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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
(aka "Messer im Kopf" or "Knife in the Head")
Directed by Reinhard Hauff
West
Germany 1978
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In the course of a police raid upon a left-wing social center, scientist Berthold Hoffman (Bruno Ganz)-there to visit his estranged wife (Angela Winkler)-was shot in the head. As he struggles through a recovery that will never be complete and tries to piece together how his assault happened, both cops and radicals will try to make political hay out of his circumstances. Charged and telling drama also stars Heinz Hoenig, Hans Christian Blech, Hans Brenner, Udo Samel. *** From a mix of classic American paranoia and German police gangsterism, Hauff weaves a disturbing and suspenseful yarn. Surviving a police bullet, scientist Berthold Hoffmann (Ganz) awakes in hospital as a stranger in his own land: without memory or speech, branded a terrorist by the police and a martyr by leftists - neither of which is 'Hoffmann' - his future depends upon retracing the events of an alien past. Shot in cold and clinical fashion, the film's drive depends upon an atmosphere so angst-laden the characters struggle for breath. Doubly disquieting - for the society it depicts, but even more for the film's own dispassion: a calculated gamble in trying to come to cool, dramatic terms with an impossibly over-dramatic reality. |
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Theatrical Release: October 11th, 1978
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
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Bonus Captures:
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| Distribution | Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
| Runtime | 1:53:46.083 | |
| Video |
1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 33,586,593,168 bytes Feature: 26,341,703,232 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.73 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio |
LPCM Audio German 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit |
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| Subtitles | English (burned-in) | |
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Release Information: Studio: Cohen Media Group
1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 33,586,593,168 bytes Feature: 26,341,703,232 bytes Video Bitrate: 27.73 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details:
• Interview with Reinhard Hauff (25:39)
Chapters 8 |
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| Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Cohen Media Group Blu-ray (November 2022): Cohen Media Group have transferred Reinhard Hauff's Knife in the Head to Blu-ray. It is on a dual-layered disc with a supportive bitrate. The HD presentation is consistent, a few speckles and true colors - if appearing slightly dull - source density the likely culprit. Black levels are pleasing enough and it's a well-rendered 1080P image. NOTE: We have added 48 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE On their Blu-ray, Cohen Media Group use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (16-bit) in the original German language. Knife in the Head has a few aggressive policing moments that come through with modest depth and a score credited to Irmin Schmidt (of legendary krautrock group 'CAN' - notable for music in Sam Fuller's Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street, PTA's Inherent Vice performing "Vitamin C" and "Soup" and in Morvern Callar performing "I Want More", "Fragrance" and "Spoon". It all sounds clear if not buoyant in the lossless transfer. Cohen Media Group have continued the unfortunate practice of burned-in English subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray. The Cohen Media Group Blu-ray offers a 25-minute interview with director Reinhard Hauff and a 1/4 hour interview with executive producer Eberhard Junkersdorf. They share their memories of the production, the evolution of the project and more - in Germans with English subtitles. There are no trailers or liner notes. Reinhard Hauff's metaphoric Knife in the Head deals with the injustice of a man damaged by police political overreach ion late 70's West Germany and with the societal safety net expansion of, so-called, 'terrorist' enemies of the state, which engenders the greater price of totalitarian rule. Presumed guilt and burgeoning paranoia abound. Infused in the psychological confusion are the protagonist wife’s affair and the neurological removal of his independence. Essentially Knife in the Head is a tragedy with personal and political lines crossed. Bruno Ganz is superb. The screenplay was by Peter Schneider (he also wrote My Father with Charlton Heston as Dr. Josef Mengele!) and Hauff won awards at Berlin and Paris festivals for Knife in the Head. A uniquely realized and subtle take of familiar themes. I'm really glad to have seen it and Cohen's Blu-ray has the film in 1080P with interviews as supplements. You might want to check this one out. |
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| Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
Bonus Captures:
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| Distribution | Cohen Media Group - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
