Tuesday 28 June 2022

A CASE FOR TWO (EIN FALL FÜR ZWEI) - SEASON 1 ON DVD (ELEPHANT FILMS)

 To Monique Planson.
 
The cult German crime drama A Case for Two (Ein Fall für zwei) ran for 300 episodes from 1981 to 2013 on ZDF. Its  first season (5 episodes) is now available in France on DVD in the "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 1" boxset from Elephant Films.

Ein Fall für zwei was born from an idea by scriptwriters/producers Georg Althammer and Karl Heinz Willschrei, who wanted to make a crime drama whose main character wouldn't be a cop or an amateur sleuth. Experts in their craft, both worked for Bavaria Atelier on detective dramas like Der Nachtkurier meldet... (1964-1966) or  Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre (1967-1976). Karl Heinz Willschrei wrote the espionage series Alexander Zwo (1972). He also penned several episodes of Tatort (1) and Der Alte (between 1977 and 1979). Althammer and Willschrei founded their own production company, called Monaco Film, in 1976. A subsidiary named Galmon-Film (later Odeon Film) was set up in 1981 to produce Ein Fall für zwei for the Freitagskrimi (Friday crime drama) line-up of ZDF. The concept pitched to the channel was a duo composed of a young lawyer and an experienced private eye. When Georg Althammer and Karl Heinz Willschrei were told that the great actor Günter Strack (The Odessa File, Torn Curtain) wanted to be in a TV series, they changed the tandem for an experienced lawyer — to be played by Strack — and a young detective.

Georg Althammer gave the role of the P.I. to Claus Theo Gärtner. Regularly on stage like Günter Strack, Gärtner won of the Deutscher Filmpreis of the Best young actor for the film Zoff (1972). He played in the 1977 sci-fi TV movie Operation Ganymed and starred in the series Die Straße (1978).  Ein Fall für zwei was launched by ZDF in September 1981 (2) with a 75-minute pilot titled Die große Schwester. Josef Matula (Gärtner), a 31-year old police officer in Frankfurt am Main, starts a romance with the sister of a young delinquent against whom he testified in court. The behaviour of his girlsfriend's brother, defended by lawyer Dr. Dieter Renz (Strack), puts his career in jeopardy and he decides to quit the force. Renz, who finds Josef sympathetic, hires him as his private investigator. Günter Strack left Ein Fall für zwei in 1988 after 60 episodes and the billiard player detective teamed up with three other lawyers during the impressively long run of the series: Dr. Rainer Frank (Rainer Hunold, 1988-1997), Dr. Johannes Voss (Mathias Hermann, 1997-2000) and Dr. Markus Lessing (Paul Frielinghaus, 2001-2013). 

In autumn 2011, Claus Theo Gärtner expressed his desire to leave after 30 years as Josef Matula. The duo Matula-Lessing bowed out with Letzte Worte, the 300th episode, in March 2013. Surprisingly, ZDF decided to revamp Ein Fall für Zwei around attorney Benjamin "Benni" Hornberg (Antoine Monot, Jr.) and private detective Leo Oswald (Wanja Hues). The new version started in May 2014, with the same title and even a cameo of Claus Theo Gärtner (in 2015) but minus the famous theme intro by jazz musician and television/film composer Klaus Doldinger. Founder of the band Passport, Doldinger composed the music of classics such as The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte, 1984) and Das Boot (1981) or the theme of Tatort. Sold in more than 50 countries, the original Ein Fall für Zwei arrived in France in 1991 and the series is still repeated there. For a long time, Klaus Doldinger's work was replaced by a local intro but it was restored for repeats. The "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 1" 3-disc DVD boxset from Elephant Films, which has the right theme, contains the following episodes (one-hour except for the pilot):

- Die große Schwester (65-minute version). Written by Karl Heinz Willschrei and directed by Wolfgang Storch (Star Maidens). With Daniela Ziegler (Laura Schneider), Michael Drescher-Stierhofer (Paul Schneider), Eva Pflug (Raumpatrouille Orion) as a judge, Ludwig Haas (Wunderlich), etc. Music by Rolf Kühn (The Vengeance of Doctor Mabuse/La venganza del doctor Mabuse). In French or in German (without subtitles).

- Fuchsjagd. A brilliant episode written by Plym Pahl (Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre, Okay S.I.R.) & Enno Hollrath and directed by Reinhard Schwabenitzky. Claus Brinkstedt, a former horse riding champion, tells his friend Dr. Renz that he wants to divorce his wife Charlotte. After he dies during a fox hunt event, an insurance company asks Matula to investigate. With Hannelore Cremer (Charlotte), Dietmar Schönherr (Raumpatrouille Orion) as Claus, Joachim Wichmann (Dr. Rasch), Henry Van Lyck (Dr. Schultzen), Dirk Galuba (Dr. Muller-Adorni), etc. In German with subtitles.

- Das Haus in Frankreich. A masterpiece penned by Willshrei. Produced and helmed by Hans Peter Renfranz (Der Alte). Birgit Weißenborn, an old flame of Dieter Renz, asks him to serve as an intermediary for the sale of her family house in France. She wants to use the money to buy a paint factory without telling her husband. Fans of the Edgar Wallace film series will recognize Barbara Rutting as Birgit. With Karl Heinz Vosgerau (Konrad Weißenborn). The music is from American composer Sam Spence (the NFL films, Wie ein Blitz). In French or in German (without subtitles).

- Todfreunde. Another piece of brilliance from Karl Heinz Willschrei. Directed by Michael Braun (Graf Yoster gibt sich die Ehre, Raumpatrouille Orion). Dr. Renz receives Matula and some guests for dinner at his home when a young man named Armin Fest wants to see the lawyer. He says he has just killed his girlfriend. Alexander Radszun is fabulous as Armin. Also with Brigitte Grothum (Prosecuting attorney), Hans Häckermann (Horst Senftleben), Siemen Rühaak (Lutz Hegart), etc. Music by Klaus Doldinger. In French or in German (without subtitles).

- Brandstiftung. This excellent episode, written by Werner Doering and helmed by Peter Weck, is actually the first of Season 2. Hans Hohmann, an alcoholic, is accused of burning down the car rental company of his ex-employer. With Ilse Neubauer (Margot Hohmann), Dieter Hufschmidt (Hans Hohmann), Karl-Heinz von Hassel (Tatort) as Ellerwein, Dieter Prochnow (Bender). Music by Andre Bauer. In French only.

Besides Ein Fall für Zwei, Georg Althammer and Karl Heinz Willschrei continued to provide their expertise in the crime genre with three episodes of Eurocops (in 1989, 1990 and 1991), private channel Sat.1's hit Wolffs Revier (1992-1999) or A.S. (1995-1998). Althammer produced Die Kommissarin (1994-2006), starring Hannelore Elsner. From 2017 and 2019, Claus Theo Gärtner returned to his signature role for three 90-minute specials. Season 8 of the revamped Ein Fall für zwei was shown recently by ZDF. Bonus material of the "Un cas pour deux - Intégrale saison 1" boxset is comprised of a photo gallery and the trailers of some other titles of Elephant Films, like the German crime drama Derrick, Hunter (with Fred Dryer), Fantasy Island, The Virginian and The Quest (with Kurt Russell and Tim Matheson). After Derrick and Ein Fall für zwei, Elephant will release a boxset of the 10th season from Der Alte in July.

(1) The crime drama collection of ARD, launched in 1970 and still aired today. Karl Heinz Willschrei penned 10 Tatort TV movies, including the most watched episode ever, Rot - rot - rot (26.57 million viewers on January 1, 1978).
(2) ZDF aired the first season of Ein Fall für zwei from September 11, 1981 to December 18, 1981 in alternance with Der Alte and Derrick.

https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/offer?action=desc&aid=10473716413&productid=8492160797
http://www.elephantfilms.com/
https://fr.shopping.rakuten.com/boutique/ElephantFilm
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/06/derrick-seasons-1-2-french-region-2-dvd.html (Derrick on DVD)

See also:

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2017/04/matula-zdf_28.html (Matula #1)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2018/04/matula-der-schatten-des-berges-zdf.html (Matula #2)
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2019/04/matula-tod-auf-mallorca-zdf.html (Matula #3)

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Monday 13 June 2022

HPI - SEASON 2, EPISODES 7 & 8: 55 KILOS & SERENDIPITY (TF1)

[Spoiler-free review] The amazing Audrey Fleurot (Spiral, A French Village) is back in HPI. The 8 x 52-minute second season of French private channel TF1's record-breaking comedy/crime drama concludes brilliantly with episodes 7 & 8.

Created by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot and Nicolas Jean — two of the creators of La Mante — with Stéphane Carrié (1), HPI established itself as a ratings phenomenon in France and Belgium during spring 2021 when its first 8 x 52 minute season broke historic records (2) and ranked amongst the most watched dramas in Europe. Sold in 90 countries, the series confirmed its status with the second season. Audrey Fleurot shines as Morgane Alvaro, a mother of three (from two different fathers) with a disdain for authority and a 160 I.Q. that makes her HPI (Haut Potentiel Intellectuel). She was a cleaning lady at the commissariat de Lille until Commissaire Céline Hazan noticed her abilities and offered her a consultant job in the team of Commandant Adam Karadec. The no-nonsense cop tries to adapt his style of policing to the red tornado, as genius as she's uncontrollable.

The actors alongside Audrey Fleurot are excellent: Mehdi Nebbou, who worked for Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott and appeared on German TV in Allmen and Tatort and in the U.S. drama Homeland, plays Adam Karadec. Céline Hazan is played by Marie Denarnaud (La malédiction du volcan). The other regulars are Bruno Sanches (Gilles Vandraud), Bérangère McNeese (Daphné Forestier), Cypriane Gardin (Théa) (3), Noé Vandevoorde (Eliott), Cédric Chevalme (Ludovic Mullier) and Christopher Bayemi (Luther) as Dr. Bonnemain. Clotilde Hesme (Lupin) joins them as Commandant Roxane Ascher, of the internal affairs. HPI does its own take on Knives Out with 55 kilos. The body of Hélène Lecoq, the recently deceased owner of a frozen food company, has been stolen and there's a statue in her coffin. The woman was terminally ill so why did someone strangle her? Karadec and Morgane investigate in the luxurious manor of the Lecoq family, all suspects in a real game of Cluedo. The commandant tries to guess the plans for his birthday party.
 
This gem was written by Émilie Clamart-Marsollat (Caïn, Une chance de trop), Nicolas Jean, Marion Carnel, Julien Anscutter and Alice Chegaray-Breugnot. The end of the episode is incredible. With Niels Dubost (Father Clément), Francis Leplay (Pierre Lecoq),  Agnès Tassel (Hélène Lecoq), Nicolas Moreau (Olivier Marchand), etc. With the participation of Rufus as Henri. This season, the creative forces behind HPI bring back the Romain Destat story. Romain, Morgane's boyfriend and Théa's father, went missing 16 years ago. Initially, Morgane accepted to work for Céline only if she found out what happened to him. This looked like the arc of the first season until filming was interrupted because of COVID. Serendipity, the magnificent finale of this second season, masterfully fixes the way Romain's fate was handled last year (4). Patrick Chesnais guest stars as Serge Alvaro, Morgane's  card counting father and a crook with a 161 HQ. Both the character and the actor are a fantastic addition to the series.

Fans of the Laurence/Avril/Marlène era of Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie will be happy to see François Godart and Dominique Thomas. Olivier Bonjour plays Le Belge. With the participation of Michèle Moretti as Agnès Alvaro. Written by Julien Anscutter, Stéphane Carrié and Alice Chegaray-Breugnot. Story arc by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Julien Anscutter and Stéphane Carrié. Episodes 7 & 8 directed by Djibril Glissant. Produced by Septembre Productions and Itinéraire Productions with TF1 and the participation of Salto (the French streaming service). Co-produced by Be-Films, RTBF (Télévision belge), Umedia, Pictanovo and RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. Filmed with the support of Région Hauts-de-France. Jean Nainchrik, Anthony Lancret and Pierre Laugier are the line producers. Patrice Onfray exec produces. Produced by Anthony Lancret, Pierre Laugier and Bérengère Legrand.
 
Music by Yannis Dumoutiers. Cinematography by Isarr Eiriksson. Editing by Pascal Jauffres (55 kilos), Olga Penot (Serendipity). Casting by Christophe Moulin. Main title design by Brett & Cie (Crimes parfaits). Graphic animations by La Brigade du Titre. Visual effects by Super 35 Productions and Umedia. Supported by the Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique and the investors of the Tax Shelter, with uFund. High Intellectual Potential (the international title of HPI) is distributed by Newen Connect. Seasons 1 & 2 are available on Salto. Season 1 is available on DVD thanks to UGC. 55 kilos was shown last thursday on TF1 and Serendipity will air this week. 
 
(1) Based on an idea from Nicolas Jean. Djibril Glissant and Franck Martins contributed to the series.
(3) Cypriane Gardin also plays in France 3's crime drama Police de caractères.
 
The second season of HPI was our Favourite of the Month in May.
 
 
See also:
 
https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2022/05/hpi-season-2-episodes-1-2-2300-calories.html (Episodes 1 & 2) 
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Monday 6 June 2022

DERRICK - SEASONS 1 & 2 ON DVD (ELEPHANT FILMS)

[Favourite of the Month] Derrick, the German crime drama starring Horst Tappert and Fritz Wepper, ran for 281 episodes from 1974 to 1998 on ZDF and aired in over 100 countries. The seasons 1 & 2 (15 one-hour episodes) will be available in France on DVD (1) tomorrow in the "Inspecteur Derrick - Intégrales saisons 1 & 2" boxset released by Elephant Films.
 
Derrick was devised by producer Helmut Ringelmann and scriptwriter Herbert Reinecker as an alternative to Der Kommissar, their crime drama launched in 1969 on ZDF. Set in Munich, Der Kommissar starred Erik Ode as Kommissar Herbert Keller (an investigator inspired by Maigret). Ode previously guest starred as three different detectives in the ZDF anthology Das Kriminalmuseum, produced by Ringelmann between 1963 and 1970. Der Kommissar remained in black & white until the end in 1976 and the 97 one-hour episodes were all penned by Reinecker. In April 1977, Der Alte, Helmut Ringelmann's successor to Der Kommissar, premiered on the channel (2). The prolific Reinecker worked on the Edgar Wallace, Jerry Cotton and Winnetou film series. Interested by the psychological and social backgrounds of crime (3), he wrote each of the 281 episodes of Derrick. The main character, Oberinspektor Stephan Derrick of the Mordkommission, made actor Horst Tappert recognizable all over the world.
 
Horst Tappert's first notable role was the criminal mastermind of the miniseries The Great Train Robbery (Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse, 1966). The same year he appeared in Tip not included (Die Rechnung - eiskalt serviert), a Jerry Cotton. Tappert played a bad guy named Douglas Fairbanks in the Edgar Wallace movie The Hound of Blackwood Castle (Der Hund von Blackwood Castle, 1967) before switching sides as Inspector Perkins in Gorilla Gang (Der Gorilla von Soho, 1968) and The Man with the glass eye (Der Mann mit dem Glasauge, 1969), the next two. In 1972 he reprised his role from Die Gentlemen bitten zur Kasse in Hoopers letzte Jagd. Helmut Ringelmann offered him the title role in Derrick, a production of his new company Telenova (for ZDF, ORF and SRG) filmed in colour. Horst Tappert initially described the Oberinspektor as "devoured by the melancholy and cynicism of Humphrey Bogart" (4). An element of Der Kommissar was kept when the Kriminalhauptmeister Harry Klein, one of Herbert Keller's men, left his boss to become Inspektor and work for Derrick.
 
Munich-born actor Fritz Wepper bid farewell to Der Kommissar in an episode where Harry introduced his replacement... his brother Erwin Klein (Fritz Wepper's brother Elmar Wepper). Before Derrick, Wepper shared scenes with Tappert in Der Man mit dem Glassauge and got noticed in Cabaret (1972). He stayed popular long after Derrick, with TV series like Zweï Brüder (1994-2000, with Elmar Wepper), Um Himmels Willen (2002-2021) and Mord in bester Geselshaft (2007-2017). Imbued with Herbert Reinecker's vision of life and his experiences, the majority of the episodes of Derrick are built on a simple pattern. A sordid crime is committed amongst the small bourgeoisie or high society of Munich (or nearby) and Derrick investigates with Klein. Stephan Derrick acts in most episodes as a sort of misanthropic observer, uncompromising but with a solid sense of justice. In seasons 1 and 2, viewers immediately knew the culprit, like in Columbo, though this was dropped in favour of whodunnits. Occasional action sequences are another distinctive feature of these early episodes.
 
The filming of Derrick began in summer 1973 and ZDF presented the series with 3 episodes aired during autumn and winter 1974. The channel continued with 12 more in 1975. Mittenachtbus, the very first episode, was shown in fourth position and Waldweg, the actual fourth, as the series premiere. None of the 15 episodes were broadcast in their production order. The first couple of seasons of Derrick are in the DVD boxset from Elephant Films in French or German (without subtitles). Season 1 starts with the aforementioned Waldweg, one of the best episodes, directed by Dietrich Haugk. A female student from a hotel school is found murdered in the woods. The killing scene isn't graphic but it's quite impressive. The guest cast of Waldweg includes Wolfgang Kieling, Herbert Böttticher, Walter Sedlmayr — who later starred in Ringelmann's Polizeiinspektion 1 (1977-1988) — and Friedrich Georg Beckhaus (Raumpatrouille Orion). In Johanna, a man murders his wife to live with his young mistress. Derrick and Klein meet the woman's twin sister. The great Lilli Palmer is amazing in a double role, alongside the excellent Helmut Lohner (Babeck).
 
Stiftungsfest guest stars Siegfried Lowitz, a familiar face from the Edgar Wallace movies and the future Kriminalhauptkommissar Erwin Köster in Der Alte (from 1977 to 1986). Season 2 opens with the brilliant Mittenachtbus, directed by Theodor Grädler.  A young man kills his pregnant girlfriend and his father diverts suspicion on the disabled son of an alcoholic. Werner Kreindl (Oskar) is best known for Soko 5113, in which he starred from 1978 to 1992. Also with Hartmut Becker, Lambert Hamel, etc. Peter Kuiper is incredible as Hugo Hase in Tod am Bahngleis. Greiser is played by Günter Strack, Dr. Renz in Ein Fall für zwei from 1981 to 1988. First episode with Günther Stoll as Kriminalbeamter Schröder. The plan of an arrogant student (Thomas Fritsch) to get easy money has dramatic consequences in Nur aufregugen für Rohm. The fans of Der Alte will recognize Michael Ande as his friend. Madeira is a classic, thanks to the legendary Curt Jurgens as a "ladykiller" and La mer by Charles Trénet. Susanne Uhlen plays his niece.
 
In Zeichen der Gewalt, the late Raimund Harmstorf (Der Seewolf, Michel Strogoff) is a runaway killer chased by Derrick. Erotic icon Sybil Danning plays his wife. With Gaby Dohm (Black Forest Clinic/Die Schwarzwaldklinik) and Jan Hendriks (5). This episode has the flavour of a U.S. thriller or a French polar of the era. First appearance of Willy Schäfer as Kriminalbeamter Berger. Paddenberg is a man (Peter Pasetti) who faces his victim's wife (Anaid Iplicjan). Klaus Löwitsch (Welt am Draht, Peter Strohm) is Hoffmann in Hoffmanns Höllenfahrt. Because of the ZDF broadcast order, Willy Schäfer appears as a witness. In Pfandhaus, the third episode filmed, a pawnshop owner wants to kill the lover (Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer) of his young employee and shoots the wrong man. Ein Koffer aus Salzburg looks like an episode of Tatort, the ARD crime drama collection launched in 1970 and still on the air. In fact, Bezirksinspector Wirz (Kurt Jaggberg) from Tatort appears in this story. With Ralph Schermuly and Jacques Breuer. First episode with Gerhard Borman as Kriminalbeamter Echterding.
 
Edgar Wallace director Alfred Vohrer helmed Kamillas junger Freund, guest starring Siegfried Wischnewski and Hans-Georg Panczak. Gaby is played by Ilse Pagé, Miss Finley in the Wallace movies. Season 2 concludes with Der Tag nach dem Mord and Alarm auf Revier 12. In the latter, Gerd Haucke plays a sinister burglar. Walter Sedlmayr returns in a different role. The song heard in this episode is Theo, wir fahr'n nach Lodz, performed by Vicky Leandros. Derrick's girlfriend psychologist Renate Konrad (Johanna von Koczian) and his boss, Kriminalrat Harder (Hermann Lenschau) can be seen in this second season. The other directors of seasons 1 & 2 are Leopold Lindberg, Helmut Kaütner, Alfred Weidenmann, Wolfgang Becker, Franz Peter Wirth, Helmuth Ashley and Zbyněk Brynych. The theme of Derrick was composed by English musician Les Humphries, who did the music for the first episode produced. The illustrious Peter Thomas composed the music of Waldweg. Martin Böttcher (Winnetou) scored Ein Koffer aus Salzburg. Hans-Martin Majewski composed 4 of the 15 episodes.
 
Derrick arrived in France as Inspecteur Derrick in 1986 on Silvio Berlusconi's La Cinq and suffered the comparison to a raft of American imports. Since there's a gaullic die-hard cliché about the so-called "slowness" of the series. By its nature Derrick explores wide narrative areas from stories in the line of Der Kommissar to "chabrolian" portraits of the bourgeoisie, with detours to Dostoevski, Nietszche or Kafka. This psychological (and often philosophical) study in 281 chapters about the weakness of the human soul lasted 25 seasons. Herbert Reinecker and Helmut Ringelmann maintained the series' quality all these years, helped by Horst Tappert and Fritz Wepper, a quasi-repertory company of guest actors and a group of competent directors. Horst Tappert made his exit from Derrick with class in Das Abschiedsgeschenk, the 1998 finale. His last scene, on the superb song Hey, Mr Gentleman by Helen Schneider, is a moving moment of television (6). Siska, the successor of Derrick conceived by the same writer and producer, lasted 10 years from 1998 to 2008.
 
Bonus material of the Derrick DVD boxset is comprised of a photo gallery and the trailers of some of the titles from Elephant Films, such as Mike Hammer, Matt Helm (with Tony Franciosa) or The Law and Harry McGraw. Elephant will release a DVD boxset of the first season of Ein Fall für zwei at the end of the month and a boxset of the 10th season from Der Alte in July.

(1) All Zone.
(2) Der Alte still exists today.
(5) Jan Hendriks played the Kriminalkommissar Martin Brenner in Der Alte from 1977 to 1986.
(6) The actors of Der Alte and Helmut Ringelmann himself had cameos in this episode. 
  
 
See also:
 
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