Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
Trace of Stones (1966)
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 02:12:58 | 7,56 Gb
Audio: German 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subs: English hardcoded
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 4:3 | 02:12:58 | 7,56 Gb
Audio: German 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Subs: English hardcoded
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
BANNED FOR 25 YEARS! Originally banned for its perceived anti-establishment message, this DEFA masterpiece was re-released to great acclaim after the reunification of Germany. Foreman Balla is the swaggering, self-proclaimed king of a massive construction site, and his co-workers stick close to him like musketeers. But when a new Party Secretary is sent in to bring the site under control, along with a beautiful young engineer named Kati, a love triangle ensues.
In Soviet Cinema, especially when Stalin was in charge, you could get literally killed for making the wrong film. People would disappear and you would never hear from them again. The communist East Germans could be as hard, but decided they were masters of censorship and when Frank Beyer made Trace Of Stones (aka Spur der Steine) in 1966, it was withdrawn immediately as a threat to those in power.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
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With segments that visually bring The Western alive, show the cold bureaucracy of the state and adds a love story (a triangle no less) in a modern tale about the freedom of a small construction site being taken over by the state, those in power were left climbing the walls.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
![Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)]()
Instead of being a dumb or dated political piece, the Karl Georg Engel/Beyer screenplay is rich with many aspects of living and human nature covered. Ultimately, it is like watching Alphaville at times in its cold indictment of the modern city (wonder if they saw Godard’s film) though there is no Science Fiction here. The acting is top rate, the events knowing and film proof that people stuck behind the Iron Curtain were not as dumb as those ruling them thought, ready to make the first crack in that curtain.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
![Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)]()
Now long after the reunification of the split Germany, it is seen as the key film it is, far ahead of its time and never becomes boring in its 133 minutes. It is also a subversive Political classic that can finally be appreciated for its enduring edge. It also proves that Beyer was one of the most important filmmakers of his generation and in his country, no matter how circumstances tried to stop him.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
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The letterboxed 2.35 X 1 image was shot in Totalvision by Beyer’s longtime Director of Photography Gunter Marczinkowsky (Naked Among Wolves, Jakob The Liar) and though it was shot in OrwoColor, it was printed in black and white as this lesser version of Agfa Color is very unstable and is among the first color stock ever printed this way. You can see some of the gray scale looks like color and not real black and white, but the look of the film is very good just the same.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
![Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)]()
Too bad this is not a new HD anamorphic transfer, but you can see more than enough of the filmmakers’ intent. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is fairly good for its age. Maybe it sounds better since it was banned for so long and not played much at all.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
East German film director Frank Beyer was 34 when he made Traces of Stones in 1966. This film is proof that the New Wave aesthetics of self-conscious rejection of classical cinematic form and youthful iconoclasm infiltrated the Iron Curtain as it were. Traces of Stones gently examines social and political upheavals of the era, and its extended flashback narrative interrupted again and again by present time showcases the director's experiments with editing, visual style, and narrative parts. When the lead construction worker Hannes Balla's team appears for the first time, dressed in cowboy's attire, lined up in battle formation, and beaming with energy and self-confidence, this image is homage to the films The Magnificent Seven and Kuosawa's Seven Samurai. It also gives the film a Jim Jarmusch quality.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
![Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)]()
The plot involves a young Party secretary, Werner Horrath, who has arrived at a large construction site. From an academic background, he brings with him not only ideology but even more so idealism, and thus also the courage to correct mistakes in the sacrosanct site plan. Both he and Balla fall in love with the young engineer, Kati Klee, the privilaged daughter of a Party boss. At first it is the intellectual and not the carpenter who wins the young woman's heart; however, the Party does not permit the married man to indulge in any unrestricted passions. Horrath's rival Balla is actually the real boss at the site; he argues with the representatives of the political authorities and procures every kind of needed building material in a highly unconventional way.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
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After a long period of arguing over the film, it was shown for the first time in the GDR in the summer of 1966, but was withdrawn from the movie theaters a short time later. This example of the state's power also gives an idea of why the GDR always had so much difficulty with its own development: whatever cannot be tamed is regarded as anarchistic and dangerous - like Beyer's fearless protagonists-Balla and Horrath, or like the film itself.
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
![Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)]()
Ironically, in the story no threat to the system and no fundamental doubts about it are expressed. It is, more importantly, a vigorous plea for a more open, more courageous and more human way of dealing with people, and against the less endangered moral cowards and opportunists.Customer Review, amazon.com
Trace of Stones / Spur der Steine (1966)
Special Features:
- Recent Interview with actor Krystyna Stypulkowska
- Introductory Essay
- Biographies and Filmographies
- Censored! Trace of Stone
- DEFA Trailer
- Other Films by Frank Beyer
Many Thanks to Original uploader.