FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE THE BEST MOVIES IN OUR VIDEO STORE! Francis Ford Coppola - Bram Stoker's Dracula 

The vampire has the greatest ego of all! Imagine; he takes himself so important that he wants to live forever. Even under the most disgusting conditions: Avoiding the sunlight, sleeping in a coffin, being feared by everyone. In Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula he directs his fist to heaven; to live forever until he recovers the woman he loves. It all begins with the tragic story of Vlad, the impaler who defeated the Turks. He victoriously returns to his lover - but she plunged herself into death, mistakenly believing that her husband had fallen. But those who take their own lives will not find salvation. Vlad feels betrayed and doubts God. He who went to the Promised Land - why does he deserve this punishment from God? Vlad turns against God and swears by Satan and vampirism. Time jump. We meet him again in London in the late Victorian era. Very important for Coppola: We are writing the era of the first cameras and cinema screenings. Coppolas Dracula plays between the London of time and Transylvania. We meet a young lawyer (Keanu Reeves) who sets out to buy a property for Count Dracula. A journey to a dark land of fear. In the deepest darkness he is led to the count's castle. This looks about the way we imagine it, or rather an inflated version of it. Here Count Dracula (Gary Oldman) has been waiting for the return of his dead bride for centuries. When the count sees a photograph of Mina Murray (Winona Ryder), the lawyer's fiancée, he knows that the time has come. She's alive again! Coppola has understood that pseudo scientific vampire films are always overloaded with pseudo-science. These are performed by vampire hunter Dr. van Helsink(Anthony Hopkins). We know the story itself; Mina falls under the Count's spell. But Coppola seems to be more interested in the highlights of the novel than in the structure of the story. His Dracula is a picture film and he wants to be enjoyed in the same way. Everything here is light and shadow. To excess. I liked that!

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE THE BEST MOVIES IN OUR VIDEO STORE! Judex 

Here comes both a super-hero film AND a work of art! Georges Franju, the director of Judex, was a member of the Cinematheque Francaise and helped hide its treasures from the Germans during the war. After 1949, he began his career as a filmmaker and worked mainly in the horror genre - but probably with the touch of the Nouvelle Vague of the early 60s! Many count Franju as part of the Nouvelle Vague; me too. Why? I think his films are always about mood and atmosphere, less about the story told. Franju doesn't like conventional resolutions and sometimes lets his films end in surrealistic images. Many customers of our video store claim that they are reluctant to watch such genres as horror. Or even the superhero genre! I have never shared this view. The serious geek loves to discover the good films in disreputable genres like horror, slashers, teen romances or even super hero movies! It was precisely in this respect that the French critics who would later found the Nouvelle Vague did some good groundwork. And Franju also films in this spirit! Genres were revived, even rehabilitated. Not always rightly, but best of all, you feel it yourself. The moment a film captures your attention, it must be a good film! Does it move and delight me? Or does it just use hackneyed conventions and obligatory scenes without ambition, without inspiration? Then it may be thrown back into the genre and does not deserve our attention. Judex is a superhero film. A dark fairy tale. Those familiar with French cinema of the silent era will notice the homage to the old masters of that decade. Here, the hero Judex (Channing Pollock) kidnaps an evil banker to prevent the head villain Diana in a cat costume (Francine Bergé) from inheriting a fortune. The good vs. evil battle revels in poetic symbolism. Watch as Judex, wearing a forbidden bird mask, creates a dove out of nothing during a ball. Judex may be celebrated as a revival of an innocent era with wonderful surrealistic set pieces. And, of course, as a superhero film.

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE THE BEST MOVIES IN OUR VIDEO STORE! Luchino Visconti - The Leopard (engl. subt.) 

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, a Sicilian aristocrat, wrote the story of an aging Sicilian nobleman from his heart (probably following the example of his grandfather). Only one person later came into question to film this epic: Luchino Visconti, his sign of a Sicilian nobleman. However, the main cast, which today seems just as alternative, was a scandal in 1963: why was Hollywood star Burt Lancaster allowed to play Don Fabrizio, the Prince of Sicily? It was whispered that without Lancaster this project would not have been financially viable. Finally the premiere of Il Gattopardo took place in America in a version shortened by 40 minutes - dubbed in English! What devil rode Visconti there? When we opened the Filmkunstbar Fitzcarraldo, you couldn't get a good DVD of the film. Since its European premiere in 1963, the work has been rather neglected. During the 80s I went through the West Berlin video stores and searched. Finally there was a good version in the Videodrom. Then the sensation: A German release with the edited 40 minutes! Exactly these you can borrow today for one Euro. If you see Il Gattopardo again, you'll admire Burt Lancaster. A Hollywood star who already made "Indie" movies before the term even existed! He plays the prince who loves a lifestyle deeply and intimately that is nearing its end. His Don Fabrizio is a natural patriarch. His authority was placed in his cradle. Of course, he is aware of his age and of certain amoral tendencies. We experience him during a philosophical conversation with his friend, Father Pirrone. Fabrizio explains to the churchman how, in the future, he will have to make compromises in order to maintain the welfare of his clan. Just like the novel, the film begins during a family prayer. Suddenly you find a dead soldier outside in the garden. Garribaldi's revolution has spread from mainland Italy to Sicily. The days of the old order, they are numbered. The woman Don Fabrizios is called Maria Stella and it is obvious that in her life her own status counts more than her person. Both have three daughters of moderate beauty and a useless son. Don Fabrizio's pride is with his charming nephew Tancredi (Alain Delon). Only he will transfer the clan into a promising future. Tancredi is a hothead who joined Garribaldi. Of course, he is not a revolutionary, but a realist who will eventually be uniformed in Victor Emmanuel's royal army. Don Fabrizio also knows about the change of times, especially about the upcoming land reform. He believes that it is time for his family to arrange a beneficial marriage. During his summer hunting season, he hears of Don Calogero (Paolo Stoppa), who made wealth through clever investments. He invites Don Calogero to dinner, which turns Visconti into a sharply observed social comedy. The nouveau riche, clumsy and abysmally ugly businessman, who believes that money gives him status, meets the old nobility. Visconti hints at many things, but doesn't get bogged down in overdoing it. We smile, keep Don Fabrizios perspective. Don Calogero's wife doesn't appear, because not representative, but his beautiful daughter Angela (Claudia Cardinale) does. Cardinale at the peak of her beauty! Of course we understand why Tancredi falls in love immediately. Don Fabrizio, for his part, is enchanted and so it may come to an arranged marriage between Tancredi and Angela. Any other director would have made it a soap opera, but not Visconti. In the foreground is Fabrizio's concern to be able to live a less befitting life in the future. Of course we understand that the nobility exploited the working class (Visconti, a Marxist, knew that as well!). But the prince is such a good and proud man who is so clearly aware of his weaknesses and has such a love for traditional life - how could we condemn him? The worries that move his compromises, we share them! But there is something else: the prince is an alpha animal, born to lead. Feminine beauty touches him (although he also tries to accept the Church's criticism of his decadent being). Angela's beauty fascinates him - as does his nephew Tancredi. But Visconti can't allow him to express his delight in anointed speeches. Fabrizio expresses it only in looks and gestures. After all, the prince was already 45 years old - around 1860 too old to put his feelings into words. Il Gattopardo leads into a 40-minute ball scene. I think in the history of cinema, human mortality has never been shown so fascinating again! Everything that occurs in the film is condensed once again in this scene - and there are no

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE Doberman (engl. subt.) 

We still rent only a French copy of Doberman in our video store. This is because the film was kept under lock and key for almost a decade by the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young Persons (= censorship). At some point Doberman was released and finally we can enjoy Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel shooting through Paris again. The plot: A criminal couple vs. a crazy policeman. There's no good and evil. Just crazy and even more insane. A black Doberman waits outside the church during a baptism. The godfather draws his 357 Magnum and aims at the animal. The dog attacks the man, the gun flies into the pram in a high arch. The baby drools and grips - it has found its calling: Big-caliber weapons to rob banks with. Doberman is actually called Yann (Cassel), his lover Nathalie (Bellucci). Their bank robberies are big screen and always as brutal as possible. But then some policemen die and Christini (Tcheky Karyo) takes care of the case. He blackmails his victims to get police information by holding a hand grenade to a child's head. A psycho cop with Nazi bias. Obviously the Belgian Jan Kounen loves comics and therefore all his protagonists are also comic characters. Too cool to be true! Of course, Kunen's friend Gaspar Noe also has a guest appearance! Finally, the label Capelight presented us with an 18th DVD version in jewelry costume, which brings tears to my eyes in the age of the internet stream. But not every generation gets what it deserves?

Filmkunstbar Fitzcarraldo 2021 inl. Cinema!!! 

Our Outlook 2021 - To give you a little encouragement during the seemingly endless Corona Pandemic! As always, we're kicking off the new year 2021 together with NOMADENKINO by spending a little money on culture. We got ourselves a comprehensive cinema licence for the film art bar Fitzcarraldo and are now allowed to show anything we like. In the form of a cosy film club, where we have a drink together afterwards and talk our heads off like real geeks about the film we've just enjoyed. And always with English subtitles! Admission is free, of course, and the atmosphere is as cosy as can be: In the middle of our film archive of 10,000 DVDs! We also offer very, very good live music! Every Thursday our house band and their Soul Jam! The Cassette Head Sessions! In addition, our Irish colleague David continues his Tuesday series. And on Sundays Gabi & Mila present their Flea Market like before the Lockdown. And Thursday, Friday and Saturday night? Well, you know...

Star Wars Ripped Off 

 In the summer of 1984, we were all waiting for a possible Star Wars sequel. It was said that George Lucas had already conceived all nine parts. We assumed that the scripts were ready and just needed to be realised. But there were no signals from the official Star Wars forge that could shorten our waiting time! We longingly played with our Star Wars figures, had learned the names for individual robots or spaceships and were well informed about the politics in that distant galaxy. In our worst dreams, we never imagined that we would have to wait not only for the entire 80s but also for the entire 90s. Sure, in 1984 Lucasfilm released The Ewok Adventure. The following year, Ewoks: The Battle Of Endor. But we understood that these were by no means full-fledged Star Wars episodes. It may even have been the first time we kids understood how to make real money from a franchise! It wasn't until 1988 that we heard from George Lucas again. He emerged as the writer and producer of the fantasy saga Willow. Willow offered all kinds of Star Wars qualities! And it was said that Willow was also to become a multi-part cinema series! Unfortunately, George Lucas could not repeat the Star Wars success with Willow. As a substitute drug, we began to watch the many, many Star Wars clones. First up was Krull, which was released in 1983 - the same year as Return Of The jedi. With scathing reviews - but we didn't care! We discovered Battle Beyond The Stars, which didn't look quite as splendid, but seemed to be set in a similar galaxy. In the same year - 1980 - Hawk The Slayer saw the light of day. A pleasant experience, as it more or less retold the Star Wars story. And in 1983, an unofficial sequel even appeared with Space Raiders! We tried The Black Hole, a Disney Star Wars imitator. At the time, the Disney corporation was doing badly, one far from buying the original Star Wars (as later happened). Even more remote seemed the possibility of Disney snatching Star Wars from creator George Lucas! On the contrary, in 1979 the traditional corporation tried to build its own Star Wars vehicle. With much, much less success! Nevertheless, The Black Hole was a big budget production after all! In 1984, The Last Starfighter followed, which was incredibly fun! It may be that The Last Starfighter is set on Earth, but this spin-off offers very early CGI effects! The years went by without us ever hearing anything new from George Lucas. Numerous Star Wars video games appeared and rumours were heard that Lucas could finally continue his saga. This promise was only fulfilled in 1999! George Lucas himself directed The Phantom Menace! The prelude to the Star Wars prequel. We no longer very young children could hardly wait and went to the cinema. But what a terrible surprise! Nobody liked Lucas Episode I! Even the animation was criticised! Fans HATED Jar Jar Binks and young Annakin Skywalker, who turned the venerable saga into a children's car race. Or had we misunderstood something? I think our memories of Episodes I-III seemed clouded over the years. Star Wars, after all, offered family entertainment from the start - which included pesky creatures like the Ewoks! Even the classic episodes were not serious. We had simply grown older and so George Lucas surprised us with his child-friendly ideas. Over the Christmas days I watched the so-called new episodes from the early 00s again. All directed and produced by George Lucas (unlike Episodes V and VI). And lo and behold! I enjoyed the three episodes! Nevertheless, the general disappointment of the three Lucas episodes cleared the way for postmodern imitators. Welcome to the year of the Star Wars bows! In the 80s, people tried to cash in on the Star Wars hype on a low budget. During the 10s, however, fans created reminiscences of the original. The likes of Guardians Of The Galaxy or Luc Besson's Valerian! By the way: Unlike us fans, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Valerian understood that the typical Star Wars swing had to be light and easy. In keeping with the spirit of George Lucas, not that of Kubrick or Tarkovsky. In 2015, the Disney corporation finally surprised us fans by concluding Lucas' nine-part saga! But without George Lucas. Exactly ten years after Lucas made Episode III, Star Wars disciple J. J. Abrams took over. Unlike the original Lucas, Abrams offered everything we fans wanted. Malicious tongues spoke of him simply producing a copy & paste of Episode IV. The artwork had been snatched from Lucas the artist, to be completed by the fans. A project that is still in its infancy. And we, now very grown-up children, who have enjoyed the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and are now eagerly awaiting the third (and all the series that have also been announced!) - we have learned one thing in the past: the waiting is always the best... If you have too much time on your hands and want to put yourself in our shoes, check out the many free youtube streams in this list. So you get an overview of the many Star Wars imitators of the 80s. A nice project! 

FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE THE BEST MOVIES IN OUR VIDEO STORE! The irony of fate or enjoy your bath  

Here comes a Russian fairy tale and a real classic! But not the kind of classic that can be found in the lexicon of film critics, but a popular classic. One that people love! No film in the territory of the former USSR is better known, let alone more popular! It is considered set that the entire population of the Soviet Union (and we are talking about 250 million!) have seen The Irony Of Fate! Every year on New Year's Eve The Irony Of Fate is shown again (only during Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign during the 80s this rule was suspended because in the film too much drinking is done). And so the story goes; Zhenia (Andrei Miagkov), a surgeon who lives with his mother in Moscow and suffers from all kinds of problems, is found drunk in the bathhouse on 31.12.. He was wrongly put on a plane from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Thanks to the homogeneity of Russian architecture, he takes a taxi and drives home on seemingly familiar roads. Does St. Petersburg really look exactly like Moscow? Well, further on in the text. In the very beautiful opening credits we are already prepared for it; we see the animation of an architectural design that is reduced to the essential by a functionary. In any case, Zhenia feels at home, opens up a seemingly familiar apartment and lies down on "his" couch. To be noted: Anyone who has ever been to East Berlin knows how uniform the socialist architecture was. Everyone lives in the same apartment, so ideal. It is now up to the woman who loves him to convince him that he is in St. Petersburg. Not in Moscow. That's the way the "right one" should be! The great love in Russian!