29 Dec 2016

Wim Wenders (Germany)

"New German Cinema" director Wim Wenders seemed quite familiar with pinball, and this is probably no surprise since in the early days, was a bit enamored of American culture & rock n roll music.

Der Himmel Über Berlin (Germany, 1987) [A.K.A. Wings of Desire]

Director: Wim Wenders, Starring: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Peter Falk...

On the set of a war film that Peter Falk is playing in, the extras get to enjoy playing a Bronco (Gottlieb, 1977). We see & hear it in the lower right corner in the background whilst Falk tries to find the perfect hat for his character...
 Later we see it better...
No pinball anachronism here… the WWII-era soldier is just an actor playing an actor on a set…


Der amerikanische Freund (Germany, 1977) [A.K.A. The American Friend]

Director: Wim Wenders. Starring: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer...

Just a quick glance of a machine as Ganz walks by of Fast Draw (Gottlieb, 1975)…


Summer in the City (Germany, 1970)
Director: Wim Wenders. Starring: Hanns Zischler, Edda Köchl, Libgart Schwarz...

Wenders' first feature film. There is a scene which last several minutes wherein the main character plays a pinball machine, a College Queens (Gottlieb, 1969).

The other machine is only partially visible, and the camera never changes angle, so there's not enough to identify it, but from the coin door, it is likely a Williams. [Sorry for low quality youtube screengrab image]...



Same Player Shoots Again (Germany, 1968)
Early Wenders short film. No machines to be spotted here, but the title and structure of the film is obviously inspired by pinball, which Wenders confirmed in an interview I read.

In those days, most machines were 5 ball games. The film shows 5 different takes (each tinted in a different color) of a man running beside the camera with a gun. The title appears near the beginning for a few seconds...

And near the end, the following appears for a few seconds...


B o n u s :
Die linkshändige Frau (Germany, 1978) [A.K.A. The Left-handed Woman]

This film was directed by Peter Handke, a writer who Wenders collaborated with or adapted material from. Acting in it is Bruno Ganz, a Wenders regular. It's just a quick glance of a Spirit of 76 (Gottlieb, 1976) with some random guy leaning against it...

[Edit 2017.12.07:  Better stills for Same Player, and added new section for Summer in the City]

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