''The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreutz'' (german: Die Beispiellose Verteidigung der Festung Deutschkreutz) is a 1967
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
by
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with un ...
filmed in
Deutschkreutz
Deutschkreutz ( hu, Sopronkeresztúr until 1899, ''Németkeresztúr'' yi, צעלעם, translit=Zelem hr, Kerestur) is an Austrian market town in the district of Oberpullendorf in the state of Burgenland.
Geography
Deutschkreutz lies in Middle ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. Herzog's official website describes the film as "a satire on the state of war and peace and the absurdities it inspires."
In the film, four men break into an abandoned castle that was the site of a battle between the Russians and Germans during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The men find old military uniforms and equipment, and equip themselves for a defense of the castle. They see farmers approaching the castle, but are disappointed when they fail to attack. The film ends with the four men, armed, storming out of the castle's front gates. The film's actors have no dialogue; the only spoken text is delivered by a narrator, who discusses his thoughts on war and various other subjects.
The film was released in April 1967, at the Oberhausen Film Festival.
References
External links
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West German films
1960s German-language films
Oberpullendorf District
German drama short films
1967 short films
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