Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter (1972)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Peter Handke (novel)
Peter Handke (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 January 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Plot:

A goalkeeper Josef Bloch is ejected during a game for foul play. He leaves the field and goes to spend the night with a cinema cashier. He then proceeds to strangle her the morning after. |

Plot Keywords:

Football | Murder | Based On Novel

Cast

Arthur Brauss	...	Joseph Bloch
Kai Fischer	...	Hertha Gabler
Erika Pluhar	...	Gloria
Libgart Schwarz	...	Maid
Marie Bardischewski	...	Kellnerin (as Maria Bardischewski)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sybille Danzer	...	Hairdresser
Rosl Dorena	...	Woman in bus
Bert Fortell	...	Customs official
Edda Köchl	...	Girl in Vienna
Mario Kranz	...	School janitor
Ernst Meister	...	Tax inspector
Monika Poeschl	...	Hairdresser
Michael Toost	...	Salesman
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Idiot
Wim Wenders	...	Man Walking through Vienna Bus Station

Also Known As:

The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (USA)
The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty (UK)
The Goalkeeper's Fear of the Penalty Kick (UK)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

West Germany | Austria

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Movie Connections:

References Red Line 7000 (1965)

The music works wonderfully.

This is a detective film, but it's not really a film noir or cop drama like we're used to in the U.S. However, there are lots of references to America's overwhelming cultural presence throughout.

For me, Jurgen Knieper's score serves the story well; the tune still comes back to me all these years later.

It's a simple monotonous tune, the main parts being just two notes that the small chamber group works back and forth. It may not sound like much, but in reality it becomes mesmerizing, almost like a 2nd main character, and something that won't release you, like fate.

The film, of course, is genius.

The understated music matches the film's lack of much excitement or development.

The visuals and music work to produce a profoundly unsettling look at the monotonous life of the murderer.