenge...

[sol]

Dude, I JUST watched Despair last week for the Run the Director Challenge...

Well, as long as you promptly added it to your 500<400 ballot, you're A-OK in my books.

That said, I sympathise: when I saw that blocho was promoting The Great White Hope in his challenge, I was all "ehhh". I already watched it for the Academy Awards Challenge in February, and there is no way that I am watching it again so soon.

[sol]

It starts! First in.

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany



The first half-hour here moves incredibly slowly with repetitive scenes of the protagonist searching for answers and trying to find someone to give him a ride. Once he arrives in a forest with his travelling companions though, the film becomes a blast. From the blue fog that illuminates the forest to grisly torture devices, traps and so on inside the castle destination, it is all quite spooky, though the tonally inconsistent final few minutes leave a sour taste.

[sol]

The Good German

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany

2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany



Opening with graphic depictions of a man being tarred and feathered and two women being burned alive at the stake, this look at the witch hunt trials of centuries ago is captivating from the get-go and things only get more intriguing as the film goes on. The chief antagonists all abuse their power with the film providing a scathing look at absolute power corrupting absolutely. Reggie Nalder is particularly well cast one of the more vicious witch-finders.

[Mario Gaborović]

01. Heinrich Kieber - Datendieb (2010) - Liechtenstein

[3eyes]

Volker Schlöndorff''s Der Fangschuß (Ger 1976) is likewise a triple (currently 203 checks).

Expect me if you see me.

[sol]

The Good German

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany

3. The White Spider (1963) Germany



The plot becomes increasingly twisted as it progresses here and while the film tends to get lost in its plot complications and the myriad of disguises worn by one particular character, there is still plenty of interest. The antagonist's murder weapon - a wire rope that he uses as a lasso - needs to be seen to be believed. The police interrogation bits are very well done too with bright lights that seem to spin around, and Karin Dor shines in the lead.

[sol]

OP updated. Pie Chart so far. No surprise which country is dominating so far.



If I don't get too busy, I'll try to present daily pie chart updates.

[3eyes]

I'm glad to see you added E and W Germanies, since that's where they were at in the 70s.
I found quite a few obscure (well, I never heard of them ) 70s German films on Kanopy.
I

[flavo5000]

1. Furcht (Germany, 1917)


2. The Curse of Doctor Wolffenstein (Germany, 2015)

Spoiler

1. Furcht (Germany, 1917)
2. The Curse of Doctor Wolffenstein (Germany, 2015)

[sol]

The High Challenge

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany

4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany



This begins well with lots of humour from knights scoffing at the twentieth century science that aliens know, such as Earth being round and revolving around the sun. The aliens laughing at the concept of the soul also offers a sharp poke at religion. Alas, the further the film progresses, the less satiric and sillier it becomes with alien finger sex, negotiating ransoms in ponies and so on in the mix. All involved are clearly having a good time though.

[sol]

Updated pie chart and leaderboard. Still no hits for Austria or Switzerland yet. I might try to change that with my next viewing...

[sol]

Keep Your Challenge Up

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany

5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland



This gets to an excellent start with its "idiot" protagonist sliding over tables and needing instructions to get into a car. Alas, as the film progresses, he soon becomes a minor character in the tapestry with his subplot (about delivering a can of film) also relegated into the backdrop. In focus instead are various loosely connected vignettes. Some of these are very funny (a plane passenger asking for a larger slice of the pie) but most are dull/repetitive.

[sol]

The Wild Challenge Yonder

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland

6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany



Presented as a documentary, this fiction film from Werner Herzog purports to be an interview with a humanoid alien explaining how his species came to Earth decades ago. It is an intriguing premise and Herzog manipulates archive footage very well to give the project authenticity. Alas, the majority of the film consists of minutes on end aboard a space shuttle (without the crew getting up to much) and repetitive (if beautiful) underwater footage.

[jdidaco]

Thank you for hosting, sol!

(Screenshots from 'Der Gehülfe' & 'Bierkampf'),



1. T-Wo-Men (Werner Nekes, 1972) 10/10 ((West) Germany)
2. Tod und Teufel/Death and Devil (Stephen Dwoskin, 1974) 9/10 ((West) Germany)
3. Der Gehülfe (The Assistant, Thomas Koerfer, 1976) 9/10 (Switzerland)
4. Der junge Freud (Young Dr. Freud, Axel Corti, 1976) 9/10 (Austria/(West) Germany)
5. Bierkampf (Beer Chase, Herbert Achternbusch, 1977) 9/10 ((West) Germany)
6. Sieben Sommersprossen (Seven Freckles, Herrmann Zschoche, 1978) 8/10 ((East) Germany)
7. Grauzone (Zones, Fredi M. Murer, 1979) 9/10 (Switzerland/(West) Germany)
8. Loos Ornamental (Heinz Emigholz, 2008) 8/10 (Austria)

[blocho]

1. Die Gottliche Ordnung (2017) Switzerland
A feel-good social change movie about the struggle for women's suffrage in Switzerland. Remarkably, this only occurred on the federal level in 1971. The final canton to allow women to vote in local elections did not do so until 1991.

2. Phoenix (2014) Germany
Having now completed Petzold's "Love in the Times of Oppressive Systems" trilogy, I realize that he is the master of the unstated. Consistently, he puts his characters into gut-churning scenarios, provides a thin structure of narrative and dialogue, and lets the actors fill the empty spaces. And because these actors are so good, the audiences do the same in our heads. While watching Phoenix or the other movies in the trilogy, I find myself constantly imagining the thoughts, feelings, and interior worlds of these characters. And all of this is accomplished with tremendous emotional authenticity.

[Mario Gaborović]

02. Les cauchemars naissent la nuit (1972) - Liechtenstein

Spoiler

01. Heinrich Kieber - Datendieb (2010) - Liechtenstein

[hurluberlu]

1. Waxworks / Das Wachsfigurenkabinett (Paul Leni, Leo Birinsky, 1924) [Germany] 6

[Mario Gaborović]

03. Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920) - Germany

Spoiler

01. Heinrich Kieber - Datendieb (2010) - Liechtenstein
02. Les cauchemars naissent la nuit (1972) - Liechtenstein

[peeptoad]

1. Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe (Germany, 1973) Tenderness of the Wolves 7
2. Das Gold der Liebe (Germany, 1983) The Gold of Love 8
3. Sukkubus - den Teufel im Leib (Germany, 1989) 7

[flavo5000]

3. Sennentuntschi (Switzerland, 2010)


4. Vem var Dracula? a.k.a. In Search of Dracula (West Germany, 1975)

Spoiler

1. Furcht (Germany, 1917)
2. The Curse of Doctor Wolffenstein (Germany, 2015)
3. Sennentuntschi (Switzerland, 2010)
4. Vem var Dracula? a.k.a. In Search of Dracula (West Germany, 1975)

[St. Gloede]

I was really struggling to decide which challenge(s) I wanted to jump on this month (I am interested in both), but as Germany was the country I had seen the most films from this year (for the first time ever) before being steamrolled by France after the Director's Run challenge, I have an added incentive to just, for once, have Germany arbitrarily on top of a list of stats - because, well, I find that kind of thing neet.

(That can be translated to: I'm in)

I will actually use the Director's Run Challenge as a bit of a jumping off point, as I had singled out all directors I had 3 films from, and now I singled out the German language directors among them. I won't just do sets of directors nut a nice carry-over/framing as it was quite fun last month.

[peeptoad]

4. Chimères (Switzerland, 2013) 4

filme gesehen

1. Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe (Germany, 1973) Tenderness of the Wolves 7
2. Das Gold der Liebe (Germany, 1983) The Gold of Love 8
3. Sukkubus - den Teufel im Leib (Germany, 1989) 7

[peeptoad]

3. Sennentuntschi (Switzerland, 2010)

Did you like it? I just watched Sukkubus, based on the same fable/story...

[sol]

Updated OP and pie chart. Switzerland and Austria finally make their mark!

[St. Gloede]

Starting shot!

Klaus Lemke



1. 48 Stunden bis Acapulco / 48 Hours to Acapulco (1967, Klaus Lemke) (Germany) 4/10
2. Sylvie(1973, Klaus Lemke) (Germany) 5/10
3. Amore (1978, Klaus Lemke) (Germany) 6.5/10

Klaus Lemke is a cult director who made his major work for TV, including Rocker (1972) the only film I had seen previously (I believe it was on TSPDT at some point, it is on the extended list now). I did not love it, but it had a nice New German Cinema vibe and this raw atmosphere playing with minimalism and emotion which felt had a lot of potential.

I felt the potential in each of these three films as well, but it never really went where I wanted it. 48 Hours to Acapulco really feels like it belongs with the New German Cinema crowd. It is a thin, stylized crime film handing together with elements of crime. It has the element of "slick and cool", including an over-reliance on the soundtrack. In the end it is too jumbled and just not that well done - and I could make a similar critique of Sylvie (especially in the overreliance on the soundtrack) but here at least we some interesting editing, colours and a freer and mote complex vibe with a solid central performance. The main plot was still slight, and the cinema itself not fantastic, but it was a perfectly decent film.

Amore is the first Lemke I found to be good, and also the first where he restrained himself in using music to hold his films together. Instead we get a fascinating central performance and character. The focus as you may guess is love, and we follow a young woman as she is looking for love for both her father and herself. There is an odd kind of self-centered playfulness and cold calculation to her character that makes her very interesting to watch, especially in her relations to those around her, like her friend and her friend's boyfriend. There is such an air of dishonesty to it that is really fun to observe. The filmmaking itself could still be better, but this is a bit of a mini-gem.

-

I'm thinking von Trotta or Wenders next.

[sol]

The Wild Challenge Yonder

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland
6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany

7. The Forger of London (1961) Germany



Set in London but filmed entirely in Germany, this Edgar Wallace adaptation unfortunately feels more like a soap opera than a crime drama with its increasingly convoluted plot full of jolting twists and turns. To be fair, the film is certainly well shot with some great scenes in low lighting at night and a fantastic knife point-of-view bit (see above). The project also benefits from a jazzy mood-setting score. The story leaves a lot to be desired though.

[flavo5000]

3. Sennentuntschi (Switzerland, 2010)

Did you like it? I just watched Sukkubus, based on the same fable/story...

I thought it was pretty good, but I think it had some structural problems, especially in the second act. It could've definitely used some editing to make the narrative a little clearer in places and tighten up the pace. It did have some pretty haunting imagery in places and had an interesting central mystery to it.

[sol]

Mysteries of the Challenges

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland
6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany
7. The Forger of London (1961) Germany

8. Mysteries of the Gods (1976) Germany



Harald Reinl's "other" documentary about "ancient astronauts", this is not quite as effective as Chariots of the gods? but it is interesting all the same. The music from Peter Thomas is less enchanting this time, and the interviewees vary in how convincing they, but Reinl and his team assemble footage well, juxtaposing ancient drawings and photographs to support their hypothesis. The topics also vary in how intriguing they are, but this is okay stuff.

[peeptoad]

3. Sennentuntschi (Switzerland, 2010)

Did you like it? I just watched Sukkubus, based on the same fable/story...

I thought it was pretty good, but I think it had some structural problems, especially in the second act. It could've definitely used some editing to make the narrative a little clearer in places and tighten up the pace. It did have some pretty haunting imagery in places and had an interesting central mystery to it.

Cool. It's one of my favorites, though part of that is for Nicholas Ofczarek. I agree it could have been tightened up a bit, though been awhile since I've seen it. Aside from the same source it has a lot of similarities to the 1989 film. I liked the leads in both versions.

[flavo5000]

Did you like it? I just watched Sukkubus, based on the same fable/story...

I thought it was pretty good, but I think it had some structural problems, especially in the second act. It could've definitely used some editing to make the narrative a little clearer in places and tighten up the pace. It did have some pretty haunting imagery in places and had an interesting central mystery to it.

Cool. It's one of my favorites, though part of that is for Nicholas Ofczarek. I agree it could have been tightened up a bit, though been awhile since I've seen it. Aside from the same source it has a lot of similarities to the 1989 film. I liked the leads in both versions.

Groovy. I may look into that 1989 version if I can track it down.

[sol]

Challenge in Cellblock 9

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland
6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany
7. The Forger of London (1961) Germany
8. Mysteries of the Gods (1976) Germany

9. Women in Cellblock 9 (1978) Switzerland



While some of the torture scenes are grueling and there is a fair dose of nudity, this is actually not as especially sleazy or exploitative as it might sound. Franco largely focuses on the facial expressions of his female leads with so many close-ups of their faces in torture that it is hard not to feel their pain. Bug-eyed John Vernon is also excellent as a kooky doctor and it is topped off with a memorable ending that wisely leaves things up to our imagination.

[AB537]

1. Das Schloß - The Castle (Michael Haneke, 1997, Austria) 7.5/10 ... Always nice to get a challenge off to a good start

[morrison-dylan-fan]

Thanks for hosting Sol.

I'll enter the challenge by taking it "Upmarket" with:

FTV:1: Julia (1974) .Germany. 6.



The first film she made after becoming famous from Emmanuelle (1974), Sylvia Kristel gives a raunchy turn as Andrea, who is given by Kristel a butter wouldn't melt in her mouth innocence, which is striped away when no preying eyes are in sight, whilst Ekkehardt Belle fidgets Pauli with a awkwardness when around the ladies.

Serving up the audience what they want with a up-skirt shot within the opening minutes (good lad!), director Sigi Rothemund & cinematographer Heinz Holscher brush the glossy sensual flicks of the era with animated German Comedy, with Rothermund gliding the camera from a eyeful of a naked fittie,to a fat man running round playing tennis. In between thrusts to the kinky frolics and bubbly romance between pure Pauli and Julia becoming passionate,Rothemund takes a unexpected turn, by involving food in every set-piece, (such a stupid waste of good cakes) which whilst not likely to all tastes, does slide in as a visual metaphor to the Pauli’s family indulging in kinky antics, as Pauli secretly goes with Julia for a side dish.

[sol]

Leaderboard and pie chart updated. Germany clawing back some ground from the initial Austrian and Swiss surge.

[sol]

Thanks to flavo for recommending:

In Search of Challenge

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland
6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany
7. The Forger of London (1961) Germany
8. Mysteries of the Gods (1976) Germany
9. Women in Cellblock 9 (1978) Switzerland

10. In Search of Dracula (1975) Germany



This documentary looks at the origins of Bram Stoker's character, vampires in general and how these creatures of folklore have become so ubiquitous in horror cinema. It is a fascinating subject, and with everything from footage of an apparent vampire bat (see above) to reenactment footage featuring Christopher Lee, the film throws some startling images in while also capturing the natural beauty of Transylvania removed from Stoker's vision.

[sol]

Dracula Challenges His Cool

1. The Blood Demon (1967) Germany
2. Mark of the Devil (1970) Germany
3. The White Spider (1963) Germany
4. The High Crusade (1994) Germany
5. Keep Your Right Up (1987) Switzerland
6. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) Germany
7. The Forger of London (1961) Germany
8. Mysteries of the Gods (1976) Germany
9. Women in Cellblock 9 (1978) Switzerland
10. In Search of Dracula (1975) Germany

11. Dracula Blows His Cool (1979) Germany



An energetic horror spoof. Bits and pieces are downright silly, including some of the bumbling male supporting characters, but this is generally funny stuff. There is some hilarious nonsense involving a misplaced gigantic silver dildo that the town prude confiscates, but the vampire gags work best. The Jaws-like music is especially great as the male vampire tries to sneak up on a victim in the shower, only to wind up stuck in the bathroom (see above).