Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy (1974-1976)

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by 42041

I like both films, but in your case I'd skip it.

Which films?

...the Road Trilogy?

[42041]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Which films?

...the Road Trilogy?

Stranger than Paradise and Alice in the Cities. They're quite different films and Alice is probably more accessible but personally I wouldn't risk a blind buy if you don't like one of them, they both have that sort of low-key, rambling vibe.

[antennahead]

I really like "Don't Come Knocking" from 2005, but not too many people seem to be familiar with it. Wenders directed and Sam Shepard co-wrote the screenplay. Nice cast including Sam Shepard, George Kennedy, Tim Matheson, Tim Roth, Eva Marie Saint, and Jessica Lange.

[CriterionBlues]

I love these films, but I wouldn't recommend them to you as a blind buy, Ray. Especially since you don't mesh with 80s Jarmusch. I wouldn't compare them stylistically, but the pacing is similar. If you loved Paris, TX then I would recommend it.

I'm just waiting for that Amazon price drop.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Especially since you don't mesh with 80s Jarmusch. I wouldn't compare them stylistically, but the pacing is similar.

I always get the two confused. Must be the alliteration!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

I love these films, but I wouldn't recommend them to you as a blind buy, Ray. Especially since you don't mesh with 80s Jarmusch. I wouldn't compare them stylistically, but the pacing is similar. If you loved Paris, TX then I would recommend it.

I'm just waiting for that Amazon price drop.

I didn't really dig Paris, Texas too much.

I don't know why, but I just didn't.

But I'm fascinated by the idea of 1970s European road movies.

That being said...I think I'm going to pick up The Amercan Friend in July.

Seems like a safer bet as a blind buy.

...and definitely cheaper.

[pro-bassoonist]

Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy Blu-ray REVIEW



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[Ray Jackson]

I watched Alice In the Cities last night on Hulu.

I did not except to like it as much as I did.

It does have a Jim Jarmusch feel to it, although Jarmusch would've been influenced by early Wenders...not the other way around. But unlike early JJ, Wenders likes to move the camera on a semi-frequent basis, which I like.

And that guitar theme that plays throughout is fantastic.

...music can make all the difference in a film like this.

[GxyExpress999]

[easydreamer]

Fantastic films, especially Alice in the Cities. The presense of Hanna Schygulla in Wrong Move prompted me to watch the Arrow Fassbinder box set after the Road Trilogy. What a great actress!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by easydreamer

Fantastic films, especially Alice in the Cities. The presense of Hanna Schygulla in Wrong Move prompted me to watch the Arrow Fassbinder box set after the Road Trilogy. What a great actress!

I was shocked at much I loved Alice In The Cities.

That one hit me hard.

...I can only pray that the next two are that good.

[Ray Jackson]

I watched Wrong Move last night and was not disappointed by it.

The last 30 minutes or so wasn't as good as the first hour, but I was still astonished by it.

Kings of The Road tonight.

If it's even half as good as the first two, then this may lock up second place behind The Apu Trilogy for my favorite Criterion boxset.

What's strange is the fact that I did not like Paris, Texas.

...which seems to be widely regarded as Vim Venders' masterpiece.

[Ray Jackson]

I watched half of Kings of The Road last night.

Is that the first time anyone has

[Show spoiler]gone number two in a movie before?

That is one of the most vile, repugnant, gratuitously disgusting things I've ever seen on film.

Why Vim Venders?

...WHY?!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I watched half of Kings of The Road last night.

Is that the first time anyone has

[Show spoiler]gone number two in a movie before?

That is one of the most vile, repugnant, gratuitously disgusting things I've ever seen on film.

Why Vim Venders?

...WHY?!

[Show spoiler]Pink Flamingos

has a

[Show spoiler]real pooping scene

...and a bit extra

[Ray Jackson]

Finished Kings of The Road last night.

I'm a little perplexed by this one.

I thought the first hour or so was a little boring at times.

The story, if you want to call it that, drags quite a bit.

I'm not sure this needed to be three hours long.

But it's the best-looking film of the trilogy imo...gorgeous black and white photography.

And by the end of the movie, I was strangely moved by it.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

[Show spoiler]Pink Flamingos

has a

[Show spoiler]real pooping scene

...and a bit extra

Remind me to add Pink Flamingos to the list of films I will never watch.

...along with Salo and The Human Centipede.

[bwdowiak]

anyone willing to give a layman's explanation of the differing political ideologies between East and West Germany and how the state of German cinema plays into the themes of Kings of the Road?

my response to the film was (once again) pretty much the same as Ray's.

I did like the film, but feel I didn't understand some of it.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

anyone willing to give a layman's explanation of the differing political ideologies between East and West Germany and how the state of German cinema plays into the themes of Kings of the Road?

my response to the film was (once again) pretty much the same as Ray's.

I did like the film, but feel I didn't understand some of it.

Speaking as a professional educator...



"East Germany was bad...mmmkay?"

See also...



For further examination of the relationship between West and East Germany.

[MikaLove]

I REALLY wish Alice in the Cities would be released separately. I have no interest in the other two movies in this Road Trilogy.
Do you think it will happen?
Also it's a matter of money, of course. $70 is a lot for one movie. And if the customs get it it'll be a lot more expensive. About 90-95 bucks.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

anyone willing to give a layman's explanation of the differing political ideologies between East and West Germany and how the state of German cinema plays into the themes of Kings of the Road?

my response to the film was (once again) pretty much the same as Ray's.

I did like the film, but feel I didn't understand some of it.

A short summation, bwdowiak

1. The defunct GDR (German Democratic Republic) was one of the central pieces in the former Soviet Bloc, a communist state with a planted dictator (Erich Honecker) who was basically a puppet controlled by the Kremlin.

People in the GDR basically existed in complete isolation. They had no valid passports that they can use to travel abroad. They had to apply for a permit and get approved by Stasi (the communist equivalent of the Secret Service) and then get a clearance to cross the border. This was more or less a 'mission impossible' scenario (this is actually a very good film to see to understand why) -- unless you were a communist informer, which made you a part of the same system that was monitoring you, or Stasi had given you an ultimatum where if you do not return a family member will basically disappear. So, the big picture: there was no freedom of movement in the GDR.

2. People from the FRG (the Western part, the Federal Republic of Germany) were able to openly cross the border/wall and get into East Berlin, but under certain conditions. They also had their passports and could travel anywhere in the world, just like any citizen of a Western European country could.

The FRG was a democratic society, but just like the Soviets had a big say in what was happening in the GDR, the Americans had quite a big influence on the FRG government in Bonn (the old capital).

So, when you compare GDR and FRG you are looking at two very different socio-political and cultural environments, as well as two entirely different ways of living.

If you want to get a good feeling of what life in the GDR felt/looked like, see some of the films in DEFA's library from the 1950s and 1960s. A lot of them are obvious leftist/communist propaganda, filtered by the communist censors, but there is good historic value in the material they tackle. It is probably best to pick up some of the films that were once banned by the communists but were released on DVD after the unification of Germany. In the U.S., First Run Features released quite a few of them. Some examples below:

Konrad Wolf's films are probably a safe choice as he was one of the biggest names in DEFA (and part of the system).

Preston's suggestion above is good as well, though Possession is a very complex piece of satire.

For that type of contrasting atmosphere, maybe you could still find a copy of The Tunnel. It is a recent film, but I find it to be very, very well made and sincere. Obviously, The Lives of Others is an easy film to recommend as well.

*Solo Sunny has quite the Fassbinder-esque edge



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