The Criterion Collection presents

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum) (1975)

“Mrs. Blum, how do you explain how your daughter has come to this?”- Werner Toetges (Dieter Laser)

Stars: Angela Winkler, Jürgen Prochnow, Dieter Laser, Mario Adorf
Other Stars: Heinz Bennent, Rolf Becker, Hannelore Hoger, Regine Lutz, Harald Kuhlmann, Herbert Fux
Director: Volker Schlondörff, Margarethe Von Trotta

Manufacturer: DVDL
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for Brief nuditiy, strong language
Run Time: 01h:46m:04s
Release Date: 2003-02-25
Genre: foreign

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A	A-	A	A	A

 

DVD Review

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum covers five days in the life of a young, mousy German housekeeper. In less than a week's time, she will go from being an unknown speck in her homeland to media whipping girl on the front page of every newspaper as a terrorist sympathizer, all because of an innocent, one night dalliance.

At a costume party, Katharina (Angela Winkler) meets Ludwig (Jürgen Prochnow), a handsome stranger with whom she develops an instant chemistry. Ditching the crowded confines for more intimate matters, the two head for her apartment building. Unbeknown to them, a number of surveillance men, tipped off by an undercover cop dressed in sheik garb at the party, are watching their every move.

Barely able to experience post-lovemaking afterglow, Katharina's apartment is invaded by an army of police officers led by Beismenne (Mario Adorf), a menacing bully of a law enforcer demanding to know her lover's whereabouts. After undergoing a humiliating experience of being forced to disrobe and change clothes in full view of the gathered, Katharina is unceremoniously paraded in front of a hungry media already salivating for photo ops and sound bites.

On the outside, Katharina's highly manipulated story becomes fodder for the tabloids. Everyone from friends to co-workers are hounded incessantly, with one particularly black-hearted journalist (Dieter Laser) having the gall to seek a quote from her mother as she lays dying in a local hospital. Upon her release following questioning, Katharina returns to a world filled with harassing phone calls, indifferent neighbors and constant attention in all forms—sympathetic friends, the curious public, police, etc—so smothering that even a casual observer can see a slow breakdown in the making.

In most cases, the timelessness of a film is a testament to its art and original vision. While that more than holds true for The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, it's also very sad to see how little we've progressed as far as press persecution in the three decades since this movie opened. Standing out in an excellent cast are Angela Winkler as the ill-fated young woman, deceptively brash on the outside while disintegrating slowly on the inside; Mario Adorf's brilliantly intimidating police commissioner; and Dieter Laser's all too true-to-life tabloid tyrant. Jost Vacano's documentary-flavored cinematography is exemplary (leading to future collaborations with fellow countryman Paul Verhoeven) with co-helmer's Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta effectively expressing the urgency of Blum's plight with taut direction that doesn't resort to over-the-top theatrics.

Rating for Style: A
Rating for Substance: A-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1:78:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: Yet another sublime Criterion presentation. Gorgeous colors, practically no grain or enhancement difficulties and perfect sharpness. Aside from brief scratches in the early going, Blum fares better than many films from the mid-1970s that have made the jump to the format.

Image Transfer Grade: A
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
Mono	German (With Optional English Subtitles)	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The natural, smooth and perfectly balanced mono soundtrack with very impressive clarity is a textbook example of how the company's 24-bit audio re-mastering techniques works wonders.

Audio Transfer Grade: A 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 21 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
1 Original Trailer(s)
1 Documentaries
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Video Interview With Volker Schlundroff And Margarethe Von Trotta
2. Video Interview With Cinematographer Jost Vacano
3. Excerpts From Heinrich Bull (1977 Documentary On The Author Of "The Lost Honor Of Katharina Blum")

Extras Review: While the supplements are light compared to most Criterion packages, they are no less illuminating. Being one that loves any kind of discussion on film photography, my favorite of the inclusions by far is the 14-minute talk with whiz cinematographer Jost Vacano. Charmingly vibrant and enthusiastic, the German cinema vet discusses key scenes in the film, stylistic choices behind them and how slight variation in color can add effectiveness.

Co-directors Schlöndorff and von Trotta reunite for a sophisticated and thorough overview of Blum from conception to finished product with fascinating insights (including a frightening real life experience that eerily parallels the film's protagonist). Heinrich Böll is an engrossing half-hour compilation of excerpts from a 1977 documentary on the celebrated Nobel Prize-winning author of the book upon which this film was based.

Extras Grade: A
 

Final Comments

One of Germany's finest (and still timely) celluloid exports gets the classy Criterion treatment.

Jeff Rosado 2003-05-22