The German "Karl May Westerns" (1962 - 1968) fully reviewed on DVD... (1 Viewer)

[R-T-C Tim]

Here's one for those of you who think you know every genre of cinema. Among the first of the European Westerns, inspiration to the Spaghetti Western boom and the series that brought German cinema back to life after the Second World War, the Karl May Westerns were 11 epic sized films based on the works of popular German author Karl May. Incredibly sucessful, and still widely loved in Germany, they are almost unknown in the UK/USA despite having English language DVD releases in Germany - so with a lot of research and film watching, I present: The Complete DVD Guide to the Karl May Westerns.

 

[David_B_K]

Thanks for the link. I remember seeing some on TV about 20 years ago in bad 16mm prints in pan-and-scan. Interesting to find out how epic they really were and how popular they were (and are) in Germany.

 

[Bob Graham]

Thanks for the link. I lived in Germany from 74-75 and became acquainted with the Karl May films then. In a similar vein, First Run Features has just released a box set called "Westerns with a Twist" that collects 3 of the East German "Indianerfilme"; SONS OF THE GREAT BEAR, CHINGACHGOOK:THE GREAT SNAKE, and APACHES. These films were "inspired" by the success of the May series, but featured a distinctly anti-American agenda (they were produced in what was then a communist country). Dissappointingly, the most famous "Indianerfilm", BLOODBROTHERS starring American ex-patriate (and former pop singer) Dean Read is not part of the set.

Information on the set can be found here:

http://firstrunfeatures.com/defawesterns.html

 

[R-T-C Tim]

Cheers for the info on the Indianerfilme - the set has been reviewed at DVD Talk and looks pretty decent, I'll be picking it up before long I'm sure.

 

[Christian Behrens]

Very nice, Tim.

One correction to make: "[..]Treasure of Silver Lake, it secured actors Lex Barker and Pierre Brice in their respective roles as Old Shatterhand and Pierre Brice."

Should be Winnetou at the end

-Christian