Lisi Mangold Movies
The Serpent's Egg, or Das Schlangenei is director Ingmar Bergman's second English language production (The Touch was his first). It is, however, his first completely non-Swedish production, made after his voluntary self-exile from Sweden over taxation issues. Set in Berlin in the early 1920s, it explores the fear and despair the city evokes in Manuela and Abel Rosenberg (Liv Ullmann and David Carradine), two Jewish trapeze artists. The suicide of Manuela's husband (Abel's brother), has stranded them in Berlin. Berlin is shown to already possess the sinister elements of cruelty and anti-Semitism which laid the groundwork for the later Nazi takeover. A series of misadventures gets them sent to a medical clinic for treatment. However, the clinic is actually a site for Nazi-type "racial" experiments on humans, which generally either madden or kill the subjects. Das Schlangenei was savaged by the critics for its improbable-seeming story and more particularly, for casting David Carradine (best known for his earlier appearances in the Kung Fu U.S. television series) in a crucial role. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liv Ullmann, David Carradine, (more)
- 1978
This provocative film anthology contains nine short fiction and documentary films believed to have had great influence on the development of New German Cinema. Each of the five was directed by a different German filmmaker and are set during the politically tempestuous summer of 1977 in West Germany when terrorism ran rampant. Filmmakers include Fassbinder, Boll, Schlondorff, Sinkel, Kluge (who narrates) and more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caroline Chaniolleau
- 1981
Theo (Ludwig Hirsch) is a pianist/singer facing financial disaster unless he can think of some way to make money. Determined to make it, he uses up his last pfennig to buy a second-class bar in the middle of nowhere with the hopes of converting it into a popular night spot - but no one comes to the opening. He is saved by the street-wise Wendelin (Franz Xaver Kroetz), a salesman with a great pitch who convinces Theo to change the name of the bar to "Trokadero" and open it up offering an all-you-can-drink party for the customers - but that does not go as planned. Then Wendelin says, "Get a stripper!" Great idea, except when the job applicant arrives Theo has to tell her he does not have his license to hire her yet. Sure enough, men show up for the new show in town and then trash the bar when they find out the show has been cancelled. Undaunted, Theo and Wendelin start to cook up another scheme, this time, a sure-fire winner. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ludwig Hirsch, Lisi Mangold, (more)
- 1984
The norms of hospital practices are turned upside-down in this complex drama about how many rights are denied patients who do not conform. At the beginning of the story, a man is found lying on the side of the road and is brought in to the police station as a probable vagrant, but he has no memory and seems to have lost his powers of speech. Perplexed and defeated by their unsuccessful attempts to make him talk, the police send the man over to the hospital for examination by psychiatrists. After some time, it becomes apparent that he understands everything going on around him and is simply refusing to talk. This sets off a series of antagonistic actions on the part of the hospital staff, suspicious about his "purpose" in remaining silent. Although some explanation is discovered as to why he is this way, the supposedly sane doctors and staff come off looking like they may need treatment themselves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael König, Lisi Mangold, (more)
- 1986
Berlin-born filmmaker Erwin Leiser cemented his reputation with the low-key 1959 documentary Mein Kampf. Combining newsreel footage and eyewitness interviews, this film established Leiser's cinematic throughline of exploring Germany's tragic past. 1986's Following the Fuhrer, codirected by Adolf Winkelman combines fact with fiction as it chronicles the misadventures of a group of Third Reich advocates in the closing days of the war. As their world literally explodes around them, these faithful few huddle together to survive, trying and failing to sustain their beliefs with Hitlerian fantasies. Though the documentary footage can't be faulted in Following the Fuhrer, the film stumbles whenever the characters are given lines to speak. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karin Baal, Horst Bollmann, (more)
