Welt am Draht 

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 ... See full summary »

Stars:

Klaus Löwitsch, Barbara Valentin, Mascha Rabben

1 win.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Klaus Löwitsch	...	Fred Stiller unknown episodes

Storyline

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 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 of dizzyness - Stiller cannot believe himself to be fool. There has to be an explanation for all this. Could Simulacron have something to do with it?

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Plot Keywords:

future | computer | mysterious death | cybernetics | research institute | 

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

14 October 1973 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

World on a Wire

Filming Locations:

Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 950,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

205 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rainer Werner Fassbinder was only 27 years old when he directed this him.

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Goofs

When Stiller drops Eva off at her home and then goes in after her after a change of heart he goes into the living room looking for her, then he runs into the swimming pool area. As the camera pans to follow him around the pool you see the reflection of a camera man in the glass at the middle right of the screen.

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Quotes

Gloria Fromm: What can I do for you?
Hospital orderly #1: The madman.
Gloria Fromm: Which madman? What do you mean?
Hospital orderly #2: Stiller. He lives here.
Gloria Fromm: You mean Freddy? Yes, he is crazy - in bed, if you get my drift?
Hospital orderly #1: In bed?
Gloria Fromm: Crazy. Definitely.

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Connections

References Dishonored (1931)

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Soundtracks

Olé Guapa
Music: Aari Maasland Malando
Performed by Alfred Hause and His Orchestra
(P) 1960 Polydor
Courtesy Universal Music Domestic Division

User Reviews

Not one of Fassbinder's best works, but it's certainly interesting, and the visuals are exceptional

Recently rediscovered TV film made by Fassbinder in the mid-70s, it's an early film dealing with the sci-fi concept of virtual reality. The subject became really popular in the late 90s with the mega-hit The Matrix and several other more cultish flicks like Dark City, eXistenZ and The Thirteenth Floor (which was actually based on the same novel as World on a Wire). This is notably less cheesy than a lot of 70s sci-fi, though 70s styles are ever-present in the decor. I don't know if I'd say it's as fun as some of those cheesy 70s sci-fis, though. The film is split into two parts, and, as a whole, runs about three and a half hours. They probably could have cut it down a lot, because it really drags at times. The one thing I really love about it is the visuals. It might be Fassbinder's most visually resplendent work. I doubt someone watching it on a television screen in 1973 (probably the great majority watched it in black and white) could have appreciated the gorgeousness of it. The Criterion Blu Ray is gorgeous and very unique looking. As long as it was, the visuals always kept me enthralled. Like a lot of early Fassbinder films, it's a bit dry and could use some more interesting characters - he became a much better director starting around this same time when he started embracing melodrama.