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 | night life | dying young | west berlin west germany | 

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Taglines:

This Isn't a Story...It's an EXPLOSION!

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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

The movie featured the music of David Bowie who even appeared in the film in concert sequences. His involvement with the picture helped its awareness and box-office. Nearly all the songs on the film's soundtrack were written or co-written by Bowie. According to the film's source book, Christiane F. in real life had had her first experience with heroin at a Bowie concert and this fact was reiterated as a story element in the film.

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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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Alternate Versions

For its UK theatrical release the film was cut by 12 secs by the BBFC, though video versions were much heavier cut by over 5 minutes with all of the edits made to scenes showing the preparation and injection of heroin. The cuts were fully waived in 2000 for all video and DVD releases.

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Connections

Referenced in Tarnation (2003)

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Soundtracks

Stay
Written by David Bowie
RCA Records
Courtesy Rolf-Budde-Verlag, Berlin

User Reviews

We, the children from Bahnhof Zoo

For a long time I had misgivings about this film. I thought that it would be like so many others, where a teenager enters in the world of drugs, lives through hell and, in the end, returns safely to the womb of family and society - in-between we are treated with edifying speeches delivered by mothers and/or fathers, with rights to tears and lots of sentimentality.

This is not the case of "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo". The film is direct and honest and shows the events as viewed by the children from Bahnhof Zoo. The film tries to show things as they are and be objective. No moralist speeches are given. That's why the film has such power. The first film scenes show Berlin in the night. The main attraction for Christiane and friends is the discotheque Sound. It all begins there.

There are many night scenes in the film. The days look dark and gloomy. In the beginning their meeting place is Sound, but as the road becomes narrower, there remains only one place for them: The Bahnhof Zoo. Days and nights seem to merge more and more. And the day resembles more and more the night. A long night, a short step can lead to eternal night.

This stuff almost begs to be treated in a sensationalistic way. But "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" is a serious film. It deserves to be seen.