Silas

Saw this series in the early 80's when living in Holland aged 9, in original German with Dutch subtitles i guess or perhaps dubbed into Dutch. Must have been my all time favourite TV series as a kid as I still remember the haunting theme tune and that odd little number the main character plays on his flute. I remember it as being a little sad despite the IMDb write up saying it has a happy ending, so would like to see it again as an adult. Not sure if that will happen though as it seems to be one of those things that has gotten lost in the vaults under thick layers of dust.

As I said, I don't remember many plot details except that this series, more than any other viewed as a child, has remained with me.

Taking place in the 19th century, this made-for-children story is about a twelve year old boy called Silas who lives in a circus. But soon he runs away because he's treated badly there.

The black horse he wins in a bet is with him all through the series. Eventually he meets two friends: Godik and Jenny. Together they have lots of adventures.

Another main figure is the Pferdekraehe (a shrew) who claims to be Jenny's grandmother. She has gloomy intentions but Silas always manages to thwart her plans. Later on he rescues a family and in return they invite him to live with them. Having new clothes and good food he learns to act as a gentleman but the Pferdekraehe is still after him.

Well, there is a happy end and Silas even makes it up with her when she falls from high wall almost breaking her back.

This is one of the better German productions. Excellent acting and a believable story. Even grown-ups enjoy it.

as a child i loved this series on tv. the cheesy dubbing never bothered me-but what a great storyline! young boy runs away from the abusive circus owner,wins a horse and embarks on adventures. the most memorable bit though-the music! each character had a theme,when the evil shrew appeared on screen wailing electric guitars blasted forth-brilliant stuff.

It was probably 15 years ago when I saw not more than 2 episodes of silas on TV. You might certainly consider this as a hell of a long time for still remembering. But as this movie could deeply thrill me in that stage of life, an unbound boy of 10 years age, it is the adventurous part inside me that remembers what this movie was able to submit on a boy like me, all over curious. I would say, that it gave me hope. It made me definitely believe that life is an excitement - in all it's beauty you might find it somewhere out there...

Famously badly dubbed, this was pretty watchable as a kid back in 1985. But the version to see is the original German with English subtitles - several unofficial efforts are doing the rounds on the internet. Shame on you ZDF - bring out an official subtitled version ! The plot as others have stated is "12 year old boy runs away from abusive circus owner." That doesn't really do it justice. Without the unintentionally hilarious dubbing it's actually a superior but very dark tale which probably would never get past a modern editor. a few examples for illustration :

(a) The first episode begins with Silas standing against a wooden board having knives thrown at him. They look both sharp and too close for comfort - I get the feeling the fear on Patrick Bach's face is no act. The the circus owner then tries to push a sword down his throat, it's a violent scene that is quite difficult to watch even now.

(b) A man drugs Silas to steal his horse, then pushes him into the river on a boat he's just made a hole in - we get a closeup of this, just to make the point that this man is trying to kill him.

(c) When faced with direct attack Silas defends himself very effectively with a knife, facing down the bad guy. This is one of many examples where Silas shows true courage, he could run away from a direct physical threat but does not.

(d) Many times Silas is portrayed as exhausted and in despair. It's a fine piece of acting, although the 16 hour days Patrick Bach was working at the time might have contributed to the realism of these scenes !

Adding to the quality feel, large quantities of Deutchmarks were obviously burned through during the production, also good cinematography, careful direction - and a great music score by Christian Bruhn. This is TV matching the quality of the modern 'Band of Brothers' rather than a simple kids show.

At the end Silas decides to abandon his newly found comfortable life and throw his lot back in with Godik. This scene is much criticised but makes perfect sense to me. He's the only person Silas can really trust. Only in the original German does the bittersweet nature of this choice show through.

Downsides - the overall length of it. 4 hours rather than 6 would have been about right. Also the plot starts well but meanders in the middle. But these are minor gripes.