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:

Heroes Rise. Empires Fall. Legends Endure.

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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

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:

€18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,931, 21 March 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$36,569, 11 April 2010

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although this is a movie made in Germany it was actually spoken by all performers in the English language. This surprises many viewers who think it was originally spoken in German and dubbed into English later. However the developers were interested more in reaching the widest audience possible. They felt that the German viewership would be minimal and so it turned out. It is an interesting fact that even English actors in the movie such as Lena Headey who played a German nurse acted with a light German accent! Ms Headey will be remembered for her later starring role in Game of Thrones. She was born in Bermuda her father being British and stationed there at the time

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Goofs

During the film, the mole on Lothar Von Richtofen's face changes from right cheek to left cheek, then back again.

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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

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Soap opera writing & acting

Being a pilot, aviation enthusiast & someone who reads everything I can about the Red Baron and WWI flying in general, I was very excited to hear there was a movie on the cards about him. For 2 years I felt like a child on Christmass eve. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this movie. In spite of the negative reviews I imported the DVD to South Africa at great cost. I was going to see it come hell or high water. I picked it up from the post office, rushed home, popped it in the DVD player and I couldn't believe my eyes. I feel robbed. Utterly robbed! I feel like going to the film makers and forcing them to do it over. I WANT MY RED BARON MOVIE!

All this movie is, is a jump from one dramatic speech to another. And if you want to make a movie with just long dramatic dialog, you need actors who can pull it off. The acting in this movie is as bad as it gets. And the award for worst actor in the movie goes to... (drumroll) Volker Bruch for playing Lothar Von Richthofen! Basically everyone was bad. Mathias Schweighofer, Volker Bruch and Lena Headey tries too hard. They act as if they are acting. Even Joseph Fiennes, who I have a great deal of respect for, couldn't pull it off. Especially the Canadian accent. The only actor who didn't look like he was acting was Til Schweiger, but a 46 year old playing a 20 year old? More on that later.

Acting aside, lets look at the real Manfred Von Richthofen vs the movie one. The real one didn't dream of becoming a pilot as it is told in the movie. He joined the air service, because the cavalry(where he started the war) was fast becoming obsolete. He only wanted to do his part in the war effort. In the movie he loves flying, in real life his aircraft was just a platform for his guns. He didn't do aerobatics and frowned upon pilots(like his brother) who did. He always looked respectable and made other officers button up their tunics if they were undone. In the movie he walks around with unbuttoned tunics and stretched jerseys. He didn't go to whorehouses like in the movie, he didn't shoot down Roy Brown twice, there is no evidence of a relationship between Manfred & Kate Otersdorf that here is the basis of the movie. In the movie Lanoe hawker flies a Bristol fighter, in real life he flew a DH2 in his last dogfight(a machine obsolete by then). And the list goes on.

CG effects. Nicely done, but unrealistic. Af Albatrosses could fly like that they would be shooting down F22's over Afganistan. Those planes were built from wood and fabric and would disintegrate if they were flown like in the move. And it seems the movie makers didn't have the money to do complete dogfight scenes, because a fight just starts, then they jump to a speech again.

The movie also jumps from scene to scene so much, that no one who doesn't know the basic history of the Red Baron would understand what is going on.

What market did they aim for when making this movie? Its not a family movie, its too boring and complicated. Action movie? Not much action. Aviation movie? Not much flying. Biographical film? Too much fiction. Drama? Love story? Yes, but why use the Red Baron to make a love story? Why not cowboys talking to horses or poor coal miners?

What should they have done? They should have told his story. He was a soldier, who wanted to do his part in the war. He was the highest scoring ace of WW1, who awarded himself cups for his victories until Germany ran out of silver.He wanted to be the best. His career was greatly influencedby Oswald Boelce, who is mentioned twice in the movie only. He was there when Boelce died. They should have shown the Boelce/Von Richtoven relationship. Werner Voss a 20 year old pilot(not 46), was his main rival for top ace(and good friend), who died in one of the most impressive dogfights of the war. They should have shown the dogfight. They should have shown the Baron's last flight. They basically took all that was interesting about this man and made sure that it was left out of the movie.

All in all, the writers would have a great career in Soap operas as well as the actors.