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:

. . . the ultimate road movie

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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

The money just ran out to shoot in China, so actress Solveig Dommartin and one camera person surreptitiously shot the Chinese scenes in the film (seen on VideoFax in Paris by Eugene) completely on their own.

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Goofs

When Bert is shown as the guitarist in Chico's impromptu band for the first time, he hands the guitar to the green-shirted man on the bridge while the rest of the band keeps playing. But when the scene cuts to a different angle, Bert is still playing the guitar.

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Quotes

Claire Tourneur: I shouldn't be seeing this.

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Alternate Versions

The 280 minute version was shown at the American Cinematheque Sunday Jan. 14, 2001 with director Wim Wenders attending and answering questions.

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Connections

Featured in Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)

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Soundtracks

Last Night Sleep
Written by M. Mooney, J. Liebezeit, M. Karoli, I. Schmidt
Performed by Can
Courtesy of Spoon Records U.K. Ltd.

User Reviews

A rare pleasure

In its full length version this film is a really absorbing and enjoyable piece of work. I saw it at the National Film Theatre in London years ago, expecting to find the length a serious problem but knowing that I might not get another chance.

As it turned out there were two intervals and the fact that it took a whole afternoon added to the enjoyment... the absorption drew me in.

I never saw the short version but its relative lack of success suggests that the edit wasn't wholly successful. I don't know if the long version circulates in any form these days but if the chance arises to see it take an afternoon off, make sure the cinema has a nice cafe and settle down for a unique film.