Christine Kaufmann Movies

Good guys chase bad guys and vice versa, only instead of horses, they use automobiles in this "western on wheels." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

One of the many Italian sword-and-sandal adventure stories roughly depicting historical events -- sometimes too graphically -- this drama by director Lionello de Felice has its merits. The action moves along at a good clip, as Constantine's (Cornel Wilde) rise to power is depicted, amidst battling armies and political intrigue. All the well-publicized, old Roman entertainments such as feeding Christians to the lions are shown in more detail than might be necessary, leading to one of the main points of featuring Constantine at all -- he was the emperor who gave Christians the freedom to worship as they pleased. His cronies and his enemies, his loves and his successes all have their moment in the sun. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this mystery/thriller based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, Nico Thomkins (Udo Schenk), a writer, and his wife Helen (Anke Sevenich) are in the habit of playing games with one another. Even while they are breaking up, they are sufficiently in tune with one another to continue this practice. When the writer's wife takes off without leaving a note behind, people begin to suspect that he may have murdered her, and he plays along with this notion to the point of planting clues which would incriminate him. Obviously, no one with a shred of common sense would do such a thing, and these tricks get him into trouble. However, his troubles don't really begin until he starts to search for her in earnest. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this period film about the life of an aristocratic family in Munich just before World War I and the end of the aristocracy as such, there are a series of garden parties for the royalty and nobility, Christmas celebrations, an appearance by Eleanora Duse at the local theater, music recitals, and majestic ballroom dances. No strong dramatic content or major story line holds the events in a thematic scheme, but the Lautenschlag family serves as the axis around which events come and go. This fictional family unit and the story, come from the partly autobiographical novel titled The Swing, written in 1934 by Annette Kolb. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The strange life of Austrian painter Egon Schiele, one of the fathers of expressionism, is chronicled in this dramatic biography. He began his career during his stint as a soldier in WWI. He gained notoriety for his pornographic nudes and was eventually arrested for creating them. At the same time, his first love dies, and his next lover dumps him. His paintings finally become popular at the war's end. Unfortunately, he dies of a strange disease before he can enjoy his success. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Financed in West Germany and filmed in the Soviet Union, Hard to Be a God (Es Ist Nicht Leicht Ein Gott Zu Sein) is set some thousand years or so in the future, when all forms of hostility and aggression have been purged from the earth. A group of space travellers stumble upon an alien civilization that seems mired in the Middle Ages. Astronaut Edward Zentara is sent out to explore this primitive land, and in so doing he becomes involved in war and bloodshed for the first time in his life. Eventually, he leads the downtrodden local citizens into battle against his fellow Earthlings. Produced on an epic scale over a six-year period, Hard to Be a God is stronger in its action sequences than in its ponderous dialogue exchanges. Watch for German director Werner Herzog in a brief opening-scene bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This was ironically the last film made by director Mario Bonnard, and it follows the pattern of the classic Italian costume dramas about macho or mythic heroes, in this case, a certain Glaucus (Steve Reeves, the glorious Greco-Roman past could not occur without him). Taking the cue from its larger-than-life hero, the story, set in 79 A.D., bounds from one spectacle to another without undue concern for nuanced dialogue or subtleties of character. Glaucus has to single-handedly tackle the brutal thugs that are taking over Pompeii and is forced to fight off a lion and a crocodile -- though not all at the same time. He overcomes wounds and enemies in preparation for his toughest fight, that of rescue and survival when Mt. Vesuvius blows its top, the biggest and final spectacle in a series of battleground fireworks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When a filmmaker and a young film student make love, the man is accused of statutory rape by the girl's father. ~ All Movie Guide

German cabaret star Lili Marleen inspired a song that was extremely popular with the German soldiers during WW II. This war drama offers a fictionalized account of her story that begins in 1938 while she performs in a Zurich cabaret. It is her boyfriend, a Swiss Jew who also turns out to be a resistance fighter who pens her famous song. She sings it in Germany and it becomes a hit with the German troops. As a result, Hitler himself invites her to perform for him. This does not set well with the songwriter's powerful who, upon learning that Marleen has become a famed singer in Germany, seek to have her barred from Switzerland. This does not stop the songwriter from loving her though and desperate to see her one last time, he sneaks into Berlin for a tryst. Unfortuantely he is arrested and she gets blacklisted. They do not see each other again until after the war. By this time, their lives have changed considerably. This is not considered among the best of Fassbinder's best films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Part of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Entire History of the German Federal Republic trilogy, Lola stars Barbara Sukowa in the title role, a seductive cabaret singer and dancer in the 1950s who is romantically involved with Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a straight-as-an-arrow building inspector. Recently appointed Building Commissioner, Von Bohm is committed to eradicating corruption. Consequently, he's given quite a shock when he is called into inspect the brothel where Lola works and discovers her dancing there. With that, Von Bohm is left to question whether he is more loyal to the woman he loves so passionately or the career he believes in so strongly. The other entries in the trilogy are Veronika Voss and The Marriage of Maria Braun. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide