The German Chainsaw Massacre
| The German Chainsaw Massacre | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Christoph Schlingensief |
| Written by | Christoph Schlingensief |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | Ariane Traub |
| Music by | Jacques Arr |
Release date |
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Running time | 60 minutes[1] |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
The German Chainsaw Massacre - The First Hour of the Reunification (German: Das deutsche Kettensägenmassaker), also known as Blackest Heart in the United States,[2] is a 1990 German horror film written and directed by Christoph Schlingensief and starring Karina Fallenstein, Alfred Edel, Udo Kier and Irm Hermann. The film is the second part of Schlingensief's Deutschlandtrilogie (German Trilogy), comprising 100 Years of Adolf Hitler: The Last Hour in the Führerbunker (1989), The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990), and Terror 2000: Intensive Care Unit Germany (1992). The trilogy was released on DVD on October 29, 2010.[3]
Plot
[edit]Set against the background of German reunification in 1990, the plot centers on a group of East Germans who cross the border to visit West Germany and get slaughtered by a psychopathic West German cannibal family with chainsaws who want to turn them into sausages.[4]
Cast
[edit]- Alfred Edel as Alfred
- Karina Fallenstein as Clara
- Artur Albrecht as Ihr Liebhaber
- Susanne Bredehöft as Ihr Mann / Margit
- Brigitte Kausch as Brigitte
- Volker Spengler as Henk
- Dietrich Kuhlbrodt as Dietrich
- Reinald Schnell as Kurti
- Udo Kier as Jonny
- Eva-Maria Kurz as Zöllnerin
- Irm Hermann as DDR-Grenzerin
Production
[edit]Schlingensief conceived the idea for the film after he had viewed bootleg copies of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and its sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (which were both banned in Germany) and found the second film to be "superb for its richness in imagery and double entendres". He wrote the script in a matter of days after the German reunification,[5] imagining its first hour as a polit-kitsch horror film[6] in which the West cannibalizes the East.[7]
Reception
[edit]![[icon]](/translate/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (December 2020) |
The film premiered on October 27, 1990, provoking mixed reviews and reactions.[8] Time Out lauded the film as "abrasive, relentless, cruelly funny and enjoyably deranged."[9] Sean Leonard of HorrorNews.net called it "an artsy, gory horror movie in the vein of Tobe Hooper’s classic", with the director's pointed social commentary.[10] The Berlin cinema Babylon had to cancel its scheduled screenings after the film was accused of "glorification of violence" under Section 131 of the German Criminal Code.[8] In Munich, the film was confiscated by airport authorities before it could leave the country for screenings at international festivals, while the broadcasters that had co-produced it refused to air it in Germany.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Christoph Schlingensief: German Chainsaw Massacre". Tate Modern. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ↑ Blackest Heart (1990) - Release info - IMDb. Archived from the original on 2024-11-30. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
- ↑ "DVD-Kritik: Christoph Schlingensief - Deutschland Trilogie - AUDIO VIDEO FOTO BILD". www.computerbild.de. Archived from the original on 2013-10-07. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
- ↑ Twark, Jill E.; Hildebrandt, Axel (2015). Envisioning Social Justice in Contemporary German Culture. Boydell & Brewer. p. 211. ISBN 9781571135698.
- ↑ Forrest, Tara (2011). Christoph Schlingensief: Art Without Borders. Intellect Books. p. 44. ISBN 9781841503912.
- ↑ Castorf, Frank (2011). "He asked the question of guilt". Christoph Schlingensief, German Pavilion 2011 (1st ed.). Sternberg Press. p. 166. ISBN 9781934105429.
- ↑ Dercon, Chris (2011). "Comrades". Christoph Schlingensief: German Pavilion, 2011 (1st ed.). Sternberg Press. p. 176. ISBN 9781934105429.
- 1 2 3 Vander Lugt, Kristin T. (2010). Forrest, Tara (ed.). Christoph Schlingensief: Art without borders (1st ed.). Intellect Ltd. p. 46. ISBN 9781841503196.
- ↑ "The German Chainsaw Massacre 1990, directed by Christoph Schlingensief". Time Out. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ↑ Leonard, Sean (October 26, 2013). "Film Review: The German Chainsaw Massacre (1990)". HorrorNews.net. Retrieved December 22, 2020.