Bis ans Ende der Welt (1991)

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Michael Almereyda (writer)
Peter Carey (writer)

Release Date:

25 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's 1999. The government will kill for his invention. One woman will do anything for his love. Together they share an adventure that circles the globe - And invades the mind.

Plot:

Set in 1999, a woman (Dommartin) has a car accident with some bank robbers, who befriend and enlist her help to take the money to a drop in Paris...

Plot Keywords:

1999 | Bank Robber | Australia | Road | Dream

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Solveig Dommartin	...	Claire Tourneur
Pietro Falcone	...	Mario
Enzo Turrin	...	Doctor
Chick Ortega	...	Chico Remy
Eddy Mitchell	...	Raymond Monnet
William Hurt	...	Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee
Adelle Lutz	...	Makiko
Ernie Dingo	...	Burt
Jean-Charles Dumay	...	Mechanic
Sam Neill	...	Eugene Fitzpatrick
Ernest Berk	...	Anton Farber
Christine Osterlein	...	Irina Farber
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Phillip Winter
Diogo Dória	...	Receptionist
Amália Rodrigues	...	Woman in Street Car

Also Known As:

Until the End of the World (UK) (USA)
Jusqu'au bout du monde (France)

Runtime:

280 min (director's cut) | Germany:179 min | Spain:179 min | Sweden:158 min | USA:158 min | Argentina:179 min

Country:

Germany | France | Australia

Language:

English | French | Italian | Japanese | German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | LC-Concept Digital Sound (France)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Argos Films

Trivia:

When filming ended, Wenders confessed, his producers had to literally pull the plug on him for his own good because he wanted to take the film to a conclusion in the African Congo. There, the Pygmies' "dream music" would have brought his characters and themes full circle. As it is, he hit every continent in the film except Africa and South America.

Goofs:

Continuity: When many of the European characters leave the Mbantua settlement and take a group photo, believing the adventure to be over, the voice-over mentions that it is February, 2000. Yet shortly after we see Henry Farber trying a new series of experiments on recording dream imagery, and a computer display for the current experiment says January 21.

Quotes:

Eugene Fitzpatrick: 1999 was the year that the Indian nuclear satellite went out of control.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cinemania (2002)

Soundtrack:

Fretless

A rare pleasure

In its full length version this film is a really absorbing and enjoyable piece of work. I saw it at the National Film Theatre in London years ago, expecting to find the length a serious problem but knowing that I might not get another chance.

As it turned out there were two intervals and the fact that it took a whole afternoon added to the enjoyment... the absorption drew me in.

I never saw the short version but its relative lack of success suggests that the edit wasn't wholly successful. I don't know if the long version circulates in any form these days but if the chance arises to see it take an afternoon off, make sure the cinema has a nice cafe and settle down for a unique film.