German war film challenges taboo - BBC

[Yrys]

German war film challenges taboo

He is a handsome, blond, young pilot - and he's not your typical baddie.

In the new film The Red Baron, which had its premiere in Berlin on Monday night, Germany's legendary flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen, is portrayed as an emotional,
sensitive man. A replica of the Fokker triplane from World War I was planted outside the CineStar cinema in Berlin's Potsdamer Platz, as crowds gathered for
the traditional red-carpet welcome.

Funnily enough, although the film has been billed as a taboo-breaker, given the fact that von Richthofen is depicted as a heroic figure, many young Germans have hardly
heard of him. "Who is the Red Baron?" one woman asked me.

But, like it or not, the film is bound to provoke another round of soul-searching about Germany's wartime past.

Dashing airmen

Manfred von Richthofen, who shot down 80 British, Canadian and Australian pilots during World War I, is played by the dashing German actor, Matthias Schweighoefer.

The film shows how 24-year-old Von Richthofen and his fellow airmen treat the war like a sport, hunting down the enemy in lively air-battle scenes. "It was fun," they say,
after engaging in a dangerous dogfight. The pilots, who come from an upper-class background, behave like spoilt children. They take their fur coats into the cockpits of
the fighters.

But as the war progresses, and the casualties mount, Von Richthofen's initial idealism fades. The young pilot, known as "the Red Baron", who painted his plane red, falls
in love with a nurse, played by the British actress Lena Headey.

Personal struggle

Von Richthofen gives her the credit for opening his eyes to the cruelty of war and after other pilots die in action, the Red Baron becomes disillusioned. In the film, he is
seen to be undergoing an immense personal struggle.

"Historically Germans have been reluctant and there are strong voices in Germany still saying we're not allowed to do this: a film about a German war hero"
Nikolai Muellerschoen, director

On the one hand, Von Richthofen is portrayed as a German war hero, who led Jagdgeschwader I, a German squadron of fighter planes in his bright red Fokker triplane.
But on the other hand, Von Richthofen falls in love and gradually realises that the war cannot be won.

The film, with its sentimental touch, makes you aware of Von Richthofen's humanity. The young officer falls to pieces when his friends die, he buys a harmonica for a
friend, and he feels embarrassed because he cannot dance well.

Hero of his time

For Germans, the film is controversial. "You have a completely different perspective here," said the actor Matthias Schweighoefer, who plays the leading role, despite
the fact that he used to be afraid of flying. "But I can understand that one has problems with a war hero." The 27-year-old actor said Von Richthofen was "a hero of
his time… he was a brave man."

Schweighoefer said he gave a private screening to the Hollywood star Tom Cruise, who was in Berlin last year filming Valkyrie, a historical drama about the plot
to assassinate Adolf Hitler. "We watched it together, and afterwards Tom jumped up and said, 'It's great that you made a film like this in Germany'," Schweighoefer said.

The fact that German soldiers are depicted as heroes is contentious.

Difficult territory

Normally German films dwell on the extremism of the Nazi regime, focusing on the perpetrators of atrocities and the victims of the Holocaust. It is clear the makers of
The Red Baron knew that they were venturing into tricky ground. But they claim it is an explicit anti-war film.

The writer and director of The Red Baron, Nikolai Muellerschoen, said: "Historically Germans have been reluctant and there are strong voices in Germany still saying
we're not allowed to do this: a film about a German war hero. "But the film makes a very clear statement against war. In it Richthofen says that he understands everyone
has turned this world into a slaughterhouse and the war cannot be won. "He says he's not going to be the immortal god that Berlin wants him to be; he knew millions
were lured into the trenches with such propaganda," he said.

The film, which cost 18m euros (£14m; $28m) to produce, also stars the British actor Joseph Fiennes as Capt Roy Brown, a Canadian pilot whose plane is shot down
by Von Richthofen in their first aerial encounter.

So who was the Red Baron?

The Blue Max

Manfred von Richthofen was born in Silesia in 1892 into a rich Prussian aristocratic family. He went to an army cadet school and after World War I broke out, he joined
the Flying Service in 1915. In 1917, Von Richthofen was awarded the highest military honour in Germany at that time, the Blue Max. Later, he became the commander
of the Jagdgeschwader I (wing) formations, which became known as the Flying Circus, because the fighter planes were brightly decorated aircraft.

Von Richthofen was 25 years old when he was killed in combat in the Somme Valley in April 1918, shortly before his 26th birthday. The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear.

The Red Baron received a lukewarm reception at the Berlin premiere. The film opens in German cinemas on 10 April and it will be interesting to see whether it rekindles
interest in the legendary German flying ace.

Link

 

[Teddy Ruxpin]

The film, which cost 18m euros (£14m; $28m) to produce, also stars the British actor Joseph Fiennes as Capt Roy Brown, a Canadian pilot whose plane is shot down by Von Richthofen in their first aerial encounter.

Hmmm.  Methinks that Capt Brown was the pilot who was credited with shooting down Von Richthofen, not vice versa.  Sounds like an intersting flick, though.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

I know this is a REALLY old topic, but did I just see a quick advert on TV last night that this is being released on DVD and BR effective today??? I thought I kept up with all these types of films but completely missed it. Googled it and saw some trailers - will try to find it this weekend from my freindly neighbourhood Rogers Video. Any quick one-liner reviews out there...again aside from "outside" websites.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I got it from Pirate Bay.  It's not bad and I thought better than say "Flyboys".  Worth the rental at least.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

Watched it today (it was pouring rain - what else is one to do?) Not bad but I was not aware that Captain Brown and the Red Baron met on several occasions (and as the movie implies at the end - may have even been 'friends'). A different approach to a story all have heard of but few know the details of. I will be buying a copy for my 'library'.
I think the 'escort' with the unique mustache on the battlefield may have even been intended to be a 'young' Adolph Hitler.

 

[vonGarvin]

I think the 'escort' with the unique mustache on the battlefield may have even been intended to be a 'young' Adolph Hitler.

Not having seen the movie, I wouldn't know; however, that style of moustache wasn't that unique for young Germans back then. 

 

[mariomike]

Haven't seen the movie. But, I did read this:
"In the 2008 film The Red Baron, British actor Joseph Fiennes plays a character based on Captain Brown. The film has little if any connection with historical events - for example Brown is depicted as having been shot down by Richthofen in 1916 and subsequently escaping from a German POW camp. There is also a later scene in which Brown and Richthofen crash in no man's land and share a friendly drink.":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Brown_(RAF_officer)#Brown_in_film_and_fiction

Regarding Hitler's moustache in WW1? From photos I had seen, it appears much different than the style he had in WW2.

"Flyboys":
"This film has been widely criticized for its lack of historical accuracy":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flyboys_(film)#Historical_accuracy
"Just about everything in the video-gamey World War I picture "Flyboys" rings false":
http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-flyboys22sep22,0,5824581.story

 

[wannabe SF member]

Not having seen the movie, I wouldn't know; however, that style of moustache wasn't that unique for young Germans back then.

Hitler's stache was all but unique during the war, he adopted his caracteristic "toothbrush" after the war.

The guy on the right.

/highjack.

 

[OldSolduer]

Do you mean Herr Shickelgruber?

 

[the 48th regulator]

I have watched the film, and really enjoy it.  It is very Western, yet captures the historical detail quite well, a tribute to the money invested by the Anglo Producers.

As for Herr Hitler, He wore his Wee Mustache well before the first war, as depicted by this very early Photo.  It is Adolf Hitler among the huge crowd which heard the announcement of war outside Field Marshals' Hall, Munich on 2 August 1914'. Hitler is in the crowd, listening to the announcement of the start of the First World War."

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Seems to be quite fashionable also. There appear to be a number of other gents, in the crowd, sporting the same style.

 

[Pat in Halifax]

First off, and not meaning to insult anyone out there but my statement re Brown and Richthofen being 'friends' was intended as mild sarcasm (Never was too good at that!). Also, I realize the 'stache style was in at the time(sort of like guys wearing their pants around their f***ing knees these days!!), but this was the only character in the entire movie with such a 'stache so I suspect if you asked the director, the intent was for the viewer to make a connection.

Again, movies like this, Flyboys, SPR and you know what; even 'flops' like Pearl Harbor lead many viewers to google the subject, read the truth and thus learn a little history - nothing bad about any of that. I also watched Invictus and immediately googled Nelson Mandela and the era just to learn more of the story. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one out there that does this.

Happy movie watching to all!!!

 

[Pusser]

Richthofen and Hitler were known to have crossed paths during WWI, so it would not be out of line for Hitler to make a cameo in this film.  However, the relationship between Richthofen and Brown in this movie is laughable.  Brown was never shot down and he certainly never met the Red Baron in person and had a drink!  In the movie, Brown states that he is a member of the Royal Canadian Flying Corps (at least they said he was Canadian), but such a corps never existed.  In fact, Brown was never a member of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) either, so putting him in an Army uniform was not correct.  He flew for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), until it was amalgamated with the RFC to form the RAF.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the film. 

 

[mariomike]

Richthofen and Hitler were known to have crossed paths during WWI,

Manfred? I did not know that.

Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, Chief of the Luftwaffe Condor Legion  ( Guernica ) knew Hitler. During the bombing of Warsaw, the army demanded Richthofen call off his bombers. He engaged in an extremely heated debate with the army. Hitler himself strode in on them, turned to Richthofen and said simply, "Carry on."
Wolfram was also a fighter pilot in WW1, and a fourth cousin of Manfred and Lothar.

A bit more on Manfred: "Peter Kilduff, who has written six books about the Red Baron, recently made a potentially dramatic discovery when he bought a 1932 German veterans magazine on the auction website eBay. Buried inside was an article entitled 'The Truth About Richthofen's Death - Eyewitness Account by Hermann Bink'. Kilduff translated it into English and found the allegation that Richthofen survived a crash landing only to be stabbed by watching soldiers.":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/16/military.germany