Der Totmacher

Most of my fellow reviewers around here dedicate their entire user- comment, or at least the largest part of it, to praising the formidable acting performance of Götz George. And don't get me wrong, I definitely concur. Götz George's depiction of the notorious and legendary despicable German serial killer Fritz Haarmann is absolutely stunning and mind-blowing! Jürgen Hentsch' performance as the shrink is terrific as well. Heck, even Pierre Franckh's performance as the silent stenographer is excellent! But a great film exists of more than just terrific acting performances from the lead characters, if you ask me. Thrillers, particularly when dealing with sensitive and socially relevant topics like real-life murderers, ought to have suspenseful scripts, moody atmospheres, authentic decors and filming locations and gripping action sequences. "Der Totmacher" isn't that type of film, clearly. The screenplay is based on Haarmann's profound and extended psychiatric evaluation, conducted by professor-doctor Ernst Schültze in between the serial killer's arrest and his inevitable execution. Fascinating material, for sure, but not suitable for a film. The long conversations between doctor and monster would make a compelling documentary and perhaps even mandatory viewing material for psychiatrist students, but it doesn't make a very interesting long-feature film. Despite the horrific content, "Der Totmacher" is tedious and monotonous. Fritz "The Vampire of Hanover" Haarmann previously formed the inspiration for another German thriller, the brilliant but sadly obscure "The Tenderness of Wolves" in 1973. That film features magnificent contemporary set pieces, numerous ultimately disturbing sequences and also fantastic lead performance (from Kurt Raab).

Would a different translation have made it chillier or scarier? Are the subtitles too compact to convey the nuances of the original language? Does it even matter? You may have heard that great actors can make reading a phone book exciting. Well, this is an opportunity to judge for yourself.

If this isn't about homosexuality, murder, dismemberment, psychopaths, insanity, deviant psychology, then it is about acting - acting helped along with lots of dialog, So, enjoy the acting or muse about how titillating the dialog actually is.

For English speakers, "Twelve Angry Men" might be a better choice. There's a bit more interaction, and you can judge if the acting is consistent with the dialog. You don't have to wonder if you're missing something.

I would recommend Andy Warhol's "Empire" to those who like this film.

This is a quite spartan film. The only location is a sparse-funitured room, no special-effects, no score, just a few actors. - But what for actors! Götz George is supposed to be one of the best German actors, and after this movie the viewer knows why. Here he really shows what he is able to. I rarely (never?) saw such an intense, brilliant and convincing performance before. The sparse environment has the effect that the viewer can concentrate himself on the acting - and and this is what makes this film worth seeing.

But it's not only Götz George. The other actors (esp. Jürgen Hentsch as the psychiatrist and Pierre Franckh as the stenographer) are performing impressive and convincing. They are a well contrast and counterpart for George alias Haarmann. This prevents this movie from becoming a Götz-George-One-Man-Show.

I rated this with 8 because I think. a film for a 9 or even 10 should make more use of the diverse capabilities of the medium. After all a good film, but an absolute excellent play.

In "Der Totmacher" Götz George basically just plays a murderer during a cross examination. Several sessions are shown. I am certainly not George's biggest fan on the planet, but what he did in this movie is what I have to call the greatest performance ever as he does not have any virtual assistance by effects or anything, it is just him. People who like to see movies where it is the actors who create the atmosphere must not miss this incredible performance of George.

George realy did a perfect job in this! Based on the historical examination script they deliver a film that comes very close to your stomach. Some people I know couldn´t stand it and turned it off and some turned the video off, because they were bored. Try it yourself! This is absolutely an about average view on the so popular subject "serial killer". I watched it late at night with 100 percent thrill and interest.