The Red Baron (2008)

German biopic loosely based on the World War I fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron by friend and foe alike.

Director:

Nikolai Müllerschön (as Nikolai Müllerschoen)

Writer:

Nikolai Müllerschön

Stars:

Matthias Schweighöfer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tomás Koutník	...	Young Manfred von Richthofen
Tomás Ibl	...	Young Lothar von Richthofen
Albert Franc	...	Young Wolfram von Richthofen
Matthias Schweighöfer	...	Manfred von Richthofen
Maxim Mehmet	...	Sternberg
Hanno Koffler	...	Lehmann
Til Schweiger	...	Voss
Richard Krajco	...	Hawker
Joseph Fiennes	...	Brown
Steffen Schroeder	...	Bodenschatz
Lukás Príkazský	...	Kirmaier (as Lukás Príkazký)
Lena Headey	...	Käte
Ondrej Volejník	...	1st German Soldier
Jirí Wohanka	...	2nd German Soldier
Iveta Jirícková	...	Redhead Whore

Storyline

Baron Manfred von Richthofen is the most feared and celebrated pilot of the German air force in World War I. To him and his companions, air combats are events of sporty nature, technical challenge and honorable acting, ignoring the terrible extent of war. But after falling in love with the nurse Käte, Manfred realizes he is only used for propaganda means. Caught between his disgust for the war, and the responsibility for his fighter wing, von Richthofen sets out to fly again.

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Plot Keywords:

loosely based on historical events | prussian soldier | aviation | cockpit | pilot | 

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Taglines:

One warrior ruled the sky.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Biography | Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war violence, some disturbing images and brief suggestive material

Did You Know?

Trivia

While talking about reading, the nurse tells the Baron that she's reading Oscar Wilde and asks in return if the Baron has read any British literature. Oscar Wilde was Irish, from Dublin. At the time Ireland was part of Great Britain

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Goofs

Roy Brown is shown in a Royal Flying Corps uniform, and describes himself as being in the nonexistent "Royal Canadian Flying Corps". He was in fact a Canadian serving in the British Royal Naval Air Service, and would have worn a naval officer's uniform.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bodenschatz: Are you out of your bloody minds?
Manfred von Richthofen, Sternberg, Voss, Lehmann: [in unison] Yes, sir.
Bodenschatz: You risk the squadron planes to attend an enemy funeral?
Manfred von Richthofen, Sternberg, Voss, Lehmann: [in unison] Yes, sir!

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Book of Eli/The Spy Next Door/Fish Tank (2010)

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Soundtracks

Open Skies
performed by Reamonn
composed by Reamonn
published by b612 publishing / Reamonn Publishing

User Reviews

A treat for aviation fans.

If you're an aviation fan, you're going to love this movie. The aerial scenes of World War I era biplanes in action are truly astounding.

The lead role of the Baron is played by Matthias Schweighöfer whose boyish good looks and magnetic smile are fully exploited to make the Red Baron impossible to dislike. The character of the Baron is portrayed as a young man of high principals who struggles to reconcile his humanity in the completely inhumane circumstances of war. He is torn between his sense of duty to his country and it's megalomaniac leadership and his conscience. Now I don't know if any of that is actually true, but it makes for a touching story nonetheless.

Overwhelmingly I was aware that the makers of this movie wanted to transmit the message that Germans are not the stereotype so often portrayed in war movies as either emotionless auto-bots of death and destruction or blood thirsty hums. Is this done in an effort to raise public opinion of Germans (it is a German production by the way) or because audiences are growing intolerant of stereotyping and it's injurious, evil nature. I can't say, I'd like to believe the latter, but you'll certainly find the Baron and his fellow pilots all endearing characters and you'll be saddened when most of them meet their maker in the course of the story.

The writer – director Nikolai Müllerschön isn't very loyal to historical facts in many respects. I was particularly disturbed by the portrayal of the German Emperor (Kaiser Wilhelm) as a warmongering protagonist and Paul Von Hindenburg as a foolish smiling fat man. However, in order for the character of the Baron to shine so brightly the Baron needed dark forces to nobly resist and therefore these men were transformed to serve that purpose. I strongly advise the viewer not to expect to get a history lesson from his movie.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] (German, English) Official site [Japan]

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

German English French

Release Date:

10 April 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Red Baron

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

EUR18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,931, 21 March 2010

Gross USA:

$37,189

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,783,332

Company Credits

Production Co:

Niama Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 129 min (long)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1