A Trick of the Light

Wim Wenders made this film together with graduates of the University of Television and Film Munich. It shows the beginnings of cinema in Berlin where the brothers Skladanowsky built a projector, the bioscope, at the same time as the Lumière brothers in France and Edison in America.

Together they invented “moving images” their very own, poetic, lovable and rather un-German way. The film begins a hundred years ago and ends in the year 1996, with Max Skladanowsky’s daughter Lucie who still remembers her father and the early days of cinema very well.

The film was mainly shot on an old hand-crank camera from the 1920s. A silent movie in original slapstick style.

 

Premiere in Bologna

The restored version of A TRICK OF THE LIGHT premiered at the international film heritage festival Il Cinema Ritrovato in the presence of Wim Wenders in Bologna on 22 June, 2024. Laurent Petitgand, who wrote the music for ten of Wenders’ films, performed and accompanied the screening live at Cinema Modernissimo with electric piano, saxophone, harmonica, and guitar.

Format

Germany 1996
Length: 80 min, 2201 m
Format: 16mm blow up to 35mm, black and white and color; 1:1,33
Original Language: German

4K Scan Eurotape, Berlin and 4K Restoration BASIS Berlin in 2024, 4K DCP


Cast and crew

Production: Wim Wenders Produktion (Berlin), University of Television and Film Munich,  Veit Helmer Filmproduktion (Berlin),  Director and Screenplay: Wim Wenders with students of the HFF, Munich: Carlos Alvarez, Sebastian Andrae, Sorin Dragoi, Peter Fuchs, Carsten Funke, Florian Gallenberger, Markus Hansen, Henrik Heckmann, Veit Helmer, Germán Kral, Björn Kurt, Bodo Lang, Matthias Lehmann, Eva Munz, Stephan Puchner, Barbara Rohm, Britta Sauer, Marcus Schmidt, Alina Teodorescu Producer: Wim Wenders, Wolfgang Längsfeld, Veit Helmer Director of Photography: Jürgen Jürges, Andreas Giesecke Editor: Peter Przygodda Sound: Heino Herrenbrück  Cast: Udo Kier, Nadine Büttner, Christoph Merg, Otto Kuhnle, Bodo Lang, Rüdiger Vogler, Alfred Szczot, Hans Moser, Thomas Rosié and Lucie Hürtgen-Skladanowsky

Music: Laurent Petitgand Script: Eva Munz, Alina Teodorescu, Barbara Rohm Assistant Camera: Peter Steuger Light: Klaus Bielig, Frank Küppers, Jost Engelmayer Still Photographer: Carlos Alvarez, Britta Sauer Dolly Grip: Michael Müller Set Builder: Michael Willadt Set Design: Heidi Lüdi Set Design: Andreas H. Schroll, Michael Willadt Set Design Assistant: Bodo Lang, Peter Fuchs Props: Marco Minierski, Susanne Grossart, Kai Miniersky, Mauro Podini, Birgit Dunkel Set Design: Axel Garbrecht, Kaspar Falkenroth, Klaudia Gössel Make-Up: Tatjana Luckdorf, Nicola Hermann, Julia Schlotke, Jens Bartram, Sigrid Goppler, Hilde Hads Wardrobe: Katrin Kath, Inez Raatzke Video editing: Lucian Segura, Christine Boock Mixing: Hartmut Eichgrün Music Recording: Marco Birkner Music performance: Michael Anders (Violoncello), Ulrich Bartel (Violine), Daniel Favre (Percussions) Line Producer: Nikolaus Prediger Production Manager: Gabriele Scheiger, Veit Helmer, Ralph Remstedt Location Manager: Oliver Luer, Katrin Rohm, Benedikte Neumann, Florian Gallenberger Production Assistant: Anke Steinbacher, Sigrid Hoerner, Bernadette Werrelmann Production Coordinator: Jolanda Darbyshire, Tanja Rohmann Editorial Office: Jochen Kölsch In cooperation with: Bayerischer Rundfunk (Munich), Arte G.E.I.E. (Strasbourg) First Release (DE): 06.05.1999 World Sales: HanWay Films


Blu-ray & DVD

DVD (DE)
Arthaus
Language: German (5.1 Dolby Digital)
Format: 1.33:1


Press Sheet (PDF)

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