The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta • 1975 • Germany
Starring Angela Winkler, Mario Adorf, Dieter Laser
When a young woman spends the night with an alleged terrorist, her quiet, ordered life falls into ruins. THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM portrays an anxious era in West Germany amid a crumbling postwar political consensus. Katharina, though apparently innocent, suddenly becomes a suspect, falling prey to a vicious smear campaign by the police and a ruthless tabloid journalist that tests the limits of her dignity and her sanity. Crafting one of the most accessible and direct works of 1970s political filmmaking, Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta deliver a powerful adaptation of Heinrich Böll’s novel, a stinging commentary on state power, individual freedom, and media manipulation that is as relevant today as when it was released.
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The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta • 1975 • Germany
When Katharina Blum spends the night with an alleged terrorist, her quiet, ordered life falls into ruins. Suddenly a suspect, Katharina is subject to a vicious smear campaign by the police and a ruthless tabloid journalist...
Extras
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Volker Schlondorff and Margarethe von Trotta
In this interview, directors Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta speak about the intense political context surrounding THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM, and their collaboration with novelist Henrick Boll. The interview was recorded in August 2002.
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Jost Vacano
Director of photography Jost Vacano’s cold tones and claustrophobic framing help give THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM its brutal immediacy. He has since shot such films as DAS BOOT (1981), ROBOCOP (1987), and STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997). Film historian Robert Fischer interviewed him in October 2002.
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Heinrich Böll
The following are excerpts from Ivo Barnabò Micheli’s 1977 documentary HEINRICH BÖLL, which must count as one of the most extensive interviews with the author ever filmed. The excerpts relate to the political and personal background that led Böll to write THE LOST HONOR OF KATHARINA BLUM, and dir...
