Günter Reisch (24 November 1927 – 24 February 2014) was a German

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He served in the German Army during the last stage of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. On 20 April 1944 he became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. After his release from an American POW camp, he returned to

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

in the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a ...

and joined the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

and later the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

. He started working with theater and film and became one of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

's most prominent film makers. He made 20 films, including the two '' Karl Liebknecht films''. His 1978 film ''

Anton the Magician ''Anton the Magician'' (german: Anton der Zauberer) is a 1978 East German comedy film directed by Günter Reisch. It was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival where Ulrich Thein won the award for Best Actor. Cast * Ulrich T ...

'' was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Sailor's Song ''The Sailor's Song'' (german: Das Lied der Matrosen) is an East German black-and-white film directed by Kurt Maetzig and Günter Reisch. It was released in 1958. Plot As the news of the October Revolution sweep through the world, the German Hi ...

'' (1958) * ''

New Year's Eve Punch ''New Year's Eve Punch'' (german: Silvesterpunsch) is a 1960 East German musical film directed by Günter Reisch and starring Erich Franz, Friedel Nowack and Erika Dunkelmann.Koepnick p.72 It was made by the state-owned DEFA company. It is a s ...

'' (1960) * '' Ach du fröhliche...'' (1962) * ''

'' (1978) * '' The Fiancee'' (1979)

References

External links

* 1927 births 2014 deaths Film people from Berlin Nazi Party members Socialist Unity Party of Germany members German Army personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Heinrich Greif Prize Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold {{Germany-film-director-stub