Christiane F. (1981)

This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 1970s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14-year-old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-story... See full summary »

Director:

Uli Edel (as Ulrich Edel)

Writers:

Uli Edel (additional writer), Kai Hermann (book)

Stars:

Natja Brunckhorst, Eberhard Auriga, Peggy Bussieck

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eberhard Auriga	...	Alter Fixer
Natja Brunckhorst	...	Christiane
Peggy Bussieck	...	Puppi
Lothar Chamski	...	Rolf
Rainer Woelk	...	Leiche (as Rainer Wölk)
Uwe Diderich	...	Klaus
Jan Georg Effler	...	Bernd
Ellen Esser	...	Kessis Mutter
Andreas Fuhrmann	...	Atze
Thomas Haustein	...	Detlev
Lutz Hemmerling	...	Bienenstich
Daniela Jaeger	...	Kessi
Bernhard Janson	...	Milan
Jens Kuphal	...	Axel
Christiane Lechle	...	Christianes Mutter

Storyline

This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 1970s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14-year-old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-story apartment building in Berlin. She's fascinated by 'The Sound', a new disco with the most modern equipment. Although legally she's too young, she asks a friend to take her. There, she meets Detlef, who's in a clique where everybody's on drugs. Step by step she gets drawn deeper into the scene.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | heroin | darkness | night life | drug pusher | 

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Taglines:

The Image of a Generation.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Distributor's official website for private individuals Distributor's official website for professionnals

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

2 April 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Christiane F.

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Solaris Film, Maran Film, Popular Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 131 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally the movie was going to be directed by Roland Klick but after a long preparation he was fired only two weeks before shooting, after a fallout with producer Bernd Eichinger After that Uli Edel came in to direct the movie.

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Goofs

After Christiane meets two friends inside of the Zoo station building, all three leave through a door looking for Detlef (Christiane's boyfriend) where the male prostitutes stand in line. One of her friends (Axel) wears flares-type light blue jeans inside the station, but outside he suddenly wears slim-fit dark blue jeans.

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Crazy Credits

"The Production likes to thank the 'Sound'-Team and determines the fact, that the 'Sound' has developed to be one of the most interesting youth-meeting points in the world. The drug-scene, as shown in the picture is not identical with that one in present."

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

Warszawa
Written by David Bowie (as Bowie)/Brian Eno (as Eno)
RCA Records
Courtesy Rolf-Budde-Verlag, Berlin

User Reviews

The saddest, most powerful story ever

I have read plenty comments above, and everything that everybody says is true. In reply to somebody who said that they had just watched it, and had been haunted by it for the last 7 hours, I can add, that I read the book, and saw the movie 18 years ago, and I am still haunted by it. The effect that this book and movie had on me, has not waned at all over 18 years. I am still thinking about it, and talking to other people about it. This book ought to be a prescribed book or set work in schools. I am exactly one year older than Christiane, so we were children at the same time. If I compare her life to my tiny little perfect life, devoid of any such threats, living in a beautiful big house, in a beautiful leafy suburb, going to a cozy little girls' school in a perfect little town in a perfect little country, my heart breaks for her, and for growing up in such circumstances.

It would be great if Christiane F would go around and address schools and drug rehabilitation programs personally. Per her website, in April 2008, she is still alive, and is not working in a full time job. I think she can make a great contribution if she would devote her time to prevent other people from falling into the same trap. Pity there didn't appear to be anybody around to prevent her from falling into this horrible trap.