''Decoder'' is a 1984 West German film directed by

Muscha Jürgen Muschalek (28 September 1951 – July 2003), known as Muscha, was a German artist and film director. He is known for his cult classic film Decoder. Biography Muscha was born in Meinerzhagen, Germany on 28 September 1951. He was a chi ...

. It is a

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

and

counter-cultural A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

film roughly based on the writings of

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, who also acts in the film.

Bill Rice Wilburn Steven Rice (born April 19, 1939 in Datto, Arkansas) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Rice charted six singles between 1971 and 1978, including the Top 40 hit "Travelin' Minstrel Man", but is better known for his songw ...

plays Jaeger ("Hunter"), an agent of the government in charge of suppressing dissidents, while

FM Einheit Frank-Martin Strauß, better known as F.M. Einheit and also known as Mufti, (born 18 December 1958, in Dortmund) is an industrial and electronic musician and actor from Germany. While primarily known for his percussion work with the influenti ...

plays a burger shop employee who discovers that by changing the background music from pleasantly calming to industrial "noise" music, he can incite riots and a revolution against the looming power of the government. ''Decoder'' was made on a small budget, and was written by Muscha,

Klaus Maeck Klaus Maeck (born in Hamburg 28 July 1954) is a German film producer. He is perhaps best remembered for his West German cyberpunk cult classic Decoder. His films have often played at the Berlin Film Festival. Prior to creating Decoder, he was a mu ...

, Volker Schäfer, and

Trini Trimpop Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

. Nevertheless, the project was able to attract a number of notable people within the countercultural and industrial music "scenes" to perform in it. Actors included Burroughs,

Genesis P-Orridge Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions arti ...

, Christiane Felscherinow, and bands included

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their plat ...

, Psychic TV,

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The group is currently composed of founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals; guitar; keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments; perc ...

, and

The The () are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...

. The film was considered "oddly forgotten", and for numerous years was not in wide circulation. In 2019, however, the film was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD.

Cast

F.M. Einheit Frank-Martin Strauß, better known as F.M. Einheit and also known as Mufti, (born 18 December 1958, in Dortmund) is an industrial and electronic musician and actor from Germany. While primarily known for his percussion work with the influential ...

as F.M. *

as Jaeger *

Christiane F. Christiane Vera Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book ''Christiane F.'' (original title: ), and the film and television miniseries based on the ...

as Christiana *Berthold Bell as H-Burger trainer (as Britzhold Baron De Belle) *

Matthias Fuchs Matthias Fuchs (1939–2001) was a German stage, film and television actor.Langford p.246 Partial filmography * '' The Immenhof Girls'' (1955) - Ethelbert * '' The First Day of Spring'' (1956) - Martin * ''Hochzeit auf Immenhof'' (1956) - Ethel ...

as H-Burger manager *

as Old Man *

as High Priest * Ralf Richter

References

External links

* 1984 films West German films 1980s German-language films Cyberpunk films Films about conspiracy theories German avant-garde and experimental films Punk films William S. Burroughs 1980s avant-garde and experimental films 1980s German films {{1980s-Germany-film-stub

Cast

See also

References

External links