This 11-part series, totaling over 15 hours, presents the lives and history of the village of Schabbach from 1919 to 1982. The main character, Maria Simon, witnesses both the good and terrible times in Germany from just after WWI through its rebuilding and prosperous time in the 1980s. Rather than concentrate on showing the big events, writer/director Edgar Reitz focuses in on how those events changed one small town.
Originally shown on German television in 1984, it also played in movie theaters throughout Europe and in the US. Shot mostly in black and white, it drifts into color whenever the filmmakers choose. Unfortunately, the series has been released on DVD by Facets Video, which is notorious for simply transferring the film to disc without much care, leaving many scenes washed out.
I found the entire series engrossing, especially those episodes dealing with WWII. Reitz has also made two sequels, both longer than this series, which are available through Netfix.
No comments:
Post a Comment