Knockin' On Heaven's Door (1997 Film)
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''Knockin' on Heaven's Door'' is a 1997 German
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...
film by
Thomas Jahn Thomas Jahn (born 9 July 1965) is a German film and television director. Filmography Feature films * ''Knockin' on Heaven's Door'' (1997) * ''Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller'' (1998) * ''Auf Herz und Nieren'' (2001) * ''The Lost Samaritan'' (2 ...
, starring
Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin. Early life Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
,
Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu (; was born in Munich, Munich, Germany on August 13, 1971. He has worked over the years as a film actor, voice actor, and film director. Bleibtreu has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Exp ...
,
Jan Josef Liefers Jan Josef Liefers (born 8 August 1964), is a German actor, producer, director and musician. Life Liefers was born in Dresden, the son of director Karlheinz Liefers and actress Brigitte Liefers-Wähner. After his apprenticeship he studied at th ...
and
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
. Its name derives from the
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
song which is also on the film's soundtrack. It was entered into the 20th Moscow International Film Festival where
Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin. Early life Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
won the Silver St. George for Best Actor. The film has received widespread popularity in
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and other
post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
and has attained a
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there.


Plot

Two patients (Martin Brest and Rudi Wurlitzer) meet in a hospital, just after learning that both have untreatable diseases with short life expectancies. They start talking about their death that is to come very soon. When they find a bottle of
tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...
, Martin finds out that Rudi has never seen the sea. Martin tells Rudi that all they talk about in Heaven is how beautiful the sea is. Drunk and still in their pajamas, they steal a
baby blue Baby blue is a tint of azure, one of the pastel colors. The first recorded use of ''baby blue'' as a color name in English was in 1892. Variations of baby blue Beau blue Beau blue is a light tone of baby blue. "Beau" means "beautiful" in F ...
Mercedes-Benz W113 : ''See Mercedes-Benz SL-Class for a complete overview of all SL-Class models.'' The Mercedes-Benz W 113 is a two-seat Roadster (automobile), roadster/coupé, introduced at the Geneva Motor Show#1963, 1963 Geneva Motor Show, and produced from 1 ...
classic roadster and go for their last mission - to see the sea. The car belongs to a crime boss. They rob several small shops, only to find that there is a million deutsche marks in cash in the trunk of their car. As they progress closer to their goal, police along with gangsters start the hot pursuit. Eventually, the two friends find themselves trapped in the middle of a countryside road by police units on one side and gangsters on the other, pointing their guns at each other. The stand-off finally erupts into a big shoot-out while the two make a desperate escape through the corn field. After that, Martin buys a pink Cadillac of the same model as the one which
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
presented to his mother. His wish is to give the same present to his own mother. As he fulfills the wish, they get ambushed by police near Martin's mother's house. Martin pretends to have a seizure and falls on the ground. He is taken to the hospital in an ambulance with Rudi sitting by his side. En route, Martin and Rudi hijack the vehicle to continue their quest. On the way to the ocean they stop by a brothel, where Rudi wants to fulfil his wish to have sex with two women at the same time. By coincidence, the brothel is owned by the boss whose money they had found in the car they have stolen at the beginning of the journey. They are seen by the two gangsters who were after them throughout their journey. The gangsters take Rudi and Martin to their boss who asks them for money they should return. Martin says that the money was spent and sent to various people which drives the criminal boss insane. Enraged, the boss points a gun at them ready to shoot, but Curtiz, the most influential criminal to whom the money was meant to be delivered, comes in. After a short talk he says "Then you better run, before you run out of time". The capo goes on talking about that in heaven everybody would be talking about the ocean. Curtiz spares their lives and lets them go. The film ends as Martin and Rudi arrive at the ocean's shore. They walk to the sandy beach and Martin falls dead on the ground. Rudi imperturbably sits down beside his friend, facing the ocean and watching the surf.


Cast

*
Til Schweiger Tilman Valentin Schweiger (; born 19 December 1963) is a German actor, voice actor and filmmaker. He runs his own production company, Barefoot Films, in Berlin. Early life Schweiger was born in Freiburg, West Germany, to two teachers. He grew ...
as Martin Brest *
Jan Josef Liefers Jan Josef Liefers (born 8 August 1964), is a German actor, producer, director and musician. Life Liefers was born in Dresden, the son of director Karlheinz Liefers and actress Brigitte Liefers-Wähner. After his apprenticeship he studied at th ...
as Rudi Wurlitzer *
Thierry Van Werveke Thierry van Werveke (23 October 1958 – 12 January 2009) was a Luxembourgish actor. He appeared in over 60 films and television shows between 1988 and 2009. He starred in '' Hochzäitsnuecht'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard se ...
as Henk, The Belgian *
Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu (; was born in Munich, Munich, Germany on August 13, 1971. He has worked over the years as a film actor, voice actor, and film director. Bleibtreu has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Exp ...
as Abdul, The Turk *
Huub Stapel Hubertus Wijnandus Jozef Marie (Huub) Stapel (born 2 December 1954, in Tegelen) is a Dutch actor. He is especially known from the films ''De Lift'' (1983), '' Flodder'' (1986) and '' Amsterdamned'' (1988) by Dick Maas. He also appeared in the G ...
as Frankie "Boy" Beluga *
Leonard Lansink Leonard Lansink (born 7 January 1956) is a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films since 1983. Selected filmography References External links * 1956 births Living people German male film actors German male telev ...
as Kommissar Schneider * Ralph Herforth as Assistant Keller *
Cornelia Froboess Cornelia Froboess (; born 28 October 1943) is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many West German and Austrian musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germa ...
as Frau Brest, Martin's Mother *
Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
as Curtiz *
Christiane Paul Christiane Paul (; born 8 March 1974 in Berlin-Pankow) is a German film, television and stage actress. Paul first worked as a model for magazines such as '' Bravo''. She was 17 when she obtained her first leading role in the film '. Prior to h ...
as Shop Assistant In A Boutique *
Xenia Seeberg Xenia Seeberg (born Anke Wesenberg; 4 April 1967) is a German film and television actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Xev Bellringer in the science fiction television series ''Lexx''. She also debuted as a singer in 1996 on the E ...
as Policewoman


Reception

The film opened on 522 screens in Germany and opened at number one at the box office with a gross of $3,035,034 for the four-day weekend. It was the fifth highest-grossing film of the year in Germany (and the highest-grossing German film) with a gross of $21,288,865. Worldwide, it grossed $23.8 million.


Remake

A Japanese remake was announced to be released in February 2009 under the title '' Heaven's Door'' (directed by
Michael Arias Michael Arias (born 1968) is an American-born filmmaker active primarily in Japan. Though Arias has worked variously as visual effects artist, animation software developer, and producer, he is best known for his directorial debut, the anime f ...
and with music by Plaid). In contrast to the original, protagonists in the remake are 28-year-old young man and a 14-year-old girl.


See also

* ''
Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...
'', a 1988 film with a similar plot * ''
The Bucket List ''The Bucket List'' is a 2007 American buddy adventure comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their road t ...
'', a 2007 film with a similar plot


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Film) 1997 films 1990s crime comedy films 1990s buddy films 1990s chase films 1990s comedy thriller films German crime comedy films German action films 1990s German-language films Films directed by Thomas Jahn Films about cancer Films shot in Cologne Films set in Germany Films distributed by Disney Touchstone Pictures films 1997 action comedy films 1990s German films