Until the End of the World (1991)

In 1999, Claire's life is forever changed after she survives a car crash. She rescues Sam and starts traveling around the world with him. Writer Eugene follows them and writes their story, as a way of recording dreams is being invented.

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Peter Carey (screenplay), Wim Wenders (screenplay)

Stars:

William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Pietro Falcone

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Solveig Dommartin	...	Claire Tourneur
Pietro Falcone	...	Mario
Enzo Turrin	...	Arzt
Chick Ortega	...	Chico Rémy
Eddy Mitchell	...	Raymond Monnet
William Hurt	...	Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee
Adelle Lutz	...	Makiko
Ernie Dingo	...	Burt
Jean-Charles Dumay	...	Automechaniker
Sam Neill	...	Eugene Fitzpatrick
Ernest Berk	...	Anton Farber
Christine Oesterlein	...	Irina Farber
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Phillip Winter
Diogo Dória	...	Hotelportier
Amália Rodrigues	...	Frau in Strassenbahn (as Amalia Rodrigues)

Storyline

Set in 1999, a woman (Dommartin) has a car accident with some bank robbers, who enlist her help to take the bank money to a drop in Paris. On the way she runs into another fugitive from the law (Hurt), an American who is being chased by the CIA. The charges are false, he claims. They want to confiscate a device his father invented which allows anyone to record their dreams and vision. On the run from both the bank robbers and the CIA, the couple span the globe, ending up in Australia at his father's (von Sydow) research facility, where they hope to play back the recordings Hurt captured for his blind mother. Set in the futuristic year of 1999, a subplot about a damaged Indian nuclear satellite crashing and causing the end of civilization is a puzzling addition to the film.

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Plot Keywords:

bank robber | dream | australia | end of the millennium | national security | 

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Taglines:

It's 1999. The government will kill for his invention. One woman will do anything for his love. Together they share an adventure that circles the globe - And invades the mind.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sensuality

Details

Country:

Germany France Australia USA

Language:

English French Italian Japanese German

Release Date:

25 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Until the End of the World

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$752,856

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films,Road Movies Filmproduktion,Village Roadshow Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

280 min (director's cut) 179 min (1991 European cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo LC-Concept Digital Sound (France)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wenders' original cut for the film came in at eight hours long.

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Goofs

When many of the European characters leave the Mbantua settlement and take a group photo, believing the adventure to be over, the voice-over mentions that it is February, 2000. Yet shortly after we see Henry Farber trying a new series of experiments on recording dream imagery, and a computer display for the current experiment says January 21.

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Quotes

Eugene Fitzpatrick: [voice over] As for Claire, the next time I heard from her she was working for Greenspace. Her extraordinary vision had found her a place on their space observatory. She and her crew mates, orbited the earth, watching the oceans for pollution crimes. She stayed up there for six months. She spent her thirtieth birthday - in space.

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Alternate Versions

The film exists in three separate versions. The first is the significantly cut American 158-minute version released by Warner Brothers. The second is a 179-minute cut that exists on Japanese laserdisc. The third is Wim Wenders' director's cut which runs 280 minutes. This cut expands scenes, motivates Claire's romantic involvement with Sam Farber and keeps it from seeming less frivolous and more the expression of a wounded heart (in that her ex-lover Eugene cheated on her with the character Makiko, played by Adele Lutz), additional scenes in San Francisco with Allen Garfield as an evil car salesman which is a take-off on his character in another Wenders film) and many other expansions/additions. The full-length version divides the film into three parts, all given special episode names and all with opening credits because it was originally intended for this version to be released as three separate films. The 280-minute cut is only available on DVD in Germany, Italy and France.

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Connections

Featured in Auge in Auge - Eine deutsche Filmgeschichte (2008)

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Soundtracks

The Adversary
Written by Adams, Bonney, Haas, Hacke, Harvey, Stern
Performed by Crime & The City Solution
Courtesy of Mute Records, Ltd.

User Reviews

Brilliant!

Few movies leave me reeling, and this was one of those few. I could not believe what I had just seen when I first viewed it. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. That's just what this movie does, too... provide the viewer with an experience. The plot was like nothing I've ever seen. It was fresh, intelligent, and a bit philosophical. The characters were complex human beings with realistic thoughts and emotions. Not everything that occurs does so for good reason... just as life really is. Thoughts and fears that human beings share are presented in this movie in a truly unique manner. It often plays out in a metaphorical way (i.e. "You're on your own, Claire" = aloneness), allowing us to feel like intelligent viewers, instead of viewers that need our hands held. Every character has his or her flaws, and motivations. The movie does bog down a bit in the middle, and jumps around in an alarmingly chaotic way, but it's too realistic to fault. I found it both enjoyable, and thought-provoking. The idea of addiction to our thoughts and dreams, chasing an infatuation without knowing why, and waiting for the final curtain to fall, are aspects of the movie that fascinated me. I am not saying this as a fan of Wim Wenders, since I had never heard of him before this. I most certainly know who he is now! I had to find out after viewing this movie, which unfortunately cannot be seen in its entirety. It's brilliant, interesting, and intelligent. Great acting, haunting soundtrack, and fresh plot make this movie a real winner.