Rent The Niklashausen Journey / The American Soldier (1970)
4.0 of 5 from 1 ratings
1h 30min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Based on a true story from the late 15th century, the young shepherd Hans Bohm (Michael Konig) rallies thirty thousand medieval peasants around him, who believe he is the new messiah after he claims to have seen the Virgin Mary in Niklashausen. Fassbinder plays with allegory and anachronism in his first made-for-television feature, drawing parallels between the peasants and the German New Left's stifled attempts to create a proletarian revolution. The film counts among the director's more obscure works, and remained unseen between its first television broadcast in 1970 and its rediscovery in 2002. 'The American Soldier' sees Fassbinder continue to pursue the cinephilic homage to classic Hollywood crime films of his feature debut, 'Love is Colder than Death'. Ricky (Karl Scheydt) is a small-time German-American gangster who has served in Vietnam. When he returns to Munich where he grew up, he spends time reacquainting himself with his childhood friend, Franz Walsch (Fassbinder), and his mother and brother. Approached by the police to perform a series of undercover assassinations, he soon learns some harsh lessons about the law. - Actors:
- Michael König, Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Michael Gordon, Günther Kaufmann, Kurt Raab, Franz Maron, Walter Sedlmayr, Karl Scheydt, Chris Karrer, Hanna Köhler, Peter Leopold, Falk Rogner, John Weinzierl, Peter Berling, Ingrid Caven, Carla Egerer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler, Sigi Graue
- Directors:
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler
- Producers:
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peer Raben
- Writers:
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler
- Aka:
- Die Niklashauser Fart / Der amerikanische Soldat
- Studio:
- Arrow Films
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Countries:
- Germany
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 13/06/2022
- Run Time:
- 90 minutes
- Languages:
- German Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- Colour and B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by critic Olaf Moller on 'The Niklashausen Journey'
- Audio commentary by critic Tony Rayns on 'The American Soldier'
- Fassbinder Shoots Film No 8, a 1971 television documentary by Michael Ballhaus and Dieter Buchmann on Rainer Werner Fassbinder filming 'The American Soldier'
- The Shadow Man, an exclusive new in-depth interview with Fassbinder's collaborator Michael Fengler
- Freedom or Death!, an exclusive new interview with Michael Konig on 'The Niklashausen Journey'
