THE FILMS OF ROLAND KLICK
THE FILMS OF ROLAND KLICK
All January! • U.S. Premieres, Surprises and More!
EXTENDED INTO FEBRUARY FOR TWO MORE SCREENINGS!
All January Spectacle spotlights the gritty, kinetic, visionary cinema of Roland Klick. The winner of many national film awards, Klick was nevertheless marginalized by the critical establishment and his contemporaries in the Young German Cinema, who felt his audience-oriented entertainment and box office successes jeopardized government film subsidies. Written out of history, largely overlooked in Germany and all but completely unknown abroad, Klick’s dystopian punk rock odysseys, acid-drenched westerns and youth-oriented crime dramas are ripe for rediscovery. Since 1983’s White Star, Klick has only released one subsequent feature dating 1992. This retrospective, arranged with the generous cooperation of distributor Filmgalerie 451, includes four of Roland Klick’s seven features along with many other shorts and surprises.Special thanks to Frieder Schlaich, Alex Jovanovic and Filmgalerie 451
WHITE STAR
1983. 92 min. West Germany. In English.Saturday, Febuary 11 at 9:30 pm
Friday, Febuary 17 at 7:30 pmBlue Velvet? In the words of Frank Booth: Fuck That Shit. Dennis Hopper gives his most terrifying, unhinged performance as a seedy concert promoter in this dystopian synthpunk behind-the-scenes musical. Made while Hopper was at the rock-bottom throes of addiction, White Star leads one to truly fear for the actor’s fellow performers, as if he’ll break role, snap their necks, and charge out of the screen at any moment. Spectacle shows an uncut version previously mangled for stateside non-release. This is a must-see.
1983. 92 min. West Germany. In English.Saturday, Febuary 11 at 9:30 pm
Friday, Febuary 17 at 7:30 pmBlue Velvet? In the words of Frank Booth: Fuck That Shit. Dennis Hopper gives his most terrifying, unhinged performance as a seedy concert promoter in this dystopian synthpunk behind-the-scenes musical. Made while Hopper was at the rock-bottom throes of addiction, White Star leads one to truly fear for the actor’s fellow performers, as if he’ll break role, snap their necks, and charge out of the screen at any moment. Spectacle shows an uncut version previously mangled for stateside non-release. This is a must-see.
SUPERMARKT
1974. 80 min. West Germany. In German with English subtitles.
1974. 80 min. West Germany. In German with English subtitles.
Sunday, Febuary 12 at 9:30 pm
Friday, Febuary 17 at 9:30 pm
Gaining traction as a cult film among upcoming German filmmakers and writers, Roland Klick’s masterpiece Supermarkt follows a young hood through the gutters of the Reeperbahn as he and other smalltime crooks plot a shopping mall heist to escape their welfare existence. Pitched somewhere between Rebel Without a Cause and Taxi Driver, this hugely stylized movie includes stunning photography by Jost Vacano (Das Boot, nearly all Paul Verhoeven movies), who essentially invented the Steadicam on Supermarkt’s set—two years later Garrett Brown would introduce his own similar version on Bound for Glory to enduring fanfare. The proof is on screen, and audiences are treated to some richly choreographed, visceral sequences. It also features Eva Mattes of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Stroszek.
1970. 88 min. West Germany. In English.Sunday, Febuary 12 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, Febuary 16 at 7:30 pmRoland Klick’s fleabitten contemporary acid western concerns the maneuvers of three men and a suitcase of cash in a decrepit mining town. The lexicon is straight up Leone stripped to its essential gestures, iconography and set-ups with a poetic sense of landscape recalling Terrence Malick and Zabriske Point. Another way of framing it is El Topo with machine guns; Jodorowsky himself called Deadlock “fantastic—a bizarre, glowing film.” Krautrock legends Can provide the soundtrack, and their pounding toms, searing Morricone-overdrive guitars and noirish tango are a major presence. Their score for Deadlock also represents the first appearances of vocalist Damo Suzuki, who was with the band for their classic albums Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days.
Can’s Irmin Schmidt discusses Deadlock’s soundtrack with Spectacle programmer Jon Dieringer on Screen Slate
1968. 86 min. West Germany. In German with English subtitles.Saturday, Febuary 11 at 9:30 pm
Thursday, Febuary 16 at 9:30 pmA young boy covers up the accidental murder of his sister while suspicion falls on everyone around him—even as the adults begin to conveniently ignore the mounting facts of the case. Slowly garnering renewed acclaim as a lost classic, Bübchen is renowned by for its resisting neat psychological interpretations or easy answers.with
LUDWIG
1964. 8 min.
