Invincible (2001)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer (WGA):

Werner Herzog (written by)

Release Date:

2 December 2001 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A Jewish strongman performs in Berlin as the blond Aryan hero Siegfried.

Plot Keywords:

Strongman | Jewish | Poland | Rabbi | Occult

Cast

Tim Roth	...	Hersche Steinschneider / Erik Jan Hanussen
Jouko Ahola	...	Zishe Breitbart
Anna Gourari	...	Marta Farra
Max Raabe	...	Master of Ceremonies
Jacob Wein	...	Benjamin Breitbart
Gustav-Peter Wöhler	...	Alfred Landwehr (as Gustav Peter Woehler)
Udo Kier	...	Count Helldorf
Herbert Golder	...	Rabbi Edelmann
Gary Bart	...	Yitzak Breitbart
Renate Krößner	...	Mother Breitbart
Ben-Tzion Hershberg	...	Gershon
Rebecca Wein	...	Rebecca
Raphael Wein	...	Raphael
Daniel Wein	...	Daniel
Chana Wein	...	Chana
Guntis Pilsums	...	Innkeeper
Torsten Hammann	...	Ringleader
Jurgis Karsons	...	Rowdy
Klaus Stiglmeier	...	Circus Director
James Reeves	...	Colossus of Rhodos
Ulrich Bergfelder	...	Carter's Man
Jakov Rafalson	...	Laughing Man
Ieva Aleksandrova	...	Delilah
Natalie Holtom	...	Chorus Girl
Karin Kern	...	Chorus Girl
Amanda Lawford	...	Chorus Girl
Francesca Marino	...	Chorus Girl
Beatrix Reiterer	...	Chorus Girl
Adrianne Richards	...	Chorus Girl
Sabine Schreitmiller	...	Chorus Girl
Kristy Wone	...	Chorus Girl
Rudolph Herzog	...	Magician
Les Bubb	...	Rothschild
Tina Bordihn	...	Hedda Christiansen
Silvia Vas	...	Mrs. Holm
Hans-Jürgen Schmiebusch	...	Mr. Peters
Joachim Paul Assböck	...	Stormtrooper
Alexander Duda	...	Heinrich Himmler
Klaus Händl	...	Joseph Goebbels (as Klaus Haindl)
Hark Bohm	...	Judge
Anthony Bramall	...	Conductor
André Hennicke	...	Detective
Ilga Martinsone	...	Woman
Valerijs Iskevic	...	Young Man
Juris Strenga	...	Teacher
Grigorij Kravec	...	Woodcutter
James Mitchell	...	Doctor
Milena Gulbe	...	Nurse
Peter Rühring		(as Peter Ruehring)
Gerd Lukas Storzer
Beat Presser
Jürgen Klein
Ieva Jursta
Peteris Liepins		(as Peteris Lapins)
Nikita Kobrin
Daniel Schuster
Ivars Zvingulis
Hivars Visockis
Juris Silins
Kimba	...	The Elephant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Werner Herzog	...	Curtain Puller / Spectator (uncredited) (voice)
Bernhard Marsch	...	Radfahrer am Brandenburger Tor (uncredited)

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits (WGA)
Werner Herzog		(written by)

Produced by
Michael André	....	executive producer: WDR
Gary Bart	....	producer
Werner Herzog	....	producer
James Mitchell	....	executive producer
Christine Ruppert	....	executive producer
Simone Stewens	....	executive producer: BR
Lucki Stipetic	....	executive producer
Paul Webster	....	executive producer: Film Four
Robertas Urbonas	....	co-producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Klaus Badelt
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
Peter Zeitlinger		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joe Bini

Casting by
Tanja Schwichtenberg

Production Design by
Ulrich Bergfelder

Art Direction by
Markus Wollersheim

Set Decoration by
Karl-Heinz Hahnel		(as Karl-Heinz Hähnel)

Costume Design by
Jany Temime

Makeup Department
Marlen Bastian	....	additional makeup artist
Elke Böttcher	....	additional makeup artist
Katharina Gütter	....	chief makeup artist
Birgit Herber	....	additional makeup artist
Petra Holzer	....	additional makeup artist (as Petra Hölzer)
Christa Lamberts	....	additional makeup artist
Holger Nehrig	....	additional makeup artist
Christina Paul	....	additional makeup artist
Bruny Ruland	....	chief hair stylist
Peter Wagner	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Markus Brinkmann	....	unit manager
Thomas Brück	....	post-production supervisor: Germany
Cara Donnellan	....	post-production supervisor: Germany
Louis Elman	....	post-production supervisor: UK
Petra Junk	....	production supervisor
Ramona Mohren	....	production manager: Germany
Mark Popp	....	production manager
Walter Saxer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert Golder	....	assistant director
Rudolph Herzog	....	assistant director

Art Department
Sandra Ankiewicz	....	property master
Sulamith Ater	....	painter
Sarah Barth	....	property hand
Thomas Bartsch	....	carpenter
Anik Celikaslan	....	set dresser (as Anique Fatum Celikaslan)
Raitis Gosins	....	stand-by props
Janis Kainins	....	assistant set dresser: Latbia & Lithuania
Jurgis Karsons	....	set dresser: Latvia & Lithuania
Soren Köber	....	carpenter
George Kuhn	....	property master
Matthias Kunz	....	construction trainee
Ludmilla Landwehr	....	painter
Patrick Lebrun	....	model maker
Gabriela Mocaer	....	painter
Uwe Nummer	....	construction coordinator
Klaus Rudat	....	construction manager
Michael Schmidt	....	carpenter
Thomas Schulte	....	carpenter
Stephanie Stark	....	set dresser
Vytas Tomasevicius	....	set dresser: Latvia & Lithuania
Andreas Well	....	set builder
Philipp Hübner	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Bateman	....	foley recordist
Tim Cavagin	....	dubbing mixer
Ian Fuller	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Gleaves	....	adr mixer
Thomas Görne	....	voice recording: Germany
Pauline Griffiths	....	foley artist (as Pauline Griffins)
Peter Holt	....	foley editor
Terry Isted	....	adr recordist
Alex Joseph	....	foley editor (as Alex Josephs)
Jenny Lee Wright	....	foley artist (as Jenny Lee-Wright)
Derek Lomas	....	sound effects editor
Ian Macbeth	....	dialogue editor: UK (as Ian McBeth)
Sabine Marotz	....	dialogue editor: Germany
Conor O'Toole	....	boom operator
James Seddon	....	consultant: Dolby
Steve Single	....	dubbing mixer
Simon J. Willis	....	production sound (as Simon Willis)

Special Effects by
Mike Kelt	....	special effects supervisor: Artem Ltd.
Jason Leinster	....	senior technician: Benjamin flying unit
Alan Marques	....	special effects supervisor
Doug McCarthy	....	technician: Benjamin flying unit
Emma Jane Sargeant	....	line producer: Benjamin flying unit
Jan Valach	....	special effects technician
Adam Wieczorek	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Andy Bennett	....	technical support: No Strings Attached
Craig Chandler	....	scanning and recording supervisor: Hypnosis Ltd.
Ed Plant	....	senior digital compositor: No Strings Attached
Thomas Diesselhorst	....	titles (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Bartels	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Michael Bittinger	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Erhard Brem	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Andreas Cremer	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Thomas Hache	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Norbert Heisterkamp	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Jürgen Klein	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Roland Künzel	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Bernd Marszan	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Michael Mohr	....	stunt coordinator: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Horst Neugebauer	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Siegfried Polap	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Andreas Seifert	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Marc Sieger	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Mac Steinmeier	....	stunts: Stuntteam Steinmeier/Mohr
Jürgen Sücker	....	stunt performer: Team Steinmeier/Mohr
Salvatore Pascale	....	stunt performer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Campbell	....	playback operator: Benjamin flying unit
John Cantwell	....	sparks: Benjamin flying unit
Sven Ebenhardt	....	second camera grip
Norbert Erben	....	gaffer
Rick Fichter	....	director of photography: Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sven Fink	....	electrician
Maike Maier	....	key grip
Ross McLennan	....	focus puller: Benjamin flying unit
Jürgen Meissner	....	electrician
Nick Pearson	....	grip: Benjamin flying unit
Beat Presser	....	still photographer
Barry Read	....	gaffer: Benjamin flying unit
Ted Read	....	sparks: Benjamin flying unit
Kevin Scott	....	focus puller: Christmas Island
Erik Söllner	....	director of photography: Christmas Island
Erik Söllner	....	focus puller
Christina Steils	....	clapper loader (as Christine Steils)
Roman Zednicek	....	Steadicam operator

Casting Department
Levana Hakim	....	additional casting: Israel
Brigita Libiete	....	additional casting: Latvia/Lithuania
Rutie Blum	....	additional casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Flora Dietrich	....	tailor
Nicole Ebben	....	additional wardrobe
Françoise Fourcade	....	wardrobe assistant (as Francoise Fourcade)
Ann-Britt Roesch	....	wardrobe trainee (as Ann-Britt Rösch)
Regine Schaefer	....	wardrobe assistant (as Regine Schäfer)
Guy Speranza	....	assistant costume designer
Elena Wegner	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
David Berlinsky	....	assistant editor: USA
Hans Joachim Bruß	....	color timer (as Hans-Joachim Bruß)
Renate Dahmen	....	negative cutter
Jeanette Haley	....	post-production coordinator: UK
Yin Lin	....	assistant editor: USA
Nahrein Mirza	....	assistant post-production coordinator: UK
Thad Povey	....	assistant editor: USA
Thomas Staunton	....	assistant editor: USA

Music Department
Slamm Andrews	....	score mixer
Klaus Badelt	....	conductor
Klaus Badelt	....	score producer
Sandy DeCrescent	....	music contractor
Bruce Fowler	....	supervising orchestrator
Vicki Hiatt	....	music editor
Ladd McIntosh	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Booker White	....	music preparation (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Carsten Baum	....	production driver
Rolf Dietrich	....	driver: props
Derek Hielcher	....	production driver
Karsten Peter	....	production driver
Ralph Scherff	....	production driver (as Ralf Scherff)

Other crew
Hans-Peter Abts	....	location manager
Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein	....	consultant: rabbinical (as Rabbi Yitzchak Adlerstein)
Catherine Allinson	....	script supervisor
Jürgen Andermann	....	crowd controller: Block & Graphics
Jürgen Andermann	....	traffic controller: Block & Graphics
Gary Bart	....	story compiler
Gary Bart	....	story researcher
Sandra Butterworth	....	dialogue coach
Mark Byrne	....	business affairs
Malcolm Campbell	....	story consultant
René Caselly	....	animal handler
Adrienne Curran	....	business affairs
Judith Curran	....	assistant production coordinator: Christmas Island
Ramin Djawadi	....	assistant: Klaus Badelt
Peter Fast	....	coordinator
Herbert Golder	....	screenplay adaptor: English
Alexia Gossing	....	animal handler
Martje Grohmann	....	screenplay translator: English
Bernd Huckenbeck	....	location consultant
Jonathan Kelly	....	legal services
Nikita Kobrin	....	extras coordinator: Latvia/Lithuania
Dr. Heiner Köster	....	legal services
Joachim Kunzendorf	....	versionist: German dialogue
Katharina Lentzen	....	production coordinator
Anna Lessmann	....	script supervisor trainee
Linda Lichter	....	legal services
Max Orchard	....	park ranger: Christmas Island (as Max Orchar)
Mike Patrick	....	park ranger: Christmas Island
Oliver Rebling	....	assistant accountant
Dr. Stefan Rüll	....	legal services
John Sargent	....	assistant accountant
Nicky Schulte	....	assistant production coordinator
Lies Schumandl	....	production accountant
Janis Sika	....	assistant production coordinator: Latvia/Lithuania
Gaidaris Smirnovs	....	production assistant: Latvia/Lithuania
Caroline Spencer	....	production coordinator: Christmas Island
Guido Stein	....	extras coordinator
Martin Tillman	....	featured cello player
Indra Vilmane	....	production secretary: Latvia/Lithuania
Jânis Vingris	....	production coordinator: Latvia/Lithuania (as Janis Vingris)
Annette Waldron	....	business affairs
Claudia Wolfs	....	assistant accountant
Christian Wöltche	....	trainee accountant
Natalie Holtom	....	choreographer (uncredited)
Moanike'ala Nakamoto	....	assistant: Hans Zimmer (uncredited)

Thanks
Pavlis Jurjans	....	thanks
Romas Lileikis	....	thanks
Michael Schmid-Ospach	....	thanks
Andreas Schreitmüller	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
• Tatfilm (as TATFILM Production)
• Little Bird (in association with) (as Little Bird)
• Jan Bart Productions (in association with)
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) (co-production) (as WDR)
• Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) (co-production) (as BR)
• Arte (co-production)
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (with the support of) (as Filmstiftung NRW)
• Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA) (with the support of) (as Filmförderungsanstalt)
• BKM (with the support of)
• FilmFour
• Fine Line Features

Distributors

• Fine Line Features (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (an AOL Time Warner company)
• Zephir Film (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Al!ve AG (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Capelight Pictures (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Channel Four Films (non-USA) (non-Canada)
• Diaphana Films (France)
• Film Office (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Keyfilms Roma
• Ripley's Home Video (2008) (Italy) (DVD)
• Tohokushinsha Film
• mediacs AG (2002) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Artem (Benjamin flying unit)
• No Strings Attached (digital post-production) (as No Strings Attached Ltd.)
• Hypnosis VFX Ltd. (visual effects scanning and recording) (as Hypnosis Ltd.)
• Optical Art (titles & opticals)
• Optical Art (titles)

Other Companies

• Angels & Bermans  costumier
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)  additional footage courtesy of (as Australian Broadcasting Corp)
• BBC Hulton Library, London  additional footage courtesy of (as BBC, London)
• Bayerische HypoVereinsbank AG München  financial services
• Black Island Studios  special effects studio
• Block & Graphics  crowd control
• Block & Graphics  traffic control
• Dellbrücker Reisebüro Cologne  travel agency
• Deutsche Filmversicherungsgemeinschaft  completion bond (as Deutsche Filmversicherungs-gemeinschaft DFG)
• Goldcrest Post Production London  sound re-recording
• Gürtler Multimedia GmbH  telecine and video transfer (as Gürtler Multimedia, Neuss)
• Hotel Avendi Bad Honnef  thanks
• Jewish Community Center Riga  thanks
• Jewish Community of Vilnius  thanks
• Jo Anne Kane Music Services  music preparation (as Jo Anne Kane Music Service)
• Lietuvos Kinostudija  costumier (as LKS Lietuvos Kino Studjia)
• Lietuvos Kinostudija  props (as LKS Lietuvos Kino Studjia)
• Lithuanian Air  thanks
• MCA Records  soundtrack released by (uncredited)
• Maier Bros Cologne  electrical and grip equipment
• Media Ventures Santa Monica  music production services
• Monterey Bay Aquarium  additional footage courtesy of
• Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Studios, The  music recorded at (as Newman Scoring Stage, Fox Studios, Los Angeles)
• Optical Art  titles and opticals
• Outpost Film Center  editing facilities
• Republic of Uzupis  thanks
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Stuntteam Steinmeier/Mohr  stunts (as Team Steinmeier/Mohr)
• Synchronstudio Babelsberg  sound studio: German version
• Theaterkunst GmbH  costume rental
• Theaterkunst GmbH  props
• Transtasya Travel Düsseldorf  travel agency
• Vendemmia Berlin  catering

Also Known As:

Unbesiegbar (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and thematic elements.

Runtime:

Argentina:133 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Italy:128 min (Venice Film Festival) | UK:133 min | USA:133 min

Country:

UK | Germany | Ireland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #38406) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | France:U | Germany:6 | UK:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

An elderly woman who lived in one of the houses near where the marketplace scenes were shot, once stepped out into it with a shopping bag and, even though director Werner Herzog told her it was just a movie set, insisted on shopping and interrupted the shoot for 15 minutes.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The real Marta Faria was a talented strong-woman in her own right; she could wrap a steel bar around her arm and once supported the front legs of a large elephant on her shoulders. She was not the slender pianist seen in the movie.

Quotes:

Hanussen: No jew should be as strong as you are.

Movie Connections:

References Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit (1922)

Soundtrack:

Sweet and Lovely

Evocative visuals highlight Herzog's philosophic examination of premonitory Nazism.

The great Werner Herzog uses grandly designed set pieces to deliver a foreboding period piece about the nature of facism in pre-WW2 Berlin. The focus of the story revolves around the opposing philosophies of the sinister, renowned clairvoyant Hanussen, and one of his performers, a naive strongman, lured off the farm to make his fortune in the big city. Needless to say, both of these powerful characters provide the symbolic thrust of Herzog's visionary statement, and he presents them as extreme opposites. Roth really delivers as a refined cynic, while real-life strongman Ahola is a childlike brute, an amateur hero challenging the authority of a professional villain. While parts of the picture are heavy-handed and obvious, it has a refreshing, unsentimental neutrality about it's subject matter, and it's mise-en-scene pleasures are many. My favorite scene follows our hero on his way to Berlin: he's picked up by a couple of farmers, one of them unable to control wild outbursts of laughter as he listens to the naive strongman tell about his dreams. A worthy film in the Herzog repertoire and interesting enough even for non-enthusiasts.