Spur der Steine (1966)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Frank Beyer

Writers:

Erik Neutsch (novel)
Karl-Georg Egel (writer) ...

Release Date:

15 June 1966 (East Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

A film about living and working conditons in the GDR of the 60's Includes a little lovestory of course.

Plot Keywords:

Work | Gdr | Building Construction | Drinking | Dancing

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Manfred Krug	...	Hannes Balla
Krystyna Stypulkowska	...	Kati Klee
Jutta Hoffmann	...	German Voice of Kati Klee
Eberhard Esche	...	Werner Horrath
Johannes Wieke	...	Hermann Jansen
Walter Richter-Reinick	...	Richard Trutmann
Hans-Peter Minetti	...	Heinz Bleibtreu
Walter Jupé	...	Hesselbarth
Ingeborg Schumacher	...	Marianne Horrath
Gertrud Brendler	...	Frau Schickedanz
Helga Göring	...	Elli
Erich Mirek	...	Oswald Ziemer
Fred Ludwig	...	Wolbig
Helmut Schreiber	...	Elsbers
Erik Veldre	...	Dieter Jochmann

Also Known As:

The Trace of Stones (International: English title)
Traces of Stones (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

East Germany:139 min | Germany:129 min

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White (Orwocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

East Germany:(Banned) | UK:15 | West Germany:6 (f)

Filming Locations:

Coswig, Saxony, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

While at first the film was broadly advertised in East-Germany and drew great anticipation, opposition within the Ministry of Culture (Ministerium für Kultur) grew shortly before its planned release. Posters and other advertisements were removed without further ado, and the conservative newspaper Neues Deutschland was the only one allowed to publish a review. The film's premiere (the show was sold out and Frank Bayer and the main cast were present) was disrupted by audience members shouting denounciations during the screening. The same was true for most of the screenings in Berlin and other cities. It is believed that these protests were secretly organized by the Ministry of Culture, as they resulted in the film disappearing from theaters within three days. "Spur der Steine" was classified as hostile to the party (the SED) and to East-Germany as a whole and was not screened again until October 1989.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Die Nacht der Regisseure (1995)

visual style!

When i studied the visual style of the film, the first thing i noticed was that it was set in a widescreen format. In order to fill the screen, the film has many scenes with crowds of people. It can be also observed that the Ballas are always in a firing-squad position resembling the Western Magnificent Seven.

Camera movements and shots are very conservative and minimal that it almost looks a documentary. It used a lot of panning and close-up shots. Over-the-shoulder shots are very rare.Flashbacks were not properly executed and the black and white format adds to the ambiguity. Overall, the film doesn't have the aesthetic appeal we often see in Hollywood films yet it remains one of the best German Films for its story and historical value.