The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (original title)

Director:

Uli Edel

Writers:

Bernd Eichinger (screenplay)
Uli Edel (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

25 September 2008 (Germany)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama | History

Tagline:

The children of the Nazi generation vowed fascism would never rule their world again.

Plot:

A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.

Plot Keywords:

Terrorist | Police | 1970s | Robbery | Terrorism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Martina Gedeck	...	Ulrike Meinhof
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Andreas Baader
Johanna Wokalek	...	Gudrun Ensslin
Nadja Uhl	...	Brigitte Mohnhaupt
Stipe Erceg	...	Holger Meins
Niels-Bruno Schmidt	...	Jan Carl Raspe (as Niels Bruno Schmidt)
Vinzenz Kiefer	...	Peter-Jürgen Boock
Simon Licht	...	Horst Mahler
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Petra Schelm
Daniel Lommatzsch	...	Christian Klar
Sebastian Blomberg	...	Rudi Dutschke
Heino Ferch	...	Horst Herold Assistant
Jan Josef Liefers	...	Peter Homann
Hannah Herzsprung	...	Susanne Albrecht
Tom Schilling	...	Josef Bachmann
Bruno Ganz	...	Horst Herold
Hans Werner Meyer	...	Klaus-Rainer Röhl (as Hans-Werner Meyer)
Katharina Wackernagel	...	Astrid
Anna Thalbach	...	Ingrid
Volker Bruch	...	Stefan Aust
Jasmin Tabatabai	...	Hanne
Thomas Thieme	...	Richter Dr. Prinzing
Susanne Bormann	...	Peggy
Michael Gwisdek	...	Helmut Ensslin - Gudruns Vater
Hubert Mulzer	...	Jürgen Ponto
Gerald Alexander Held	...	Siegfried Buback (as Alexander Held)
Bernd Stegemann	...	Hanns Martin Schleyer
Annika Kuhl	...	Irmgard
Patrick von Blume	...	Herb
Sandra Borgmann	...	Ruth
Michael Schenk	...	Anwalt Hagemann
Hannes Wegener	...	Willy Peter Stoll
Johannes Suhm	...	Thorsten
Christian Schmidt	...	Paul
Stephan Möller-Titel	...	Thomas Lorenz
Andreas Tobias	...	Manfred
Jona Mues	...	Pranke
Elisabeth Schwarz	...	Ilse Ensslin - Gudruns Mutter
Britta Hammelstein	...	Lisa
Christian Blümel	...	Siegfried Hausner
Peter Schneider	...	Gerhard Müller
Jakob Diehl	...	Ulrich
Wolfgang Pregler	...	Anstaltsleiter Stammheim
Leopold Hornung
Christian Näthe	...	Kommunarde
Hassam Ghancy	...	Achmed
Martin Glade	...	Benno Ohnesorg
Andreas Schröders
Nina Eichinger	...	Telefonistin
Sunnyi Melles	...	Fr. Buddenberg
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michaela Anderle	...	Sympathisantin (uncredited)
Joachim Paul Assböck	...	Günther Scheicher (uncredited)
Mathias Backhaus	...	(uncredited)
Kirsten Block	...	Frau Ponto (uncredited)
Marcus Bode	...	(uncredited)
Andreas Borcherding	...	Kath. Pfarrer (uncredited)
Leonie Brandis	...	Friederike Dollinger (uncredited)
Willy Brandt	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ben Braun	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Jo Brauner	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hans-Jürgen Brendel	...	(uncredited)
Ramzi Chaabane	...	Iraner (uncredited)
Sara Ciabattini	...	(uncredited)
René Compagnini	...	(uncredited)
Joel Cross	...	Riot Extra (uncredited)
Eckhard Dilssner	...	Horst Bubeck (uncredited)
Empress Farah	...	Herself (uncredited)
Frank Engster	...	(uncredited)
Marco Fischer	...	Hartnäckiger Reporter (uncredited)
Kim Frank	...	Dutschke-Attentäter (uncredited)
Samir Fuchs	...	Arabischer Fahrer (uncredited)
Philipp Fündling	...	Kellner (uncredited)
Uwe Grimm	...	Amerikaner (uncredited)
Andreas Haslinger	...	Partygast Sylt (uncredited)
Jan Haufe	...	Drogensüchtiger (uncredited)
Marc Hellige	...	Zivilpolizist (uncredited)
Alexandru Herca	...	Demonstrant (uncredited)
Tabea Hertzog	...	Kellnerin (uncredited)
Christian Hoening	...	Staatssekretär (uncredited)
Jana Honczek	...	(uncredited)
Norbert Hülm	...	(uncredited)
Ramona Jankowski	...	(uncredited)
Adam Jaskolka	...	Hippie (uncredited)
Andreas Kattner	...	(uncredited)
Torben Kessler	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Kurt-Georg Kiesinger	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dorothea Klinger	...	(uncredited)
Susann Klöden	...	Hörerin (uncredited)
Ralph Kretschmar	...	Gruppenmitglied Jens (uncredited)
Stanislaus Kroppach	...	(uncredited)
Karl-Heinz Köpcke	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Jonas Laleman	...	Sanitäter (uncredited)
Rene Lay	...	Heinz Marcisz (uncredited)
Robert Lehmann	...	(uncredited)
Cedric Lingfeld	...	Photograph (uncredited)
Adam-Victor Linkowski	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Carlo Ljubek	...	(uncredited)
Bettina Lohmeyer	...	Telefonistin (uncredited)
Jim McKay	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ulrich Meinecke	...	Student im Citroen (uncredited)
Smaïl Mekki	...	Abu Hassan (uncredited)
Ilker Meric	...	Israelischer Sportler (uncredited)
Stephan Meyer-Kohlhoff	...	Nachtwächter (uncredited)
Monika Mondberger-Zimmerling	...	Sympathisantin (uncredited)
Alexander Müller	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Sieglinde Oppert	...	(uncredited)
Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leon Palamarciuc	...	Zögling (uncredited)
Jörg Purschke	...	Sicherheitsmann (uncredited)
Goran Rakonjac	...	Baader-Sympathisant (uncredited)
Alexandra Rothert	...	Peters Freundin (uncredited)
Nico Rüder	...	Zögling (uncredited)
Sebastian Rüger	...	(uncredited)
Toshko Savov	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Paul Schlase	...	Verletzter (uncredited)
Helmut Schmidt	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lara Schroder	...	(uncredited)
Kerstin Schröder	...	Wärterin (uncredited)
Andreas Schumacher	...	Partygast Sylt (uncredited)
Michael Schweitzer	...	(uncredited)
Paul Schwesig	...	Baader-Sympathisant (uncredited)
Dietmar Schäffner	...	(uncredited)
Esther Seibt	...	Simone - Stefan Austs girlfriend (uncredited)
Hans-Dieter Stallmann	...	Geisel (uncredited)
Julia Stenke	...	Studentin (uncredited)
Pedro Stirner	...	(uncredited)
Jutta Torkler-Schulz	...	(uncredited)
Martin Toth	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Karol Unterharnscheidt	...	Kameramann (uncredited)
Henrike von Kuick	...	(uncredited)
Martin Walch	...	Justizbeamter Stammheim (uncredited)
Nicolas Walier	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Oliver Walser	...	Einsatzleiter Schweden (uncredited)
Vanessa Wieduwilt	...	Mitarbeiterin schwedische Botschaft (uncredited)
Chris Wilpert	...	Zögling (uncredited)
Marco Winzer	...	Polizist (uncredited)
Julita Witt	...	Studentin (uncredited)
Viktoria Zavgorodnyaya	...	(uncredited)
Alan Zielonko	...	Security advisor (uncredited)
Mario Zuber	...	Fotograf (uncredited)
Susanne Zygmunt	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Uli Edel

Writing credits
Bernd Eichinger		(screenplay)
Uli Edel		(screenplay collaborator)
Stefan Aust		(book)

Produced by
Bernd Eichinger	....	producer
Tomas Gabris	....	co-producer
Manuel Cuotemoc Malle	....	co-producer
Martin Moszkowicz	....	executive producer
Alessandro Passadore	....	co-executive producer
Christine Rothe	....	line producer

Original Music by
Peter Hinderthür
Florian Tessloff

Cinematography by
Rainer Klausmann

Film Editing by
Alexander Berner

Casting by
An Dorthe Braker

Production Design by
Bernd Lepel

Art Direction by
Hucky Hornberger

Set Decoration by
Roland Schwarthoff
Johannes Wild

Costume Design by
Birgit Missal

Makeup Department
Mariam Lee Abounouom	....	makeup artist
Waldemar Pokromski	....	makeup department head
Sabine Rohrman	....	makeup artist
Sabine Schumann	....	hair stylist
Luca Vannella	....	hair stylist: Italy

Production Management
Ahmed Abounouom	....	production manager
Miki Emmrich	....	production manager: Italy
Tatjana Jakovleski	....	assistant production executive
Mark Nolting	....	unit manager
Piernicola Pinnola	....	unit manager: Italy
Cornelia Popp	....	unit manager: Munich
Silvia Tollmann	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Natalie Beer	....	first assistant director: second unit
Chicco De Stefanis	....	second assistant director: Italy
Mouhssine El Badaoui	....	first assistant director: Morocco
Lisa Hauss	....	second assistant director
Michael G. Johnson	....	second unit director
Frank Kusche	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Markus Bendler	....	picture vehicle supervisor
Tatjana Büchner	....	property master
Michael Fechner	....	property master
Dieter Klucke	....	technical advisor: sets
Aziz Rafiq	....	assistant production designer
Paola Riviello	....	art director: Italy
Jan Saße	....	storyboard artist
Daniel Stieglitz	....	storyboard artist
Natalie Strohmaier	....	assistant set decorator
Nebojsa Tabacki	....	graphic designer
Jacob von Dohnanyi	....	propmaker
Alexandra Zeilhofer	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
David Arnold	....	adr recordist
Jan Bloemeke	....	sound effects editor
Christian Bruckmair	....	adr recordist
Stefan Busch	....	supervising sound editor
Stephan Fandrych	....	adr recordist
Joo Fürst	....	foley artist
Lisa Geffcken-Reinhard	....	sound effects editor
Daniel Iribarren	....	adr editor
Michael Kranz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nico Krebs	....	sound editor
Frank Kruse	....	sound effects recordist
Clemens Nürnberger	....	adr recordist
Jörn Poetzl	....	foley artist
Benjamin A. Rosenkind	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Benjamin Rosenkind)
Fabian Schmidt	....	dialogue supervisor
Andreas Schneider	....	foley artist
Philipp Sellier	....	foley recordist
Daniel Weis	....	adr recordist
Roland Winke	....	sound mixer
Nourdine Zaoui	....	sound technician

Special Effects by
Nils Bleeck	....	special effects technician
Rolf Hanke	....	special effects project manager
Till Hertrich	....	special effects senior technician
Sylvio Lienert	....	special effects assistant
Michael Luppino	....	special effects foreman
Uli Nefzer	....	special effects supervisor
Claudius Rauch	....	special effects crew
Thomas Thiele	....	senior special effects technician
Roland Weder	....	special effects technician
Adolf Wojtinek	....	special effects supervisor: Marokko

Visual Effects by
Andreas Alesik	....	digital artist
Matthias Brauner	....	main title designer & animator
Manfred Büttner	....	visual effects
Oliver Kirchhoff	....	visual effects artist
David Laubsch	....	digital compositor
Katja Müller	....	vfx & digital intermediate producer
Paul Poetsch	....	senior compositor
Marco Ringler	....	digital compositor
Norbert Ruf	....	senior compositor
Abraham Schneider	....	digital compositor
Stefan Tischner	....	digital compositor
Stefan Tischner	....	visual effects supervisor
Manuel Voss	....	digital compositor
Tobias Wiesner	....	digital compositor: ARRI Digital Film

Stunts
Alessandro Borgese	....	stunt coordinator: Italy
Alessija Lause	....	stunt performer
Andreas Mintert	....	stunts
Mike Möller	....	stunts
Wojtek Prygel	....	stunts
Daniela Stein	....	stunt double: Alexandra Maria Lara
Eskindir Tesfay	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Matthias Bode	....	grip assistant
Markus Eckert	....	Steadicam operator
Markus Eckert	....	camera operator
Miriam Fassbender	....	second assistant camera
Volker Gläser	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Andres Lizana Prado	....	assistant camera: second unit
Driss Marzak	....	gaffer
Carsten Scharrmann	....	grip
Oliver Schill	....	video operator
Thomas Schiller	....	video playback operator

Casting Department
Karimah El-Giamal	....	casting assistant
Anne Fremiot	....	casting: France

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brigitte Friedländer-Rodriguez	....	costume supervisor (as Brigitte Rodriguez)
Genoveva Kylburg	....	wardrobe
Claudette Lilly	....	wardrobe supervisor
Abdelfattah Qzaibar	....	wardrober
Hassan Taghriti	....	wardrob supervisor(morocco

Editorial Department
Ana de Mier y Ortuño	....	first assistant editor
Andreas Lautil	....	colorist
Traudl Nicholson	....	lead colorist
Daniel Nispel	....	assistant editor
Stefan Weiß	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Joris Bartsch Buhle	....	conductor
Joris Bartsch Buhle	....	orchestra contractor
Pia Hoffmann	....	music supervisor
Jan-Peter Klöpfel	....	orchestrator
Tobias Lehmann	....	music engineer
Phillip Schulz	....	additional music recordist
Roman Vinuesa	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Najma El Mahjoub	....	transportation coordinator
Ed Lee	....	facilities driver
Filippo Zizola	....	production driver: Italy

Other crew
Mohamed Atbir	....	production assistant
Stefan Aust	....	consultant
Kristov Brändli	....	production accountant: Berlin
Houssna Choukri	....	production coordinator
Jens Enderling	....	location manager
Sabina Friedland	....	film research and clearances
Ulrich Fuchs	....	legal counsel (as Dr. Ulrich Fuchs)
Stephan Graf	....	production intern
Nazha Kajja	....	production secretary
John Kaylin	....	dubbing producer
Johanna Kohtz	....	production accountant
Christoph Lakner	....	media technician
Yasmina Majid	....	coordination
Lucia Marasa	....	set runner: Rome
Annika Nierentz	....	production assistant
Eva Obieglo	....	set runner: Munich
Torsten Oppel	....	location manager
Cornelia Popp	....	assistant to production executive
Hicham Regragui	....	location manager
Markus R. Vogelbacher	....	soundstage manager
Lutz Zeidler	....	armorer
David Riedel	....	extras set coordinator (uncredited)

Thanks
Josef Brandmaier	....	thanks: financial support [bbf]

Production Companies

• Constantin Film Produktion
• Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF) (in association with)
• G.T. Film Production (in association with)
• Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) (co-production)
• Degeto Film (co-production)
• Dune Films
• Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) (co-production)
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) (co-production)

Distributors

• Constantin Film Verleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Bontonfilm (2009) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Luxembourg) (theatrical)
• Constantin-Filmverleih (2008) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Imagem Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Monolith Plus (2009) (Poland) (theatrical)
• Movie-Eye Entertainment (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Nordisk Film (2008) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Vitagraph Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Aurum Producciones (2009) (Spain) (all media)
• BIM Distribuzione (2008) (Italy) (all media)
• Constantin Film Verleih (2009) (Germany) (DVD) (also Blu-ray)
• Filmes Lusomundo (2009) (Portugal) (all media)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2009) (Italy) (DVD)
• Highlight Film (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• MPI Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• MPI Home Video (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (UK) (DVD)
• Movie Bank (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Nordisk Film Video (2009) (Denmark) (all media)
• Nordisk Film (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2009) (Norway) (all media)
• Nordisk Film (2008) (Sweden) (all media)
• Odeon (2008) (Greece) (all media)
• Seven7 (2009) (France) (DVD) (also Blu-ray)
• Video Vision Entertainment (2009) (South Africa) (all media)

Special Effects

• Die Nefzers

Other Companies

• Bayerischer Banken-Fonds  funding
• Berlin Pops Orchestra  orchestra
• CinePostproduction  post-production facilities
• Deutsche Filmförderfonds (DFFF)  funding (as Deutscher Filmförderfonds)
• FilmFernsehFonds Bayern  funding
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)  funding
• Framepool  stock footage
• Gamp Produzioni  production services: Italy
• Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg  funding
• Milan Records  soundtrack
• Murphy PR  publicity
• Teldex Studios  music recorded at
• Translux  facilities

Also Known As:

"Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" - Germany (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, disturbing images, sexual content, graphic nudity and language

Runtime:

150 min

Country:

Germany | France | Czech Republic

Language:

German | English | French | Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:12 | Czech Republic:12 | Sweden:15 | Norway:15 | Denmark:15 | Ireland:15A | UK:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:16 | France:U | Italy:VM14 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Hong Kong:III | South Korea:18 | Singapore:M18 | Japan:R-15 | USA:R (certificate #45552) | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | Italy:T (DVD rating) | Brazil:14

Filming Locations:

Bavaria-Ateliers, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

Katharina Wackernagel who plays Astrid in the film is the niece of actor Christof Wackernagel who was himself a member of the RAF.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: For a split second during the bombing of an American military HQ in Frankfurt, a soldier is seen bleeding profusely on a poster for The Dictator's album, Manifest Destiny. This bombing took place in 1972, while Manifest Destiny was released in 1977, and The Dictators didn't even form until 1973.

Quotes:

Brigitte Mohnhaupt:Stop seeing them the way they weren't.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making of 'Süsse Stuten 7' (2010) (V)

guns and cigarettes

a few words in advance,

never could a movie dealing with the RAF reach a high average vote and lead to a general approval. It simply depends on the different emotions according to this topic. Don't forget that some 35 years ago there existed an unbelievable high support among young people for the terroristic organization whereas the majority looked with disgust at the murderers.

So watching this movie is simply not more than a check whether the director catches the already existing attitude towards this controversial topic. In my eyes, the optimal way to direct this movie would have to treat it like a partly documentary with many original television scenes connected with the presentation of the characters. What I was interested in was whether this movie is able to place the viewer inside the plot, whether one could feel the atmosphere of this extreme period of German history and whether the presented scenes are consistent with the documents one had seen in television reports before. The movie has definitely come up to my expectations. The characters are just brilliant. It is some of the best German work of acting I have ever seen, every single scenes is so consistent with the picture one has in mind. Almost nothing stays from the line of the real development. The only thing I criticize is the selection of scenes. Maybe, the killers are given to much space to call out their misplaced ideology but neither is their behavior justified nor is any sympathy given to them. There doesn't exist any scope for interpretation about who was right and who was wrong. Furthermore, a few more words could have been given to the victims of the RAF whose assassinations are presented very precisely.

All in all, it is a shocking but good movie.