Münchhausen (1943 film)
| Münchhausen | |
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| Directed by | Josef von Báky |
| Produced by | Eberhard Schmidt |
| Written by |
Gottfried August Bürger Erich Kästner Rudolf Erich Raspe |
| Starring |
Hans Albers Wilhelm Bendow |
| Music by | Georg Haentzschel |
| Cinematography | Konstantin Irmen-Tschet Werner Krien |
| Distributed by | Universum Film A.G. (Ufa) |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 mins 119 mins (restored version) |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Budget | 6,500,000ℛℳ |
| Box office | 8,000,000ℛℳ |
Münchhausen is a 1943 fantasy comedy film directed by Josef von Báky. Science fiction author David Wingrove has commented that this work "sidesteps immediate political issues whilst conjuring up marvellous visual images of an ageless pastoral Germany."
The film opens at an 18th-century ball, where Baron Hieronymus von Münchhausen is propositioned by a young woman who is engaged to another man. He graciously rejects her advance, and as she leaves, she asks him to turn on the light. The camera follows his hand to a modern light switch, and the young woman drives off in an automobile. The next day, the Baron, out of his costume and in modern dress, regales two of his guests with stories of the famous Baron Münchhausen, to whom his guests think he is distantly related.
He begins in his home town of Bodenwerder, back from an adventure with his trusted servant Christian Kuchenreutter, who has invented a gun that can shoot accurately at a distance of 100 miles. The sorcerer Cagliostro visits, and asks the Baron to join him in a quest to take over the throne of Poland. The Baron declines, explaining that he has no interest in power, just in adventure.
In St. Petersburg, the Baron joins the court of Catherine the Great. She offers to appoint him to be her general aide-de-camp and install him in a room below hers, with a secret elevator between the two so that they can carry on their affair. He agrees to stay until one of them wants more freedom. While in her court, the Baron clashes with Prince Potemkin. The pair fight a "cuckoo duel" in a darkened room, where one party is obliged to call "cuckoo" while the other aims and fires a pistol at the sound of his opponent's voice. The Baron is wounded in the duel and he goes to Cagliostro, who has recently arrived in St. Petersburg, to tend to the wound. While there, the Baron warns Cagliostro of his impending arrest. After healing the Baron, Cagliostro asks him what he desires most of all, since money and power do not interest him. The Baron answers that he wishes to be as young as he is at that moment, for as long as he desires. Cagliostro grants his wish.
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Wikipedia