Jörg Buttgereit (born 20 December 1963) is a German writer/

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

known for his

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

films. He was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and has lived there his entire life. He is best known for his

horror films Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoc ...

Nekromantik ''Nekromantik'' (stylized as ''NEKRomantik'') is a 1988 West German horror exploitation film co-written and directed by Jörg Buttgereit. It is known to be frequently controversial, banned in a number of countries, and has become a cult film ov ...

'' (1987), ''

Der Todesking ''Der Todesking'' () is a 1990 German horror film directed by Jörg Buttgereit. This experimental style movie, which does not use central characters, explores the topic of suicide and violent death in the form of seven episodes, each one attribute ...

'' (1990), ''

Nekromantik 2 ''Nekromantik 2: Die Rückkehr der Liebenden Toten (The Return of the Loving Dead)'' (stylized as ''NEKRomantik 2'') is a 1991 German horror film directed by Jörg Buttgereit and a sequel to his 1988 film ''Nekromantik''. The film is about necrop ...

'' (1991) and '' Schramm'' (1993). In 1999, he directed an episode of the television series ''

Lexx ''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul Donovan (writer), Paul and Michael Donovan (producer), Michael Dono ...

'', after a six-year absence from the entertainment industry. In 2013, Buttgereit announced that he would be teaming up with fellow horror directors Andreas Marschall and Michal Kosakowski to work on an anthology film called ''German Angst'', in which each director would do one short. The film was released on May 7, 2015. Buttgereit's superhero character, Captain Berlin, was adapted into a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series in 2013. There is also a comic book version of ''Nekromantik''.

Early life

Buttgereit was raised in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

while the Berlin Wall was still standing and the Allied Forces –

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and the

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– each controlled a section of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. Hence, young Buttgereit went to the movie theaters to watch films from the aforementioned countries, he particularly enjoyed watching monster movies from the age of four. His grandmother bought him packs of ''Creature Feature'' bubblegum cards while he was in kindergarten and for his first Holy communion he received a Super 8 camera. Buttgereit has been experimenting with film since 1977. His first project was called ''Gags und Schwarzer Humor'', a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

TV commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

. ''Color Trip'' was created after his camera broke and the developers gave him back black, blank film. After scratching and washing the film, something blue, black and green came out of the projector. ''Klassenfahrt'' was a movie about his class in his last year at school. ''Stress'' was another version of Color Trip using another returned blank film. He claims his very first feature was called ''Interview with Frankenstein''. ''The Exploding Sports Shoe'' (1980) was a two-minute film consisting of a

sport shoe Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

exploding in

slow-motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use ...

. It was shown on TV as part of a documentary about punk rock; the original title was ''The Most Beautiful Destruction''. In 2012, speaking at the

Leeds International Film Festival The Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) is the largest film festival in England outside London. Founded in 1987, it is held in November at various venues throughout Leeds, West Yorkshire. In 2015, the festival welcomed over 40,000 visitor ...

, Buttgereit said that he was happy working in stage and television production and cited

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piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

as a problem for

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

filmmakers.

Filmography (as writer and director)

*''Ogar der Hässliche'' (1981) *''Captain Berlin'' (1982) *''Mein Papi'' (1982) *''Der Gollob'' (1983) *''Horror Heaven'' (1984) *''Blutige Exzesse im Führerbunker'' (1984) *''Hot Love'' (1984) *''Crucifixion'' (episode in '' Jesus – Der Film'') (1986) *''

'' (1987) *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1991) *'' Schramm'' (1993) *''Die Monsterinsel'' (documentary) (2002) *''Through the Night with Michaela Schaffrath and Mark Benecke'' (documentary) (2007) *''Through the Night with Asia Argento and Joe Coleman'' (documentary) (2007) *''Monsterland'' (documentary) (2009) *''Captain Berlin VS Hitler'' (2010) *''Into the Night with Oda Jaune and Lars Eidinger'' (documentary) (2010) *''A Moment of Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein'' (short film) (2012) *''Monsters of Arthouse'' (DVD compilation of Buttgereit stageplays) (2013) *''German Angst'' (with Andreas Marschall and Michal Kosakowski) (2015) *''Schweinchen - Piglets'' (decomposition documentary with Dr. Mark Benecke (2020)

References

Bibliography

* Buttgereit, J. (Ed). (2007) ''Nekromantik''. Berlin: Martin Schmitz Verlag. * Kerekes, D. (1998). ''Sex, Murder, Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit''. Manchester: HEADPRESS. * Koven, M. J. (2007). Buttgereit's Poetics: 'Schramm' as a Cinema of Poetry. In Hantke, S. ''Caligari's Heirs: The German Cinema of Fear after 1945''. pp. 185–197. Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Plymouth UK: The Scarecrow Press Inc. * MacCormack, P. (2007). Necrosexuality, Perversion, and 'Jouissance': The Experimental Desires of Jörg Buttgereit's 'NekRomantik' Films. In Hantke, S. ''Caligari's Heirs: The German Cinema of Fear after 1945''. pp. 199–215. Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Plymouth UK: The Scarecrow Press Inc. * Stiglegger, M. (2007). "Good News From the Underground: A Conversation with Jörg Buttgereit." In Hantke, S. ''Caligari's Heirs: The German Cinema of Fear after 1945''. pp. 219–226. Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Plymouth UK: The Scarecrow Press Inc.

External links

* *
Girls and Corpses
Interview with Jörg Buttgereit by Kevin Klem
Interview in Exberliner Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttgereit, Jorg 1963 births Living people Mass media people from Berlin Horror film directors