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  3. Wild, Weird, Bloody. German Genre Films of the 70s
Ein Frau mit blonden Haaren und Vampirzähnen beugt sich über einen bewusstlosen Mann, der auf einer Bahre liegt und dem Blut entnommen wird.

‘Lady Dracula’, FRG 1978, D: Franz Josef Gottlieb, © Ikoha Import & Export

Festival

Wild, Weird, Bloody. German Genre Films of the 70s

13.–23.2.25

Iconic films from East and West Germany: For the upcoming Berlinale Retrospective we showcase the vibrant genre cinema of the 1970s.

Retrospective of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival

  • Berlinale

    Here you can get tickets for all films.

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As part of the Berlinale 2025, the Retrospective “Wild, Weird, Bloody. German Genre Films of the 70s” celebrates the German genre cinema of this decade.

Rainer Rother, head of the Retrospective and the Kinemathek, explains: “A longstanding preconception says that Germans can’t do genre. But in fact, early German cinema laid a groundwork that was influential in the international development of fantasy and science fiction moviemaking. […] Our Retrospective showcases pictures, made amid other film currents such as New German Cinema that embraced the appeal and played with the possibilities of a good genre flick.”

Ein Mann in einem Doktorkittel hält eine Farbsprühflasche und blickt in die Kamera.

‘Carnations in Aspic’, GDR 1976, R: Günther Reisch, © Rudolf Meister/DEFA-Stiftung

In the 1970s, a period influenced by the wave of exploitation films, numerous exceptional movies emerged, pushing the boundaries of storytelling and aesthetics. Roland Klick’s ‘Deadlock’ (1970) blends gangster and psychedelic late Western genres, while Hans W. Geißendörfer’s ‘Jonathan’ (1970) offers a new interpretation of the horror genre. From the GDR, ‘Orpheus in the Underworld’ (1974) and ‘Carnations in Aspic’ (1976) enrich the Retrospective. The program is complemented by works from Rainer Erler, Klaus Lemke, Ulli Lommel, and Wolfgang Petersen, who explored genres like the biker film, thriller, and musical.

Eine Frau mit großer Sonnenbrille sitzt ernst neben einem Mann mit halblangem Haar und Schnurrbart im Auto.

‘Fremde Stadt’, FRG 1972, D: Rudolf Thome, © Moana-Film

“Modern audiences eagerly embrace genre cinema and enjoy tracing crime, science fiction, horror and other genre roots all the way back to the earliest days of the form. This selection of deep thrills and blood spills offers so many discoveries, and shines a light into new corners of German cinema”, comments Berlinale Director Tricia Tuttle.

Retrospective films

  • Blutiger Freitag (Bloody Friday)

    FRG/IT 1972, directed by Rolf Olsen

    Zwei Männer in dunklen Mänteln und Lederjacken mit halblangen Haaren kämpfen miteinander.

    Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Lisa Film

    Starring: Raimund Harmstorf, Amadeus August, Gila von Weitershausen, Gianni Macchia, Christine Böhm, Ernst H. Hilbich, Walter Buschhoff, E. O. Fuhrmann, Horst Naumann, Daniela Giordano

    A bank robbery in Munich goes south, ending in a hostage taking and a wave of violence. Loosely modelled on actual crimes, this German-Italian entry in the giallo genre is an impressive blend of realistic and over-the-top elements.

  • Deadlock

    FRG 1970, directed by Roland Klick

    Ein Mann rennt in einer wüstenähnlichen Landschaft vor einem Wagen davon.

    © Filmgalerie 451

    Starring: Mario Adorf, Anthony Dawson, Marquard Bohm, Mascha Rabben, Sigurd Fitzek, Betty Segal

    Under the torrid sun in an abandoned desert settlement, there is a lethal battle over the spoils of a bank robbery. This heady spaghetti western features psychedelic music by Cologne kraut-rockers Can.

  • Einer von uns beiden (One or the Other of Us)

    FRG 1974, directed by Wolfgang Petersen

    Ein Mann in einer Küche blickt auf das Bein einer Frau in Strapsen, während die zweite Frau neben ihm auf den Boden schaut.

    Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Beta Film

    Starring: Klaus Schwarzkopf, Elke Sommer, Jürgen Prochnow, Ulla Jacobsson, Kristina Nel, Anita Kupsch, Walter Gross, Fritz Tillmann, Berta Drews, Claus Theo Gärtner. Otto Sander, Tilo Prückner

    A broke drop-out blackmails a sociology professor after discovering that his dissertation was a plagiary. This action-packed film version of a “sociological thriller” set in Berlin was Wolfgang Petersen’s lead-in to a Hollywood career.

  • Fleisch (Spare Parts)

    FRG 1979, directed by Rainer Erler

     Vier Personen stehen um einen verletzten Mann auf dem Boden, hinter ihnen ist eine Ambulanz.

    © Fernsehjuwelen

    Starring: Jutta Speidel, Wolf Roth, Herbert Herrmann, Charlotte Kerr, Christoph Lindert, Bob Cunningham, Tedi Altice, Ben Zeller, Ronnie Lee Williams

    While a German couple is on their honeymoon in the USA, the groom is kidnapped by an ambulance crew. His bride joins forces with a trucker to try to find him. This 1979 thriller about the illicit trade in human organs triggered fierce debate at the time.

  • Fremde Stadt (Strange City)

    FRG 1972, directed by Rudolf Thome

    Eine Frau mit großer Sonnenbrille sitzt ernst neben einem Mann mit halblangem Haar und Schnurrbart im Auto.

    Quelle: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Moana-Film

    Starring: Roger Fritz, Karin Thome, Peter Moland, Werner Umberg, Eva Kinsky, Georg Marischka, Martin Sperr, Christian Friedel, Stefan Abendroth, Hans Noever

    A bank robber comes to Munich to ask for his ex-wife’s help in “laundering” the stolen money. He is soon running from a detective and a gaggle of other greedy pursuers. A black-and-white thriller in CinemaScope inspired by American B pictures.

  • Hut ab, wenn du küsst! (Hat Off When You Kiss!)

    GDR 1971, directed by Rolf Losansky

     Ein Mann und eine Frau, die auf dem Boden sitzt, reparieren einen Autoreifen.

    © DEFA-Stiftung, © Richard Günther, Alexander Schittko

    Starring: Angelika Waller, Alexander Lang, Rolf Römer, Günter Junghans, Günther Grabbert, Peter Borgelt, Gerd E. Schäfer, Bruno Carstens, Johannes Maus, Carola Braunbock, Helga Sasse, Heide Kipp, Ulrich Anschütz

    A macho engineer has a problem with his girlfriend working as an auto mechanic. She sets about arousing the jealousy of her old-fashioned boyfriend. Set at East Germany’s Leipzig Trade Fair, this musical rom-com struck a blow for the Working Woman.

  • Jonathan

    FRG 1970, directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer

    In einem schlossartigen Saal knien Frauen und Männer in roten und weißen Gewändern auf einem Marmorboden, während Männer in Schwarz mit Hüten im Hintergrund stehen.

    Source: Kinowelt, © Beta Film

    Starring: Jürgen Jung, Hans-Dieter Jendreyko, Paul Albert Krumm, Hertha von Walther, Oskar von Schab, Ilona Grübel, Sophie Strehlow, Gaby Herbst, Arthur Brauss

    A blood-thirsty aristocrat and his followers terrorise an entire region – until the people rise up against them. A visually rich, fascinating genre film that echoes the politics of its time. Based loosely on leitmotifs from Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’.

  • Lady Dracula

    FRG 1978, directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb

    Eine Frau mit blonden Haaren und Vampirzähnen beugt sich über einen Mann in einem OP-Saal und faucht in die Kamera.

    Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © IKOHA Import & Export

    Starring: Evelyne Kraft, Brad Harris, Theo Lingen, Eddi Arent, Stephen Boyd, Christine Buchegger, Walter Giller, Klaus Höhne, Roberto Blanco, Marion Kracht, Heinz Reincke, Christine Schuberth, Herbert Fux

    A vampire re-awakes 100 years after she was bitten by Count Dracula. The title character finds work, and victims, as a mortuary cosmetologist in Vienna. The film is a genre mix of horror, thriller, and crude jokes that sported a notable cast for the time.

  • Mädchen mit Gewalt (The Brutes)

    FRG 1970, directed by Roger Fritz

    Eine Frau mit zerwuscheltem Pony schaut mit schmerzerfülltem Gesicht in die Ferne.

    © 1970 Roger Fritz Filmproduktion, 2025 Subkultur-Entertainment

    Starring: Helga Anders, Klaus Löwitsch, Arthur Brauss, Rolf Zacher, Monika Zinnenberg

    A young woman is raped in the night. But her real nightmare begins the following morning. A stark “rape without revenge” exploitation film that is a disquieting thematic exploration of toxic systemic masculinity.

  • Männer sind zum Lieben da (The Girls from Atlantis)

    FRG 1970, directed by Eckhart Schmidt

    Ein Mann hört einer Frau zu, die mit Daumen und Zeigefinger etwas Kleines anzeigt.

    Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Raphaela-Film

    Starring: Isi ter Jung, Horst Letten, Barbara Capell, Diana Nisbeth, Marianne Sock, Les Olvedi, Arthur Brauss, Jürgen Michaelis, Peter Przygodda, Wilhelm Roth

    A group of women from an alien realm shrink men by sleeping with them, and then kidnap them as sex slaves. But one of them falls in love with her victim. An enchanting satire of the soft-sex film genre with burlesque and poetic elements.

  • Nelken in Aspik (Carnations in Aspic)

    GDR 1976, directed by Günter Reisch

    Ein Mann in einem Doktorkittel hält eine Farbsprühflasche und blickt in die Kamera.

    © DEFA-Stiftung / Rudolf Meister

    Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Helga Sasse, Erik S. Klein, Helga Göring, Herbert Köfer, Eva-Maria Hagen, Edwin Marian, Norbert Christian, Winfried Glatzeder, Fred Delmare

    To hide his lisp, a commercial artist stops talking altogether. Hailed as a savvy innovator, he advances to become director of an ad agency. Armin Mueller-Stahl is brilliant in this subversive satire of a dysfunctional East German working environment.

  • Nicht schummeln, Liebling! (Don’t Cheat, Darling!)

    GDR 1973, directed by Joachim Hasler

    Eine Gruppe von Frauen in Regenmänteln und weißen Stiefeln tanzt mit Regenschirmen auf der Straße.

    © DEFA-Stiftung / Klaus Goldmann

    Starring: Chris Doerk, Frank Schöbel, Dorit Gäbler, Christel Bodenstein, Karel Fiala, Rolf Herricht, Peter Bause, Heinz Behrens, Stefan Lisewski, Horst Schulze

    A school principal and her girls’ soccer team battle it out with the town’s men’s team, which has been accorded unheard of privileges by the mayor. A saucy musical featuring snazzy choreography and the East German pop stars Chris Doerk und Frank Schöbel.

  • Orpheus in der Unterwelt (Orpheus in the Underworld)

    GDR 1973, directed by Horst Bonnet

    Männer und Frauen stehen und liegen in antik aussehenden Gewändern vor und zwischen Säulen in einem glitzernden Raum.

    © DEFA-Stiftung / Herbert Kroiss

    Starring: Wolfgang Greese, Dorit Gäbler, Rolf Hoppe, Lisa Macheiner, Achim Wichert, Fred Düren, Helga Piur, Gisela Bestehorn, Fred Delmare, Werner Senftleben, Gerry Wolff

    The philandering Orpheus is forced to go to the rescue of his adulterous wife Eurydice who has been spirited away to Hades. This opulent film version of Jacques Offenbach’s suggestive operetta is full of satirical jabs at life in East Germany.

  • Rocker

    FRG 1972, directed by Klaus Lemke

    Ein Mann und eine Frau mit Sonnenbrillen fahren auf einem Motorrad frontal auf uns zu.

    Source: Bernd Fiedler, © ZDF

    Starring: Hans-Jürgen Modschiedler, Gerd Kruskopf, Paul Lyss, Marianne Mim, Heidrun Rieckmann, Dennis O. Heinrich, Joe Ebel, Ole Jürgens, Eva Pampuch, Bloody Devils

    A leather-boy from Hamburg and a 14-year-old drifter help each other out in a milieu teeming with violence. Shot on location with an amateur cast, this down and dirty biker flick paints an authentic picture of a big-city subculture.

  • Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe (Tenderness of the Wolves)

    FRG 1973, directed by Ulli Lommel

     Ein Mann ohne Haare mit weit aufgerissenen Augen hat einen blutverschmierten Mund und Blut auf seinem weißen Hemd.

    Quelle: Deutsche Kinemathek, © Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation

    Starring: Kurt Raab, Jeff Roden, Margit Carstensen, Ingrid Caven, Wolfgang Schenck, Brigitte Mira, Rainer Hauer, Barbara Bertram, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Heinrich Giskes 

    Ulli Lommel’s film about a serial killer in the early post-war era echoes the real story of “wolf man” murderer Fritz Haarmann. A mix of Fritz Lang’s M and Hitchcock’s Psycho that follows in the tradition of Weimar cinema.

Events

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The team

The Retrospective Team

Director of the Retrospective, Artistic Director: Rainer Rother 

Retrospective Curatorial Board: Rainer Rother, Annika Haupts 

Programme Coordinator: Annika Haupts 

Festival Coordinator: Anke Hartwig 

Festival Manager: Christin Meyer 

Team Assistant: Maria-Sophie Jenkel 

Press: Silke Lehmann 

Author: Jörg Schöning 

Editor: Julian Born 

Translator: Rebecca M. Stuart 

Subtitling Coordinator: Noémie Causse 

Film Print Coordinator: Steffen Vogt

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