Manta, Manta (1991)

Director:

Wolfgang Büld

Writer:

Stefan Cantz

Stars:

Til Schweiger, Tina Ruland, Stefan Gebelhoff

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Til Schweiger	...	Bertie
Tina Ruland	...	Uschi
Stefan Gebelhoff	...	Gerd
Lena Sabine Berg	...	Florentine (as Sabine Berg)
Michael Kessler	...	Klausi
Nadja Naidenow	...	Angie
Ömer Simsek	...	Hakan
Beatrice Manowski	...	Sabine
Martin Armknecht	...	Axel
Karin Johnson	...	Freundin Axel
Uwe Fellensiek	...	Disco-Besitzer
Jürgen Schornagel	...	Herr Ecker
Jockel Tschiersch	...	Radio-DJ
Olaf Ploetz	...	Vorsitzender Taubenverein
Liz Becker	...	Berties Mutter

Storyline

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Plot Keywords:

youth | driving | rivalry | car crash | opel car | 

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Taglines:

Der Film, auf den die Nation wartet!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German Turkish

Release Date:

3 October 1991 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Racin' in the Street

Filming Locations:

Hagen, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Neue Constantin Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both "Manta, Manta" as well as "Manta - Der Film" were cash-ins on the then-popular "Opel Manta"-jokes.

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Goofs

The Manta from the lake has a front grille with a double air intake, so it was produced before facelifting in 1982 but the Manta used in other scenes has a quadruple air intake, so it's a newer model.

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Connections

References Lionheart (1990)

User Reviews

Fabulous Crap

"Manta, Manta" is lame and embarrassing in so many ways. What kind of derelict comes up with the idea of making a film about Manta obsessed German villagers and actually allows the hero to drive around in a pink, blue and yellow car? "Manta, Manta" is so cringe-worthy that it will give you wrinkles. And yet, I simply can't get enough of this addictively stupid, piece of crap. Even the ridiculous soundtrack is a guilty pleasure.

"Manta, Manta" represents the cinematic debut of Til Schweiger, after his run on "Lindenstrasse". He plays Bertie, a Manta driving idiot who challenges a Mercedes driving yuppie to a race, much to the annoyance of his peroxide blonde girlfriend, Uschi. Uschi, in turn, is asked to take part in a wet t-shirt competition by a Ferrari driving stranger who mistakes her for a prostitute as she waits for the bus. The plot becomes even more ludicrous when Bertie's friend Gerd falls in love with a radio reporter on an anti-Manta crusade.

This film is the reason why I became a Til Schweiger fan. He displays some of his future potential and definitely looks like a movie star, but his performance here is dreadful to the point of being hilarious. Bertie's drunken trip to the anti-Manta radio station is a fantastic low in modern German cinema. It's amazing to see how far Til has come since this trash - well, with the exception of "Driven", which is really "Manta, Manta" with better cars but without the charm.

In addition to the chance of watching a young and clueless Til, the movie also offers some great car chases and some of the worst fashion ever captured on film. I am fully aware that "Manta, Manta" is utter crap but that has never stopped me from enjoying it. Fans of bad movies and undiscerning rev-heads will be glad to have spent 87 minutes of their time with Bertie and his loser friends.