“My trademarks are my hat, my shortsightedness, and the third? I masturbate twice a day.”
Klaus Lemke, renegade of no-budget filmmaking, proudly boasted a veneer of Macho (just look at that mug!), though underneath his rough exterior was an unexpected sincerity. Bikers, sailors, cabbies, models—his films inject tenderness into each and every character, however rough or down-and-out they are. Klaus got the most out of non-actors and even more out of minuscule budgets; during the golden age of German television, he still managed to be ahead of his time.
This February, join us in celebrating not one, but two Spectacle traditions featuring some of Lemke’s early work for German airwaves. Bust köpfe with his answer to the biker flick ROCKER to satiate your Rockuary pangs. Alternatively find out what pre-9/11 anxiety could possibly have to do with yearning as we revolt against St. Valentine with SYLVIE. Whether you’re looking for charisma, heart, or maybe just a couple Stones songs, the Pope of Kitsch will provide.
Movies made for TV were made for the big screen!
ROCKER
dir. Klaus Lemke, 1972
Germany. 78 min.
In German with English subtitles.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1 – 7:30 PM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16 – 5 PM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23 — 10 PM
Bikers, Booze, and the Stones—ROCKER is Germany’s pre-eminent cult flick from the 70s, an homage to the groundbreaking EASY RIDER, and one of the great “dudes rock” films in the canon. Filled with crass single-entendres and trashy benders, all that pisses is gold in this revenge tale that sees a biker gang help a child avenge his brother’s murder.
SYLVIE
dir. Klaus Lemke, 1973
Germany. 86 min.
In German with English subtitles.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4 — 5 PM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10 — 10 PM
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17 — MIDNIGHT
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22 — 7:30 PM
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26 — 10 PM
World-class fashion model Sylvie’s nightmares are plagued by blazing plane wreckages. After falling asleep drunk in the cab of Munich taxi driver Paul, she awakens, beginning a torrid, impossible, ill-advised love affair with the scruff cabbie. She’s in love with him, he’s in love with the sea…Can anything good come of this?
Actress (and real life model/shaman) Sylvie Winter turns in a deeply-felt performance against the equally charismatic Paul Lys, and the on-screen connection they share rivals some of the greats. Klaus gives their chemistry room to flourish, set to the oft-repeated saccharine dulcets of the Stones’ “Back Street Girl”. Filled with plenty of “girl…him?” moments, this frenetic flick also boasts an all-time “New York” shot, one that you’ll never forget.