The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (film)
| The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum | |
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| Directed by |
Volker Schlöndorff Margarethe von Trotta |
| Produced by |
Willi Benninger Eberhard Junkersdorf Gunther Witte |
| Written by |
Heinrich Böll (novel) Volker Schlöndorff(screenplay) Margarethe von Trotta(screenplay) |
| Starring |
Angela Winkler Mario Adorf Dieter Laser Jürgen Prochnow |
| Music by | Hans Werner Henze |
| Cinematography | Jost Vacano |
| Edited by | Peter Przygodda |
| Distributed by |
Cinema International Corporation (1975) (West Germany) New World Pictures (1975) (USA) |
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Release date
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Running time
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106 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, or: How violence develops and where it can lead (German original title: Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum oder: Wie Gewalt entstehen und wohin sie führen kann) is a 1975 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Heinrich Böll, written for the screen by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta. Schlöndorff and von Trotta wrote the script with an emphasis on the vindictive and harsh treatment of an innocent woman by the public, the police and the media.
The film stars Angela Winkler as Blum, Mario Adorf as Kommissar Beizmenne, Dieter Laser as Tötges, and Jürgen Prochnow as Ludwig.
Katharina Blum is an innocent woman who works as a housekeeper whose life is ruined by an invasive tabloid reporter and a police investigation when the man with whom she has just met and quickly fallen in love turns out to be a radical bank robber and an alleged terrorist. She suddenly becomes a suspect in the crimes he's being accused of. Throughout the film, Katharina's limits are tested and her dignity, as well as her sanity, is on the line as she tries her best to make her voice heard and the truth known.
Produced during a time of political controversy in West Germany, and a time where journalists would stop at nothing to get their name known in the field, the film digs deep into human rights violations in what should be a peaceful, democratic country, and shines a light on the vindictive nature of the press and the tendency they have to spread lies and distort the facts. The film, unlike the novel, ends with a scene at Tötges' funeral, with his publisher delivering a hypocritical condemnation of the murder as an infringement on the freedom of the press.
The opening scene of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is a man being watched. He proceeds to steal a car, and then goes to a party, where he meets a girl. They fall in love and spend the night together, and when the police come knocking on her door the next morning looking for him, he’s gone. The girl, Katharina, is arrested for aiding a terrorist, even though she had just met him. It immediately becomes a media spectacle. When Katharina is released because the police can’t find the evidence to hold her, she walks into an abundance of journalists pointing cameras at her and yelling questions at her. She tries to look away, but the police officer escorting her out grabs a fistful of her hair and makes her look into the flashing lights and curious faces. He claims they’re just doing their jobs and that she needs to respect that. From this, the viewer knows there is more going on than just Katharina falling in love with a terrorist – this film is about the media, too.
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