Lukas Ammann Movies
- 1998
Dani Levy directed and co-stars in this German-Austrian political thriller. Lena Katz (Maria Schrader), living in New York, is the granddaughter of Jewish chocolate-factory owner Eliah Goldberg (Lukas Ammann), whose factory in Germany has been recently set on fire by some anti-Semitic thugs. In NYC, German émigrée Mrs. Fish (Lynn Cohen) reads about the fire and recognizes Goldberg as her father, who she thought was long dead, a victim of the Holocaust. Mrs. Fish phones her son David (Dani Levy), who hires Jewish activist attorney Charles Kaminski (David Strathairn) to contact Goldberg. At the same time, Lena's mom (Nicole Heesters) is visiting New York, and when Lena goes to see her at her hotel, she finds Mrs. Fish near death in the hallway, the victim of an attempted murder. She's taken to the hospital -- where David and Lena meet and begin to learn about their mysterious shared backgrounds and past history. Made with English and German dialogue, this film was shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Schrader, Dani Levy, (more)
- 1989
A nearly forgotten accident (or was it murder?) takes on new life when a 50th year class reunion is convened at the remote Alpine mountain chalet of one of the students. During an excursion in the mountains many years before, just after their graduation, one of the least popular of students fell to his death from a high waterfall. We find out that the hostess of this reunion was the dead boy's lover and was pregnant with his child. In this Agatha Christie-type story a series of deaths ensues, some accidental, some not, en route to a surprise ending. The cast of this Swiss production includes nine of the their most prominent native actors, including international star Ursula Andress, who had never before appeared in a Swiss film. Anne-Marie Blanc, who plays the hostess, is one of the great stars of Swiss theater. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Marie Blanc, Paul Hubschmid, (more)
- 1972
- R
This British/German horrorama was the sequel to....drum roll please....Mark of the Devil (1970). The original film starred Herbert Lom as a "burning judge" preying upon accused witches in 18th century Austria. Anton Diffring substitutes for Herebert Lom in Part 2, but the basic premise remains intact. The overall tenor of the film is implicit in its alternate English-language title, Witches: Violated and Tortured to Death. Neither the original nor the sequel to Mark of the Devil had anything to do with the similarly titled 1985 Val Guest production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
This critically well-received independent German film production was made and first seen in 1970, but did not receive general release until 1971. A group of five scientists have invented a machine which will unravel the whole fabric of time and space but have managed to blot the full memory of their achievement from their minds. They did this to prevent the complete destruction of space-time as we know it. However, they also programmed themselves to remember everything if someone uses the key words "a big grey-blue bird." Gangsters bent on world domination and a young documentary film-team track down these scientists, each attempting to learn their secrets for completely different reasons. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1952
Swiss-German leading actor Paul Hubschmid was still going by his Hollywood-engendered moniker of Paul Christian when he starred in Palace Hotel. The scene is a lavish Swiss resort hotel, where a multitude of subplots wend their way through the corridors. The principal characters include Kaethe Gold as an Austrian chambermaid who pines for her long-missing son; Gustav Knuth as a very proper butler who loses his inhibitions on New Year's Eve; and, of course, Paul Christian, cast as an amorous waiter. Most of the film was lensed on location in St. Moritz. Palace Hotel was the first dramatic feature from the Swiss documentary firm Gloriafilm. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Marie Blanc, Paul Christian, (more)
