Ralf Richter Movies

A crew of construction workers simultaneously initiate a young architect into their midst while literally trying to diffuse an explosive situation in German director Peter Thorwarth's 2003 work comedy, Was Nicht Passt, Wird Passend Gemacht (If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer). Crew leader Horst (Willi Thomczyk), with his two underlings Kalle (Ralf Richter) and Kummel (Hilmi Sözer), is ordered by their boss, Werner Wiesenkamp (Dietmar Baer), to work with the young architect Philipp (Thorwarth). Horst takes this personally, especially when the architect starts hitting on Horst's daughter Astrid (Alexandra Maria Lara). Playing a number of humbling pranks on Philipp whilst on the scene of their newest work site, the builders discover an unexpected complication: an undetonated bomb from World War II lying where the foundation of the building is to be laid. Based on the student Oscar-nominated short film of the same name -- and by the same director -- If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer was selected as an entry for the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

What's a criminal to do when he has problems managing other people's money? Keek (Oliver Korittke) is an awkward sometimes-thief whose partner Kalle (Ralf Richter) is serving time in jail. Keek was put in charge of watching over Kalle's money while he is behind bars, but Keek has managed to spend most of the cash. Keek gets word that Kalle is due to hit the streets and that he expects a Mercedes and his money to be waiting for him. Since Kalle is not known for his kindness or patience, Keek panics, buying a load of counterfeit money and arranging for a Mercedes from a pair of thieves. Soon Kalle arrives, ready to kill a man who he's convinced slept with his girlfriend, while the car thieves want their Mercedes back and Keek plans a robbery to raise the money that will keep his scams quiet (and himself breathing). Bang Boom Bang was the feature-length debut from director Peter Thorwarth and received its premiere at the 1999 Munich Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When they hear that an architect is coming to look over their apartment building, the residents of this East Berlin building get all panicky, because they believe the landlord intends to kick them out and replace them with people able to pay higher rents. They form a tenants' association, electing Cosima to sort things out, and try to appeal to the landlord's better nature. What she discovers is that the building managers are unaware that the real owner is a drunken bum named Klaus who has been so out of touch that he is unaware that his father (the previous owner) is dead. She and all the tenants set out on a campaign to sober Klaus up and get him to take an interest not only in his life, but in this all-important building. In this comedy, this is just what happens. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer makes his directorial debut with The Seven Minutes (released in Germany as Georg Elser-Einer aus Deutschland. Brandauer also stars, playing a solid citizen of 1939 Berlin. Though loyal to the Fatherland, he despises Hitler and the Nazis. A few weeks after the start of World War II, Elser (Brandauer) begins cooking up a scheme to assassinate Der Fuehrer at a reunion for the participants of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. All he needs is seven minutes. All he doesn't need is the unwitting intrusiveness of innocent barmaid Anneliese (Rebecca Miller, daughter of playwright Arthur Miller). Even though we know the outcome, Brandauer sustains an incredible amount of tension. The film isn't quite in the league of Day of the Jackal, but it's not too far from it. The Seven Minutes was adapted by Stephen Sheppard from his own novel The Artisan. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Gotz George portrays the unscrupulous police commissioner Schimanski in this grim crime drama. With his partner Thanner (Eberhard Feik), the two shake down patrons of a techno dance club in the drug-drenched Ruhr district, and there Schimanski recognizes a drugged-out dancer as Conny (Claudia Messner), the daughter of an old flame. He sets out to help Conny, now calling herself Zabou, escape from a situation that she has no desire to leave behind. Wolfram Berger portrays the oily club-owner Hocks. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

A stuck elevator is used as an allegory for modern German society in this provocative drama. Within the motionless box are four very different people. One is a light-fingered young courier, and another is an embezzler, while the other two are an unhappy couple on the verge of a breakup. Making it worse is the fact that the elevator seems to have a nasty mind of its own. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain (Jurgen Prochnow) and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There's very little plot, so the movie's power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent waiting for orders or signs of the enemy. With the exception of one staunch Hitler Youth lieutenant, none of the crew is particularly loyal to the Nazis, and some are openly hostile toward their Fuhrer; this allows viewer sympathy with the men as they perform their laborious, monotonous duties in cramped, filthy quarters, or await death as depth charges explode all around the sub. Prochnow is excellent as the nerves-of-steel commander, and many of the supporting actors -- all German -- are solid as well, although the characterizations border on war movie clichés (the young crewman who has left behind his pregnant girlfriend, the Chief Engineer whose wife is seriously ill). The real star, however, is cinematographer Jost Vacano, who makes the sub's grimy, claustrophobic interior come to vivid life, as his camera follows the crew through hatches, up ladders, into bunks, and under pipes, creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia while injecting it with movement. Originally edited by writer/director Wolfgang Petersen as both a two-and-a-half hour theatrical release and a six-hour German miniseries, Das Boot was re-released in a restored version in 1997 with nearly one hour of added footage which made it even more suspenseful than before. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi