The Deathmaker (1995)
"Der Totmacher" (original title)

Fritz Haarmann, who has killed at least 27 boys, is questioned by a psychology professor in order to find out whether he is sane and can be held responsible for his crimes. During this ... See full summary »

Director:

Romuald Karmakar

Writers:

Romuald Karmakar, Michael Farin

Stars:

Götz George, Jürgen Hentsch, Pierre Franckh

7 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Götz George	...	Fritz Haarmann
Jürgen Hentsch	...	Prof. Dr. Ernst Schultze
Pierre Franckh	...	Stenograph
Hans-Michael Rehberg	...	Kommissar Rätz
Matthias Fuchs	...	Dr. Machnik
Marek Harloff	...	Fürsorgezögling Kress
Christian Honhold	...	Wärter Schweimler
Rainer Feisthorn	...	Arzt

Storyline

Fritz Haarmann, who has killed at least 27 boys, is questioned by a psychology professor in order to find out whether he is sane and can be held responsible for his crimes. During this interrogation Haarmann reveals his motives and his killing methods.

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Plot Keywords:

homosexual | prostitution | serial boy killer | serial killer | serial child killer | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

23 November 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deathmaker

Filming Locations:

Graf-Goltz-Kaserne, Hamburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

MTM Cineteve, Pantera Film, Südwestfunk (SWF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Fritz Haarmann: The boys always asked me, "Fritz, what to you put in there?"
[opens the window, walks up close to the doctor]
Fritz Haarmann: And then I always said, "I'm feeding your FISHES!", that's the way I said it.

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Connections

Featured in Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Ich hatte einen Kameraden"
Franz Baumann and Orchestra
Lyrics by Ludwig Uhland
Music by Friedrich Silcher

User Reviews

An Oscar for best actor

I really think that in this movie Gotz deserved an academy award. When you watch the movie you really think: "This guy is a fuc...g psychopath!" Especially when he talks about how he chopped a corpse and then laughs, like it was fun! He says that he made sausages out of it... And yet somehow... you see this man, who in reality is still a boy. He hasn't got a clear idea of what a crime is, or how he should feel about it. Creepy stuff and for this performance Gotz deserved an Oscar.

The mood is very creepy also. Like a true European film it focuses on feelings rather than special effects where you can see how arms and legs were chopped of. This is not a movie about the act of killing but a movie about the psyche of a mass murderer.

Somehow it's even better than the Silence of the lambs. :)

See it! It's a must!