Das Arche Noah Prinzip (1984)

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writer:

Roland Emmerich

Release Date:

24 February 1984 (West Germany)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Near the end of the 20th century, WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) are retired. However, certain factions plan to use a science space station as a weapon against each other. The astronauts inside will decide the world's faith. |

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Richy Müller	...	Billy Hayes
Franz Buchrieser	...	Max Marek
Aviva Joel	...	Eva Thompson
Matthias Fuchs	...	Felix Kronenberg
Nikolas Lansky	...	Gregor Vandenburg
Matthias Heller	...	Security Guard (as Matias Heller)

Directed by
Roland Emmerich

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Roland Emmerich

Produced by
Bernd Eichinger	....	co-producer
Roland Emmerich	....	co-producer
Wolfgang Längsfeld	....	producer
Hans Weth	....	producer
Peter Zenk	....	producer

Original Music by
Hubert Bartholomae

Cinematography by
Egon Werdin

Film Editing by
Tomy Wigand

Production Design by
Matthias Kammermeier
Sebastian Stadler

Set Decoration by
Annette Deiters
Roger Katholing

Costume Design by
Matthias Heller		(as Matias Heller)
Dorota Mazurkiewics

Makeup Department
Monika Schoel	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Klaus Dittrich	....	production manager
Michael Hermes	....	production manager
Gisela Hundertmark	....	unit manager
Ulrich Limmer	....	production manager
Nani Mahlo	....	unit manager
Oscar Tiefenthal	....	unit manager
Gabriele Walther	....	production manager
Benny Weiler	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Markus Bräutigam	....	assistant director
Sebastian Lentz	....	assistant director
Oswald von Richthofen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ina Becker	....	props
Cornelia Hopf	....	props

Sound Department
Peter R. Adam	....	sound
Milan Bor	....	sound mixer
Corina Dietz	....	sound editor
Hans Endrulat	....	sound
Michael Hermes	....	synch sound
Titus Lange	....	sound
Robert Wiesmann	....	sound (as Bob Wiesmann)

Special Effects by
Jacques Engels	....	special effects
Guido Görisch	....	special effects
Thomas Herbrich	....	special effects
Egon Werdin	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Thomas Merker	....	additional photography
Thomas Merker	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Annette Deiters	....	still photographer
Ernst Gschwind	....	lighting technician
Sepp Kopp	....	lighting technician
Arnold Reidelhuber	....	assistant camera
Herbert Umbrecht	....	assistant camera
Klaus Witting	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Susanne Schlegelmilch	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Reinhard Albrecht	....	production assistant
Caro Bull	....	production assistant
Manfred Mayr-Haug	....	dialogs
Michael Wagner	....	titles

Production Companies

• Centropolis Film Productions
• Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München (HFF)
• Maran Film
• Solaris Film
• Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR)

Distributors

• Filmverlag der Autoren

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Böblingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

Centropolis Film Productions

Trivia:

The most expensive (about 1.2 million DM) student film in Germany.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The space station is said to "be 189 kilometers above Earth". Earth orbit cannot be maintained easily below about 250km where atmospheric drag slows satellites sufficiently that they fall to Earth.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Roland Emmerich - Mein Leben (2009) (TV)

Catchy SciFi drama with good looks and a tense plot.

The year is 1997, and World Peace seems to have come, with most classic weapons of mass destruction having been abandoned. However, orbiting the Earth there is the European/American space station FLORIDA ARKLAB, capable of controlling the weather at any location on the planet underneath. A civil project by nature, it might be abused as an offensive weapon, since it could deliver devastation to any potential adversary simply by creating natural disasters such as storms and floods. No wonder the space station soon becomes the central point in rising political tensions between East and West, next stop World War 3 (as indicated by the German tagline (transl.) "The end of our future has already begun"). We're following the main protagonist Billy Hayes, an astronaut aboard the station, as he wades through a plot of secrecy and sabotage trying to tell friend from foe in the process.

This film is the first "real" movie by Roland Emmerich, and knowing his later works, it is, simply speaking, surprisingly good. First off, it was and is a visual treat by any standard, with well-crafted models and a set-design that made a point in trying to look as realistic as possible. At that, it is visually reminiscent of many other movies from that era (Star Wars or Moonraker, to name some), but doesn't fail nearly as badly as some of them do; it simply looks good. And what's more, this movie has a story that makes some sense and won't let you leave your seat until it is resolved. The acting is good, the characters are well drawn and partly are in for some surprise. The general mood is by no means optimistic, this is definitely a Cold War scenario, which nowadays of course has the tendency to make you chuckle, considering that 1997 looked totally different than portrayed in the movie.

Bottom line: if you know later Emmerich blockbusters such as ID4 and Godzilla, you definitely notice his handwriting in this one, and seeing the path he took from here on makes sense. But much unlike said later works, this movie excells not only in the audio and CGI department, but also has something like characters and storyline. People liked ID4 as a cineastic lollipop, but as a film, this one is far better than most