More (1969)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Barbet Schroeder

Writers:

Eugène Archer (dialogue)
Mimsy Farmer (dialogue: collaboration on final version)

Release Date:

21 October 1969 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Crime

Tagline:

When two people love, one always loves more.

Plot:

The making of a heroin addict. Stefan, fresh from college, hitches from Germany to Paris, where he does...

Plot Keywords:

Heroin | Paris | 1960s | Progressive Rock | Ibiza Spain

Cast

Mimsy Farmer	...	Estelle Miller
Klaus Grünberg	...	Stefan Brückner
Heinz Engelmann	...	Dr. Ernesto Wolf
Michel Chanderli	...	Charlie
Henry Wolf	...	Henry
Louise Wink	...	Cathy

Also Known As:

Gier nach Lust (West Germany) (new title)
More - Mehr, immer mehr (West Germany)

Runtime:

West Germany:117 min

Country:

West Germany | France | Luxembourg

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 (cut) | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Ibiza, Balearic Islands, Spain

Company:

Jet Films

Trivia:

The soundtrack was composed by Pink Floyd. The band was given £600 and complete ownership to all of the material for their work, and some of the songs on the album were still in their live set list by 1971. The band also scored the music for another Barbet Schroeder film, La vallée (1972) in 1972.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: David Gilmour's last name is misspelled "Gilmore" in the opening credits.

Quotes:

Stefan Brückner: I wanted to burn all the bridges, all the formulas, and if I got burned that was okay too. I wanted to be warm. I wanted the sun, and I went after it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart (1970)

Beautiful sights and sounds

Like most people, I was interested in "More" solely because of the Pink Floyd soundtrack, which has turned out to be the only Pink Floyd album that I still listen to after all these years. It was quite a surprise to run across the film in a local video store, in a digitally remastered version. It was an even bigger surprise to find that it is a pretty good movie.

Visually it is quite beautiful, especially when the two main characters are cavorting on the rocks on the Spanish island of Ibiza. And the use of the soundtrack music, which as far as I can tell is exclusively by Pink Floyd, is excellent. It was a joy to watch the film with my copy of the album alongside me, mentally ticking off each track as it was used in the film. Dave Gilmour's brief "A Spanish Piece" was the only one I didn't hear, and several tracks are used quite prominently, especially "Cymbaline," "Main Theme," and "Quicksilver." That latter track is tedious on the soundtrack album but works very well during the title sequence of the film, resurfacing at least once later on. Maybe now I can appreciate it on the album, now that I have some visuals to accompany it in my mind.

The plot of "More" is a little hard to take at times, especially in the early going, when the film appears to be merely a vehicle to demonstrate the hipness of those involved in making it. But eventually the film proves that it has much more than that to offer, as the plot becomes more focused. Why does Stefan take heroin? Why does ANYBODY take heroin, fully knowing the possible consequences? The film does not attempt to answer that question directly, but Stefan's heroin use seems a logical extension of his single-minded pursuit of pure pleasure.

I strongly recommend this film to any Pink Floyd fan who has an appreciation of the vastly underrated "More" soundtrack. I also recommend it to anyone who has an interest in sixties counterculture and how it was portrayed in the media. I have no idea how realistic this movie is, since I am too young to have experienced the sixties firsthand, but it does seem to capture the spirit of the times in a way that no other movie does.