Johannes Schaaf Movies
- 1986
Momo (Radost Bokel) is a ten-year-old orphan girl who tries to save her village from the evil clutches of the Grey Men in this uneven children's story. Led by Chief Grey Man (Armin Muller-Stahl), the Grey Men have managed to make the villagers give up all their leisure time. Momo must get to the rococo palace where the time guardian Hora (John Huston) stands in her way. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Radost Bokel, John Huston, (more)
- 1975
Adapted from the novel Die Döppelgänger by Theodor Storm, this black-and-white drama tells the tragic story of a war veteran who, in 1860, returns to his home in Schleswig Holstein after serving a term for robbery. There he finds nothing but hardship and rejection, save from the town's mayor and a young servant girl, whom he marries. Ridiculed and abused, with practically no work, he turns to drink and one night accidentally kills his wife. The child of their marriage is taken away from him, and at this point he is left with the options of becoming a robber, starving to death, or emigrating. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dieter Laser, Marie-Christine Barrault, (more)
- 1971
The subject of this bleak German historical film is the deterioration of the life of a man who failed to adapt to the changes in Austria after the World War I. Trotta (Andras Balint) is a minor nobleman, who, along with his peers, cheers the advent of the war. The war causes many financial reverses for his family, and his marriage becomes chaotic; his wife leaves him to live with a woman, though she comes back to his bed from time to time. As conditions worsen, he is forced to rent rooms in what had been his family's mansion. His wife, who had returned to live with him during a pregnancy, leaves again, and he contemplates suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In this German tragedy, a generally humane bureaucrat ruins his life by too rigorously enforcing the rules concerning honest weight. Taking place in the years just prior to World War I, the film is set in a colorful village in Galicia, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Because of his efforts to enforce strict weights and measures, our bureaucrat has become the most-hated man in his region. His wife cuckolds him and has a child by another man, his gypsy girlfriend abuses him mercilessly and he is hunted down by those he has mortally offended. He slowly comes to realize that almost everything people do is short-weighted in some way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
- R
Producer/director Maximillian Schell adapted the screenplay of First Love from a story by Ivan Turgenev. John Moulder Brown plays Alexander, a 16-year-old boy who falls in love with 21-year-old Sinaida (Dominique Sanda). Despite a great deal of emotional turmoil, exacerbated by the fact that Sinaida has been sleeping with Alexander's father, Alexander insists upon pursuing the relationship. His sexual coming-of-age is played out against the ominous backdrop of pre-World War II Europe. The film was originally released as Ein Leibe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Moulder-Brown, Dominique Sanda, (more)
- 1967
Benno (Christof Wackernagel) is a troubled 16 year-old who is placed in a home for juvenile delinquents in this depressing drama. He is mercilessly tortured by the other residents when he refuses to tell them where he has hidden a stolen gun. His isolation ends when he is invited back home to live, but he can't along with his stepfather, whose only goals are business and social climbing. Benno finds he is just as alone as he was at the reform school as he handles the stolen gun. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helga Anders, Christof Wackernagel, (more)
- 1967
A man returns every year to visit his estranged family and friends in this drama dripping with biting social commentary. His 40-year-old buddies are part of the nouveau riche who consider themselves elite and are content to sandbag it at work. Teutonic sentimentality is lampooned, and the narrow minded are held up to ridicule. Some fine performances outweigh the passages of unintentional humor in this second film from director Ulrich Schamoni. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ulla Jacobsson, Sabine Sinjen, (more)
