Retrospective Götz George

Consumed by the work on a role, Götz George's singular physical presence and intense expressiveness make his precision performances especially convincing. His versatility as a performer keeps him from being pidgeonholed. Even as a newcomer he was able to steer clear of genre ghettos and avoid typecasting, delivering starkly contrasting portrayals. George acts as his own stuntman whenever possible, but still manages to separate the glamorous public figure from the private person, describing his own daily life as "pleasently boring". Professional distance has helped him maintain a reputation for reliabilty and consistancy. George's public image rests solely on the merits of his acting. "The thing that singles me out, and the only thing I'm really proud of, is that I've got so far in this country without scandals, without brawling, drunken scenes or wild parties."

Götz George last recieved international acclaim for "Der Totmacher" (Screening-on-Demand, Rheinterrassen). Directed by Romuald Karmakar, this intense piece of cinematic chamber theatre provides the intimate arena for a unique, solistic tour-de-force: In a one room set, under interrogation as the psychopathic mass murderer Franz Haarmann, George has center stage for the entire 110 minute film. His virtuoso interpretation of the fervent, obsessive killer was awarded with the Golden Lion for Best Actor at the1995 Venice film festival.

Horst Schimanski, Duisburg's Chief Commissioner from the ARD series "Tatort" has become synonomous with Götz George. Despite controversy after the character's introduction in 1981 in a now ledgendary episode, Schimanski/George went on to become Germany's best-loved series star. Featured in an average three episodes a year from 1981 to 1991, the rough-and-ready alternative-lifestyle cop from the urban wilds of the coal country inspired unflagging audience adoration and was always a sure bet for top ratings. The cross-over strength of the character was proven later with the success of the feature films "Zahn um Zahn" and "Zabou". A cult figure and merchandising phenomenon, Schimanski inspired books, records and mens fashion. The character brought a new dimension to the detective genre, and not just with canned beer, fistfights and contempt for authority; when Schimanski stepped outside of the law, he did it to cut the red tape hindering the protection of law and order. The image of masculinity he presented was also new and refreshing, he was the "big brother with heart - and broad shoulders to lean on as well. Women aren't afraid of Götz George" (Alice Schwarzer). Finally, the symbiotic acting partnership with the late Eberhard Feik as Commissioner Thanner remains unsurpassed and has already secured the Schimanski "Tatort" episodes a place of honour in TV history. In 1997 Götz George returned as Schimanski in new episodes.

George's career actually began classically, on the stage. His father Heinrich George was a famous actor and director who was later artistic director of Berlin's Schiller Theater. He was a great heroic star who shone in roles like Wallenstein, Fallstaff, Othello, Faust and Götz von Berlichingen. Legend has it that he identified so much with the later that he named his son after him. With the advent of film, Heinrich George quickly became one of the most popular German actors. Fame followed his performance as the machinist in Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and he later played Emil Zola in Richard Oswalds "Dreyfus". Heinrich George's life serves as an example of how even respected artists and people of good standing can allow themselves to be used: With complete faith in his profession, he acted in films like "Hitlerjunge Quex" and "Jud Süß" in service of the National Socialist propaganda machine. He died, age fifty-three, in 1946 in the Soviet prison camp Sachsenhausen of complications following an appendicitis attack. For the young Götz, Heinrich was a towering role model. At the George's house, theatre was a main topic of conversation, and Götz George also saw many of Heinrich George's  films, so even though he only knew his father for the first eight years of his life, the impression had a lasting effect.

Götz George's mother Berta Drews, was one of the leading character actresses in post-war German theatre. After studying at the Musikhochschule in Berlin - she had planned to become a singer - she then trained as an actress with Max Reinhardt. Her artistic breakthrough came in 1931, in Frank Molnar's "Liliom" at the Berliner Volksbühne, as Marie opposite Hans Albers in the titel role. The end of the war and the death of her husband Heinrich George brought decisive changes; she had to support the family, raise the children and rebuild her career. After a sucessful return to the stage, Berta Drews also acted in films, in Wolfgang Peterson's debut "Einer von uns beiden" and as Grandma Anna in Volker Schlöndorffs "The Tin Drum" among others.

Götz George was also primarily a stage actor at the start of his career; he loved the audience contact in the theatre and had brilliant success early on: "Götz George, Heinrich's son - Thalia protect his wonderfully talented inhibition" raved the critics after his first stage appearance. Formative years were spent under the artistic direction of Heinz Hilpert in Göttingen. The young George had arrived at the theatre there with all the inherited pathos of his imposing father, and Hilpert gave him the chance to act his way through the entire repertoire. George carried on working to capacity in classical and modern works, with young directors as well as veterans. After Hilpert's death George left the company and from then on only did stage work in guest engagements or touring productions.

Götz George began his film career in the 1950's with comedies, murder mysteries, teen flicks and romances. At fifteen he played opposite the young Romy Schneider in "Wenn der Weiße Flieder blüht", and vied for the attentions of Johanna von Kocian in Wolfgang Liebeneiners "Jacqueline" (June 12th, 9.30 pm, Cinenova). Between 1953 and 1968 Götz George appeared in a good two dozen films, with leading ladies such as Sonja Ziemann, Elke Sommer and Marie Versini. Even then, recognition of his talent hinted at the development to come: In 1960 he was awarded the German Film Award (Bundesfilmpreis) for his role as the endearing boxer in "Jacqueline", followed in 1961 by the German Film Critic's Award (Preis der Deutschen Filmkritik) for his role in Wolfgang Staudte's "Kirmes". In 1962, together with Loni von Friedl to whom he was later married for close to ten years, he was awarded the Bambi prize for Best Actor for the first time.

Götz George's popularity increased with roles in the Karl May adaptations of Arnold Fanck's Austrian protégé Harald Reinl, whose Winnetou films, shot partially in Jugoslavia, created a successful genre for German cinema, and were also the start of the "European Western". Götz George played the young hero Fred Engel in these early German westerns, alonside Lex Barker (Old Schatterhand) and Pierre Brice (Winnetou). He was awarded another Bambi for the role. (Unter Geiern, June 13th, 3.30 pm, Cinenova)

Many of the films George worked on during this time were notably unspectacular, but with the part of the deserter Robert Mertens in Wolfgang Staudtes "Kirmes" he finally had a formidable challenge. It was his first leading role in a film that found international recognition, which was also one of the few West German films at the time, along with Bernhard Wicki's "Die Brücke" and Kurt Hoffman's "Wir Wunderkinder", to seriously tackle the theme of National Socialism. "Kirmes" caused quite a controversy, as did Wolfgang Staudtes 1963 film "Herrenpartie", which grapples with the perpetual German attraction to Nationalism and Militarism. When "Herrenpartie" failed to find an audience, the conservative press started a negative campaign to polarize opinion against the film. For Götz George, the two Staudte films were an artistic breakthrough. At the same time, though, German film was in such a despondent state that talented young performers had to make due with limited opportunity for development, or, like Romy Schneider, try their luck abroad. It was years before George got another chance to reconfirm his place in the history of anti-faschist film. In Theodor Kotulla's 1976 sober film study "Aus einem deutschen Leben" (June 14th, 6.30 pm, Cinenova), George is cast as Franz Lang an alias for Rudolph Höß, Commandant of the extermination camp Auschwitz who sent millions of Jews to their death between 1941 and 1944. George convincingly protrays the philistine mass murderer with oppressive coolness and rigidity.

At the end of the sixties, in the innovative atmosphere of The New German Cinema, Götz George seemed out of place in the film scene; he wasn't the lightweight type for the irreverent production style of the New Wave. He also seemed too middle-class, perhaps too traditional in his approach to acting, theatre and film to ever feel comfortable working in the realm of a Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders or Werner Herzog. A planned collaboration between Fassbinder and George "Acht Stunden und kein Tag", a series about a working-class family, fell victim to misunderstandings and scheduling problems.

And so, when German film had nothing much to offer him between 1970 and 1976, Götz George had the chance to concentrate on theatre again. He also further established himself as a popular TV actor with roles in crime series like "Kommissar", "Tatort", "der Alte" and in mini-series à la "Café Hungaria" and "Zwischen den Flügen". Television certainly saved him from a signifcant career slump during this period, but Götz George also deserves recognition for consistently breaching the traditionally ridgid career barrier between TV and Film in Germany, where an actor who appeared on television, regardless of talent and ability, was long afterward considered unviable for film. Götz George had the advantage of previous prestigeous film credits, and continued to be cast in important film roles in spite of his TV activity. With ambitious projects like Carl Schenkel's "Abwärts" (June 14th, 10 pm, Cinenova), Dominik Graf's "Die Katze" (June 16th, 9 pm, Cinenova), Frank Beyer's "Der Bruch" and Reinhard Hauff's "Blauäugig"(June 15th, 7 pm, Cinenova) George was repeatedly able to prove his versatility and break the confining mold of his "Schimanski" image.

These days Götz George can cherry-pick from a multitude of film offers, and tries to do "only what I enjoy, and what I think I can still manage physically and emotionally." George uses this privileged position to further demonstrate his versatility, to great effect, for example, in the camp comedy "Schtonk!" (directed by Helmut Dietl) about Hitler's "legendary diaries", which was awarded the German Film Award (Film Strip in Gold). In 1996, again under the direction of Helmut Dietl, George and the "closed shop" of German film elite made a comic attempt at the movie business in the voyeristic satire "Rossini - oder die mörderische Frage, wer mit wem schlief" (Screening-on-demand, Rheinterrassen). Arriving as inspired cinema in a climate of imitation, it was heaped with honours.

Götz George returns to television - albeit of exclusive calibre - with "The Bubi Scholz Story". The bio-pic of the former European Boxing Champion and 1960's working-class hero is a high budget production with a first-rate cast. George has another showcase for his acting skill in the role of Scholz as he's on the way down: Drunken excesses, raging tirades and the descent into total helplessness - who else could better capture the physical presence and dynamics of the ageing Bubi Scholz than Götz George? The Cologne Conference is very pleased to be able to present the movie-house premiere (Top Ten series) of this extraordinary MTM West Film & Television Production (Co-produced by Premiere Productions, WDR, NDR, SFB and BR).

Because the television actor Götz George has been the subject of numerous honours and tributes in recent years Cologne Conference has chosen to concentrate on George's film work in its retrospective. This journey through the decades is meant to give a good overall impression of the career path and the versatility of this extraordinary actor. The focus of the screenings is on Götz George's early movie work ("Jacqueline") and seldom seen films ("Blauäugig") rather than well known recent big successes like "Der Totmacher" or "Rossini", which can also be seen, however, in the Screenings-on-demand section.

Our thanks to all the production companies, distributors and print labs for providing us with film prints as to Götz George's agent, Mrs. Ute Nicolai, Mr. Heiko R. Blum and the Filmmuseum Potsdam and Filmmuseum Düsseldorf for their friendly support in putting together the program.