Das Millionenspiel (1970)

A candidate in a game show is hunted by three men. He will get a Million DMark, if he survives for a week; the hunters will get the money, if they can kill the candidate. The audience of ... See full summary »

Director:

Tom Toelle

Writers:

Wolfgang Menge (screenplay), Robert Sheckley (novel)

Stars:

Jörg Pleva, Suzanne Roquette, Dieter Thomas Heck

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jörg Pleva	...	Bernhard Lotz
Suzanne Roquette	...	Claudia von Hohenheim (as Susanne Roquette)
Dieter Thomas Heck	...	Thilo Uhlenhorst
Theo Fink	...	Hänsel, Mitglied der 'Köhlerbande'
Dieter Hallervorden	...	Köhler, Chef der 'Köhlerbande'
Josef Fröhlich	...	Witte, Mitglied der 'Köhlerbande'
Annemarie Schradiek	...	Mutter Lotz
Elisabeth Wiedemann	...	Frau Steinfurth
Andrea Grosske	...	Frau Grote
Friedrich Schütter	...	Moulian, Chef von TETV
Peter Schulze-Rohr	...	Ziegler
Joachim Richert	...	Hotelkellner
Arnim Basche	...	Erster Außenreporter TETV
Heribert Faßbender	...	Zweiter Außenreporter TETV (as Heribert Fassbender)
Ralf Gregan	...	Sanitäter

Storyline

A candidate in a game show is hunted by three men. He will get a Million DMark, if he survives for a week; the hunters will get the money, if they can kill the candidate. The audience of the show is watching the transmissions of twenty camera teams filming the hunt. The showmaster appeals to the TV-viewers to help either the candidate or the hunters, whomever they want.

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Plot Keywords:

money | tv show | competition | prize | dystopia | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

WDR [Germany]

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

18 October 1970 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Le jeu des millions

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After the second broadcast in the 1970s, public broadcaster WDR, which produced the film, was sued by producer Joseph Cates who owned the film rights. The problem was that WDR purchased the rights to make the film from German publishing company Goldmann, who released the book the film was based on. However, Goldmann did not own the film rights, so the licence WDR bought was void. This was confirmed by the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt in 1977. Since then the film was not shown publicly anywhere. Only in 2002 WDR was finally able to acquire the proper rights from Studio Canal, which in the meantime had become the rights owner.

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Connections

Version of Le prix du danger (1983)

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Soundtracks

(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay
(uncredited)
Prtformed by Otis Redding

User Reviews

Undoubtedly ahead of its time

This German TV-production is an impressive satire on reality-TV-shows - and made almost three decades before reality-TV-shows existed!

"Das Millionenspiel" ("The million game") is a TV-show that gets broadcast live once a month for a week. One contestant is hunted by three ruthless killers through the country, and if he survives the week, he'll win one million. The film follows the contestant on the last day of the fifteenth show, the killers always on his toes. If things go to smoothly for him, the producers help the killers to catch up with him again, and vice versa. During the climax, the contestant has to got through a tube, where each of the three killers has a last chance to shoot him dead. The whole program is - of course - interrupted by TV-spots from the show's sponsors "Stabilelite".

Even though the settings look dated nowadays, this unusual thriller still works with its issues, even though the reality-TV-show-phenomenon is almost worn out again. Knowing that "Das Millionenspiel" was made over 30 years ago, it bares almost prophetic content, which makes it even more interesting in the 21st century. Strangely, the film was "lost" after its first broadcast in the beginning of the Seventies and never showed again on TV until 2002. Also very remarkable are some of the cast: The show is presented by Dieter Thomas Heck, who himself became a very well now showmaster in german television later in the Seventies. Heribert Fassbender, who went on as a sports presenter for German TV, also plays one of the show's hosts. And, most interesting, German comedian Dieter Hallervorden can be seen in one of his very few serious roles: he's the leader of the killer gang!

Undoubtedly one of the best German TV-productions ever made and somewhat a predecessor of the reality-TV-satire "Series 7: The Contenders", which is also highly recommended and can be called "the American approach" on reality-TV-show-satire, made over 30 years later, though. "Das Millionenspiel" certainly is worth checking out, rating: 8 out of 10.