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IMDbPro

World on a Wire

Original title: Welt am Draht
  • TV Mini Series
  • 19731973
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 3h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,127
491
Klaus Löwitsch, Mascha Rabben, and Karl Heinz Vosgerau in World on a Wire (1973)
Three Reasons Criterion Trailer for World on a Wire
Play trailer1:29
2 Videos
83 Photos
CrimeMysterySci-Fi
Somewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His successor... Read allSomewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His successor Dr. Fred Stiller experiences odd phenomena. A good friend, Guenther Lause, disappears in ... Read allSomewhere in the future there is a computer project called Simulacron one of which is able to simulate a full featured reality, when suddenly project leader Henry Vollmer dies. His successor Dr. Fred Stiller experiences odd phenomena. A good friend, Guenther Lause, disappears in the middle of a conversation and a week later nobody has ever heard of him. And those fits... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
7,127
491
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Stars
      • Klaus Löwitsch
      • Barbara Valentin
      • Mascha Rabben
    Top credits
    • Stars
      • Klaus Löwitsch
      • Barbara Valentin
      • Mascha Rabben
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 40User reviews
    • 81Critic reviews
    • 76Metascore
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Episodes2

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated
    1 Season
    1973

    Videos2

    World on a Wire: The Criterion Collection
    Trailer 1:29
    World on a Wire: The Criterion Collection
    World On A Wire (Us)
    Trailer 1:28
    World On A Wire (Us)

    Photos83

    Mascha Rabben in World on a Wire (1973)
    Klaus Löwitsch in World on a Wire (1973)
    Kurt Raab and Karl Heinz Vosgerau in World on a Wire (1973)
    El Hedi ben Salem and Karl Heinz Vosgerau in World on a Wire (1973)
    Kurt Raab in World on a Wire (1973)
    World on a Wire (1973)
    World on a Wire (1973)
    Ivan Desny and Adrian Hoven in World on a Wire (1973)
    Barbara Valentin in World on a Wire (1973)
    Klaus Löwitsch and Mascha Rabben in World on a Wire (1973)
    World on a Wire (1973)
    World on a Wire (1973)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Klaus Löwitsch
    Klaus Löwitsch
    • Fred Stiller
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Barbara Valentin
    Barbara Valentin
    • Gloria Fromm
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Mascha Rabben
    Mascha Rabben
    • Eva Vollmer
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Karl Heinz Vosgerau
    Karl Heinz Vosgerau
    • Herbert Siskins
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Wolfgang Schenck
    Wolfgang Schenck
    • Franz Hahn
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Günter Lamprecht
    • Fritz Walfang
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Ulli Lommel
    Ulli Lommel
    • Rupp, Journalist
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Adrian Hoven
    Adrian Hoven
    • Professor Henri Vollmer
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Ivan Desny
    Ivan Desny
    • Günther Lause
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Joachim Hansen
    Joachim Hansen
    • Hans Edelkern
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Kurt Raab
    Kurt Raab
    • Mark Holm
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Margit Carstensen
    Margit Carstensen
    • Maya Schmidt-Gentner
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Ingrid Caven
    Ingrid Caven
    • Uschi, secretary
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Gottfried John
    Gottfried John
    • Einstein
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Rudolf Lenz
    • Hartmann
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Lilo Pempeit
    • Data typist
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Heinz Meier
    Heinz Meier
    • Von Weinlaub, secretary of state
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    Peter Chatel
    Peter Chatel
    • Hirse, secretary of state
    2 episodes2 eps • 1973
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Premiered on West German television as a two-part mini-series in 1973. The film was not seen again until sometime after 2000, when a single digital version began showing up on the Internet and was passed around by Fassbinder fans through file-sharing communities.
    • Goofs
      In the beginning of Part 1 around the 7:10 mark as the camera does a long pull away from Professor Vollmer and Lause, a crewman's (possibly the camera operator) shoe can be seen reflected in the mirrored pedestal with the bust on top of it in the right hand bottom corner of the screen.
    • Quotes

      Fred Stiller: The people in our simulation model think their world is the only real one.

      Franz Hahn: So?

      Fred Stiller: Who says this isn't also a computer? You, me, all of us, just electronic circuits. Identity unit 3,124,000, named Hahn. How does that sound?

      Franz Hahn: Drunk.

    • Connections
      Featured in Fassbinder's World on a Wire - Looking Ahead to Today (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Trouble
      Written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller

      Performed by Elvis Presley

    User reviews40

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Very interesting and futuristic film
    This quite unknown movie impresses the viewer the longer one watches! Even more than 40 years after the release the idea of powerful computers being able to influence our lives has not yet reached the reality in a way as Fassbinder shows us. The camera settings are fascinating, regarding the actors especially Klaus Löwitsch representing Fred Stiller impresses in his actions. His ability to make the viewer believe the character he represents gives his role as a quite simple looking technical director (though he calls himself scientist) a certain kind of deepness. The female actors represent very much the type of woman of the 1070s as of course the total outfit of the furniture. I was amused that the same curtain with particular circular pattern shown in the movie can be found in our old weekend house. Mascha Rabben as Eva is convincing but not comparable to the acting of Klaus Löwitsch (Stiller). At first I thought a movie of 3 1/2 hours of that kind must be too long, but I would't like to miss one minute of it. The reason for only 8 points is the virtual reality movies are not my favorites.
    helpful•8
    3
    • manfred-car
    • Jan 5, 2015

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 14, 1973 (West Germany)
    • Country of origin
      • West Germany
    • Languages
      • German
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Welt am Draht
    • Filming locations
      • Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
    • Production company
      • Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1
      • 1.37 : 1

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