Signs of Life (1968)

Name: Signs of Life
Genre: Drama, War
Released: 1968-07-05
Duration: 91 min
Rating: 6.6
Cast: Peter Brogle, Wolfgang Reichmann, Athina Zacharopoulou, Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg, Wolfgang Stumpf

Signs of Life (1968), directed by Werner Herzog, starring Peter Brogle and Wolfgang Reichmann.

07/05/1968 BR Drama and War 1h 31m

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Synopsis

During World War II, three German soldiers are withdrawn from combat when one of them, Stroszek, is wounded. They are assigned to a small coastal community on the Greek island of Kos while Stroszek recuperates. The men become increasingly stir crazy in their uneventful new assignment. Stroszek eventually goes mad.

Thomas MauchCinematography
Werner HerzogDirector, Producer, Writer
Beate Mainka-JellinghausEditing
Σταύρος ΞαρχάκοςOriginal music

About the film

Signs of Life (German: Lebenszeichen) is a 1968 feature film written, directed, and produced by Werner Herzog. It was his first feature film, and his first major commercial and critical success. The story is roughly based on the short story "Der Tolle Invalide auf dem Fort Ratonneau" by Achim von Arnim.

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Plot

During World War II, three German soldiers are assigned to guard a depot of unusable munitions in an old fort in a small coastal community on the Greek island of Kos. One, Stroszek, has been given this tranquil role as he had been wounded. He has married a local woman who nursed him, Nora, and she lives with them and cooks for them. The men become increasingly stir crazy in their monotonous assignment, with almost no interactions, activities or duties. Stroszek behaves increasingly erratically and eventually starts shooting at people and threatening to detonate the depot.

Cast

Peter Brogle - Stroszek

Wolfgang Reichmann - Meinhard

Athina Zacharopoulou - Nora

Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg - Becker

Wolfgang Stumpf - Captain

Henry van Lyck - Lieutenant

Julio Pinheiro - Gypsy

Florian Fricke - Pianist

Heinz Usener - Doctor

Achmed Hafiz - Greek resident

Production

The fortress which gives the film's main setting is a real 14th-century fortress built by the Knights Hospitaller. Herzog's grandfather, Rudolf Herzog, lived and worked for several years as an archaeologist at this site, and published translations of the ancient Greek engravings which appear in the film. The old Turkish man who appears in the film with a written translation was the last surviving worker from Rudolf Herzog's archaeological project.

During several shots, Peter Brogle could only be filmed from the waist up after he had been injured in a tight-rope accident and spent several months in a walking cast. The man who appears as a pianist in one scene is keyboardist Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh, who composed and performed the music for many of Herzog's later films.

Themes

Many of Herzog's later films reference elements of Signs of Life. Stroszek includes a scene with a hypnotized chicken and the main character's name is reused. The Wild Blue Yonder contains a shot of a valley of windmills.

Critical responses

The film was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury. The film won a German Film Award.

Signs of Life has a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

References

External links

Lebenszeichen at IMDb

Text from Signs of Life (1968 film) on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signs_of_Life_(1968_film)

Trivia

It premiered on July 5, 1968, a Friday.
It runs 1h31 — a typical feature length.
Its original title is "Lebenszeichen".
It won 2 award(s) and received 2 nomination(s) on record at Wikidata — Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize among them.
This film's quiz has 14 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosWerner Herzog Filmproduktion
CountriesGermany
LanguagesGerman, Greek
StatusReleased

More about this film

Awards

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize 1968
German Film Award for Best Feature Film 1968

Nominations

German Film Award for Best Direction 1968
German Film Award for Best Feature Film 1968

Based on

The Madman of Fort Ratonneau

Set in

Greece

Cast

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Crew

Thomas Mauch Cinematography
Werner Herzog Director
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus Editing
Werner Herzog Producer
Σταύρος Ξαρχάκος Original music
Achim von Arnim Writer
Werner Herzog Writer

Questions about this film

What is Signs of Life about?

Signs of Life: During World War II, three German soldiers are withdrawn from combat when one of them, Stroszek, is wounded. They are assigned to a small coastal community on the Greek island of Kos while Stroszek recuperates. The men become increasingly stir crazy in their uneventful new assignment. Stroszek eventually goes mad.

Who directed Signs of Life?

Signs of Life was directed by Werner Herzog in 1968.

Who stars in Signs of Life?

The cast of Signs of Life includes Peter Brogle, Wolfgang Reichmann, Athina Zacharopoulou, Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg and Wolfgang Stumpf.

How long is Signs of Life?

Signs of Life runs for 91 minutes, or 1h31.

What is Signs of Life based on?

Signs of Life is based on The Madman of Fort Ratonneau.

What awards did Signs of Life win?

Signs of Life has 2 recorded awards, among them Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and German Film Award for Best Feature Film.