Die Legende von Paul und Paula (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Heiner Carow

Writers:

Heiner Carow (writer)
Ulrich Plenzdorf (writer)

Release Date:

14 March 1973 (East Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Plot:

Paul and Paula have had bad experiences with love: Paul is financially well off but has lost all affection for his wife...

Plot Keywords:

Career | Children | Love | Dream | Child Nudity

Cast

Angelica Domröse	...	Paula
Winfried Glatzeder	...	Paul
Heidemarie Wenzel	...	Die Schöne
Fred Delmare	...	Reifen-Saft
Rolf Ludwig	...	Professor
Käthe Reichel	...	Frau des Schießbudenbesitzers
Hans Hardt-Hardtloff	...	Schießbudenbesitzer
Frank Schenk	...	Kollege Schmidt
Dietmar Richter-Reinick	...	Kumpel
Eva-Maria Hagen	...	Die Blonde
Jürgen Frohriep	...	Martin
Hertha Thiele
Willi Schrade	...	Liebhaber der Schönen
Peter Gotthardt	...	Musikerkollege
Marga Legal	...	Nachbarin

Also Known As:

The Legend of Paul and Paula (International: English title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

East Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

Marzahn, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Film (DEFA)

Trivia:

The film disappeared from East-German TV after both protagonists had fled the country in 1980 and 1982 respectively.

Movie Connections:

References Merveilleuse Angélique (1965)

Soundtrack:

Gute Musik auf dem Mont Klamott

Bad import

Paul and Paula go through life picking the wrong partners until they happen to hook up with each other and the legend begins. Low-budget German film has the look of a cheesy porno movie. The script is pretty standard boy-meets-girl story. The acting by Domrose (as Paula, who seems to work in an amazingly busy grocery store or something and has wild mood swings) and Glatzeder (as the goofy Paul) is not bad, considering the clichéd characters they are playing. The direction is amateurish, with incongruous shots of buildings being demolished thrown in. The soundtrack is filled with bad German pop songs, although it is interesting that they get the lyrics to rhyme even after translating to English.