Austrian Films - personal recommendations
This list is not ranked! it is listed by subjects.
I. Michael Haneke (more adult movies): No. 1-3
II. Michael Haneke (controversial and fierce movies): No. 4+5
III. "Angst": another controversial Austrian film: No. 6
IV. Ulrich Seidl
V. other films; some are even more mainstream
VI. Documentaries (Austrian directors made a lot of extraordinary good docus, so they have to be listed here. Even though i am not so much in this genre, these films are really highlights. internationally!)
VII. typical Austrian comedies (would be good if you are fluent in Austrian german, cause Austrian comedies depend a lot on speech).
VIII. non-Austrian films with extraordinary good performances by an Austrian actor or actress.
I. Michael Haneke (more adult movies): No. 1-3
II. Michael Haneke (controversial and fierce movies): No. 4+5
III. "Angst": another controversial Austrian film: No. 6
IV. Ulrich Seidl
V. other films; some are even more mainstream
VI. Documentaries (Austrian directors made a lot of extraordinary good docus, so they have to be listed here. Even though i am not so much in this genre, these films are really highlights. internationally!)
VII. typical Austrian comedies (would be good if you are fluent in Austrian german, cause Austrian comedies depend a lot on speech).
VIII. non-Austrian films with extraordinary good performances by an Austrian actor or actress.
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- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsJean-Louis TrintignantEmmanuelle RivaIsabelle HuppertGeorges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.Haneke is a director whose films are much more "Arthouse" than entertainment. they are not easy to consume, but this is one of those films which is also not shocking. it has a more adult feeling.
This film got an Oscar, a Golden Globe and the Palme d'Or in Cannes - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsIsabelle HuppertAnnie GirardotBenoît MagimelA young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.Haneke is a director whose films are much more "Arthouse" than entertainment. they are not easy to consume, but this is one of those films which is also not that much shocking, just a little bit. it has a more adult feeling.
This film won 3 prizes in Cannes. - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?Haneke is a director whose films are much more "Arthouse" than entertainment. they are not easy to consume, but this is one of those films which is also not shocking. it has a more adult feeling.
This film was nominated for an Oscar, won a Golden Globe and 4 prizes in Cannes. - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsSusanne LotharUlrich MüheArno FrischTwo violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement."funny games" is really hard stuff. it's shocking and very popular at a younger audience.
was nominated for the Palme d'Or in Cannes. - DirectorMichael HanekeStarsArno FrischAngela WinklerUlrich MüheA 14-year-old video enthusiast obsessed with violent films decides to make one of his own and show it to his parents, with tragic results."Bennys Video" is also hard stuff and shocking. controversial
- DirectorGerald KarglStarsErwin LederRobert Hunger-BühlerSilvia RyderA troubled man gets released from prison and starts taking out his sadistic fantasies on an unsuspecting family living in a secluded house.If you like "Funny Games" and "Bennys Video" there is a good chance that you also like this one. also very shocking and controversial, even its not a Haneke film. if you think about the time this one was made, it is VERY progressive. It got banned in many countries.
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsMaria HofstätterChristine JirkuViktor HennemannIn the tomb-like quiet of their ranch-style purgatory, a divorced husband and wife fight a wordless war while mourning an unspeakable mutual loss. A sadistic lover's ritual humiliation spawns both tenderness and revenge.Ulrich Seidl is the second very important director in Austria today. The feeling of his movies is very much an Austrian or sometimes even eastern european one. this one is mostly about austrian white trash people.
You like it - or you hate it! hard to consume and very unique. I've chosen 2 films which i think are good to get an insight in his works.
Ulrich Seidls films are somewhat misanthropic, so if you are someone who loves and need happy ends and if you are just optimistic and never pessimistic you maybe shouldnt even try his films
This film won the Grand Special Jury Prize in Venice. - DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsEkateryna RakLidiya Oleksandrivna SavkaOksana Ivanivna SklyarenkoA nurse from Ukraine searches for a better life in Central Europe, while an unemployed security guard from Austria heads East for the same reason.Ulrich Seidl is the second very important director in Austria today. The feeling of his movies is very much an Austrian or sometimes even eastern european one.
You like it - or you hate it! hard to consume and very unique. I've chosen 2 films which i think are good to get an insight in his works.
Ulrich Seidls films are somewhat misanthropic, so if you are someone who loves and need happy ends and if you are just optimistic and never pessimistic you maybe shouldnt even try his films - DirectorStefan RuzowitzkyStarsKarl MarkovicsAugust DiehlDevid StriesowThe story of the Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history, carried out by Germany during World War II.this film got an Oscar, so it is somewhat entertaining and much more easy to watch than the most others listed here.
- DirectorGötz SpielmannStarsJohannes KrischIrina PotapenkoAndreas LustEx-con Alex plans to flee to the South with his girl after a robbery. But something terrible happens and revenge seems inevitable.its a mixture of mainstream and arthouse, so it sits between these chairs, which is a problem, but its a good movie and you have to be concentrated to realize the picture language he is sometimes using. very european/austrian
This film was nominated for an Oscar. - DirectorMichael GlawoggerStarsPaulus MankerAugust DiehlMichael OstrowskiTwo yuppies play mean tricks on one another until one joke has fatal consequences."Slumming" must be listed here, even if it would be just for the first scene which is so intense and great. though the film isn't that strong as the first scene is, its still a very good movie. very european/austrian
- DirectorKarl MarkovicsStarsThomas SchubertKarin LischkaGeorg FriedrichThrough his work at a morgue, an incarcerated young man trying to build a new life starts to come to terms with the crime he committed.arthouse/underground audience can give this one a try. very european/austrian
- DirectorAndreas ProchaskaStarsSam RileyTobias MorettiPaula BeerThrough a hidden path, a lone rider reaches a little town high up in the Alps. Nobody knows where the stranger comes from, nor what he wants there. But everyone knows that they don't want him to stay.is an Austrian alps Western. Its a mainstream film, but nice to watch, though its not an extraordinary amazing Western, you will be entertained enough. i wouldnt say its a favorite of mine, but there should be at least one easy to consume film and this one is a good/okay film
- DirectorErwin WagenhoferStarsJean ZieglerPeter BrabeckKarl OtrokA look at how the world's food is produced and how mass production changes the environment and the lives of people.
- DirectorPaul PoetStarsJohn RinaldiPaul PoetCaledonia CurryHandmade utopias - a filmic search for the worldwide phenomenon of the micronation movement. Do-it-yourself states that have distanced themselves from the economic and political mainstreaming of globalization. A road movie covering land, water and the wildest realms of the imagination. Simultaneously creative documentary and pulsating cultural portrait, the film traces a new "unplugged" generation - their motives, their anxieties and their dreams. A film that shows how this generation realizes its escapist fantasies in new economic and political forms and how they collide with oppressive everyday realities.
- DirectorHubert SauperStarsElizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga NseseRaphael Tukiko WagaraDimond RemtuliaA documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.was nominated for an Oscar
- DirectorMichael GlawoggerA look at the people who live precariously, but with an unusual level of resourcefulness and imagination, in four gigantic urban agglomerations: Mumbai, New York City, Moscow and Mexico City.
- DirectorWerner BooteStarsWerner BooteJohn TaylorPeter LieberzeitWerner Boote presents an up-close and personal view of the controversial and fascinating material that has found its way into every facet of our daily lives: plastic. He takes us on a journey around the globe, showing that plastics have become a threat for both environment and human health.
- DirectorErwin WagenhoferStarsMark MobiusMirko KovatsK. Sujatha RaajuMost of us don't know where their money is. However, one thing is for certain, it's is not in the bank to which we entrusted it. The bank and our money is already a part of the cycle of the global money market.
- DirectorFranz AntelStarsKarl MerkatzAlfred BöhmHans HoltA politically naïve Viennese butcher (Bockerer) manages to survive the unification of Germany and Austria and the Second World War.I am afraid that all this 3 films ("Bockerer", "Muttertag" and "Immer nie am Meer") are not understandable by non german speakers. I dont even know if there exist subtitles. All 3 are more or less comedies and these Austrian films are depending very much on the language. Anyway! You can give it a try if you are really interested in Austrians soul and (unique) humor.
- DirectorHarald SicheritzStarsAlfred DorferReinhard NowakAndrea HändlerA satirical take on the life of a family in a public-housing complex in Vienna as they prepare for Mother's Day.I am afraid that all this 3 films ("Bockerer", "Muttertag" and "Immer nie am Meer") are not understandable by non german speakers. I dont even know if there exist subtitles. All 3 are more or less comedies and these Austrian films are depending very much on the language. Anyway! You can give it a try if you are really interested in Austrians soul and (unique) humor.
- DirectorAntonin SvobodaStarsChristoph GrissemannDirk StermannHeinz StrunkNever at the sea.I am afraid that all this 3 films ("Bockerer", "Muttertag" and "Immer nie am Meer") are not understandable by non german speakers. I dont even know if there exist subtitles. All 3 are more or less comedies and these Austrian films are depending very much on the language. Anyway! You can give it a try if you are really interested in Austrians soul and (unique) humor.
- DirectorMichael GlawoggerStarsMichael OstrowskiRaimund WallischAlexis Santiago HernandezAn episodic comedy that follows the lives of four men living in Vienna.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.Christoph Waltz as the Nazi Lauda was maybe the most astonishing actors performance in the last decades. If you have seen this movie you will never forget this character. amazing!
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.Peter Lorre was THE villain in cinema.
(btw.: the director of this film was also Austrian before he moved to the USA) - DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerIldikó BánságiKrystyna JandaIn early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?Klaus Maria Brandauer is a famous Actor in Austria. Internationally he is for sure much more famous for his role in "Out of Africa" (nominated for an Oscar) but his mask in this film is just unforgettable and reminds on his career as theater actor.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsTom TryonJohn HustonRomy SchneiderA young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.Romy Schneider got international attention with this, though there are a lot of remarkable films by her
(btw.: Otto Preminger, the director of this film, was also Austrian before he moved to the USA) - DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsOskar WernerJulie ChristieCyril CusackIn an oppressive future, a fireman whose duty is to destroy all books begins to question his task.Oskar Werner is an incredible actor, though its maybe not his best film its the one i like most. You have to hear his original german voice! though… i think he is not dubbed in the english version of this film. don't know! i love the german one.
- DirectorSeverin FialaVeronika FranzStarsLukas SchwarzElias SchwarzSusanne WuestTwin boys move to a new house with their mother after she has face-changing cosmetic surgery, but under the bandages is someone the boys don't recognize.