Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz). And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he s only dealing with the tip of the iceberg. —MPI Home Video
Uli Edel, born April 11, 1947, in Neuenburg am Rhein, at first studied theatre studies and German philology before he went to Munich’s Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF). There, he met Bernd Eichinger who then produced Edel’s short films. Eichinger and Edel already started their long-time collaboration in Munich. After his graduation, Edel worked as an assistant director and editor for Douglas Sirk.
Edel’s and Eichinger’s first major project, “Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo” (“Zoo”, 1981), based on Christiane F.’s autobiography about her heroin addiction, became a huge commercial success. After Edel had finished several movies for German TV, he and Eichinger filmed the Hubert Selby adaptation “Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn” (“Last Exit to Brooklyn”, 1989) in the USA. The film won Edel the German film award as well the Bavarian film award.
In 1990, Edel went to Los Angeles and mainly did major TV productions for US networks. In 1996, his TV movie “Rasputin”… read more
Edel's depiction of the RAF in Germany is an entertaining work of fiction, complete with the state's seal of approval, not unlike Assayas' Carlos, or even Soderbergh's Che. Factual truth mired in a dense fog.
A heart shattering portrait of the passionate fight for certain political ideals and its sad and slow death when no one seems to care more about your struggles anymore. A sort of a allegory for the whole socialist and leftist thought that crashed and burned so violently after the 80's.
Bernd Eichinger, the German producer of Oscar-nominated films including Downfall and The Baader Meinhof Complex, died suddenly of a heart
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A calculated film about chaos and its discontents, the movie suffers from its observance of formal convention. Thus the handhold camera at the moment all hell breaks loose during a riot, and the music… read review
Rarement vu un film avec un sujet aussi intéressant en devenir aussi mauvais. Le traitement est ultra classique, se contentant de montrer des faits, sans réelle introspection de chacun des personnages… read review