The Legend of Paul and Paula

Starring:Angelica DomrÃ¶se, Winfried Glatzeder, Heidemarie Wenzel, Fred Delmare, Rolf Ludwig, KÃ¤the Reichel, Hans Hardt-Hardtloff, Frank Schenk, Dietmar Richter-Reinick, Eva Maria Hagen, JÃ¼rgen Frohriep, Hertha Thiele, Willi Schrade, Peter Gotthardt, Marga Legal, Wilfried Wolter, Victor Keune, Manfred Rosenberg, Bernd Manthey, Jessy Rameik
Director: Heiner Carow
Studio: First Run Features
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

The Classis East German Love Story
an astonishing exception
A camp classic, understandably.

The Legend of Paul and Paula
Starring: Angelica Domröse , Winfried Glatzeder , Heidemarie Wenzel , Fred Delmare , and Rolf Ludwig
Director: Heiner Carow
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000063UQT
Release Date: 2002-05-21

Customer Reviews:

The Classis East German Love Story.......2007-06-08

This 1970s film was and still is extremely popular in Germany, as it tells a story about every-day life in Eastern Germany with a lot of imagination. Paula is a single mom searching for happiness. Paul is a career bureaucrat who's unhappily married. They dive into the moment, escaping some of the more dreary aspects of their daily routines. The soundtrack of the film is by the East German cult band the Puddys. They actually appear in the film - when Paula goes to a club where she'll meet Paul, you see a life band, particularly the legendary lead singer nicknamed "Maschine" ("Engine"). The song-lyrics are a marvelous example of how artists in a repressive regime managed to subtly express a yearning for freedom. This film is one of the timeless love stories that will touch your heart no matter where you're from.

an astonishing exception.......2007-02-15

'Die Legende von Paul und Paula' (= German for 'the legend of Paul and Paula') was produced by DEFA, the state-filmcompany from the former Communist German Democratic Republic.

Now in the GDR art was hardly able to touch people's hearts. Somehow Communist censorship always managed to bury spontanity under a Socialist, artificial cover. Largely spoiling true enjoyment.

From this angle it's quite astonishing that 'the legend of Paul and Paula' came out so well. Oh yes, back in 1973 it must have passed Communist censorship. Maybe the censors underestimated the impact of its modest flower-power freedom theme. Or its great ability to recognize & indentify with common, everyday-life in the GDR.

Anyway, breaking free from established social patterns is this movie's core -- well emphasized by showing several buildings being blown up by explosives. Though back in the seventies breaking free was a well-known theme, one hardly expected a Communist country to settle for it. Let alone that its rare allowance turned out so well as it did in 'Die Legende von Paul und Paula'.

A camp classic, understandably........2005-11-02

I just saw this movie last night for a German class. Considering that our last movie had been an Iron Curtain romance -- all Wall and no fun -- I thought this would be equally gloomy. Instead, it's a funny, often absurd, and sometimes gleefully immoral romance -- that is, if you think the pursuit of happiness is immoral. The idea of self-determination is the serious part, but to be frank, you will be in stitches throughout most of the movie. See this with friends.

It occurs to me I should put in a plot summary. The thing is, there's not much to that -- Paula is a frustrated single mother of two kids, dying, quite frankly, for sex. Paul is pretty continuously being cheated on by his gorgeous blonde wife. (As his coworkers say when they're upbraiding him for cheating on her: "We understand. She has no education. But whose fault is that?") Paul and Paula, well, come together, and to the melody of trippy sixties' music. Trippy German sixties' music. It's a beautiful thing.

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