"König der letzten Tage" is a two-part mini-series that lasts over 3 hours and stars two of Germany's most famous actors. However, neither of the two was actually born in Germany. Mario Adorf has been a driving force for German cinema for almost 60 years now since his breakthrough in the Academy Award nominated "Nachts, wenn der Teufel kam". Christoph Waltz has won two Academy Awards in the last 5 years and may be the most successful Austrian actor of all time. Big name in Hollywood right now thanks to Tarantino and he has a Bond villain role coming up soon.
Unfortunately, this great by-the-book combo did disappoint me a bit. That was not really the fault of the actors though, but that the film was set during a time I really do not have that much interest in, the 16th century. It's all about kings and the church and these are topics I never found particularly interesting. Fittingly, Waltz also looks like a Jesus character for most of the film. If you have more interest in that and are lucky enough to get a truly hard-to-find copy of this, you will probably enjoy it much more than I did. I felt it dragged a lot and there were only a few scenes that I truly enjoyed, such as the scene in the bathtub early or also the really graphic ending. Also the pregnancy is interesting as Waltz' character still somehow lives on that way. The movie is packed with references about God and the Devil, about prophets and false prophets from start to finish. Adorf was in his early 60s when this was made, Waltz in his mid-30s. The only other actor I know from the cast is the late Michael Habeck, but I don't remember much of his character.
The film is set in the German town of Munster and was directed by Tom Toelle. Even if he died in 2006, 13 years after this film, it was one of his last projects. Writer Manfred Purzer is still alive, but this was also one of his last works. He hasn't worked for over 15 years now, is probably retired. Finally, I would only say that i recommend this film to people with lots of interest in German history and you also probably need a great deal of knowledge on the matter to get the most out of this viewing experience. Those who do not have it will probably be a bit disappointed like myself.
Unfortunately, this great by-the-book combo did disappoint me a bit. That was not really the fault of the actors though, but that the film was set during a time I really do not have that much interest in, the 16th century. It's all about kings and the church and these are topics I never found particularly interesting. Fittingly, Waltz also looks like a Jesus character for most of the film. If you have more interest in that and are lucky enough to get a truly hard-to-find copy of this, you will probably enjoy it much more than I did. I felt it dragged a lot and there were only a few scenes that I truly enjoyed, such as the scene in the bathtub early or also the really graphic ending. Also the pregnancy is interesting as Waltz' character still somehow lives on that way. The movie is packed with references about God and the Devil, about prophets and false prophets from start to finish. Adorf was in his early 60s when this was made, Waltz in his mid-30s. The only other actor I know from the cast is the late Michael Habeck, but I don't remember much of his character.
The film is set in the German town of Munster and was directed by Tom Toelle. Even if he died in 2006, 13 years after this film, it was one of his last projects. Writer Manfred Purzer is still alive, but this was also one of his last works. He hasn't worked for over 15 years now, is probably retired. Finally, I would only say that i recommend this film to people with lots of interest in German history and you also probably need a great deal of knowledge on the matter to get the most out of this viewing experience. Those who do not have it will probably be a bit disappointed like myself.