Piratensender Powerplay
| Piratensender Powerplay | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Siggi Götz |
| Produced by | Karl Spiehs |
| Written by | Siggi Götz |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Gerhard Heinz |
| Cinematography | Rolf Deppe |
| Edited by | Claudia Wutz |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
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Piratensender Powerplay is a 1982 West German comedy film featuring Mike Krüger and Thomas Gottschalk. The movie was a box office success of the early 1980s in Germany, with 2.1 million viewers in 1982[1], and was followed by three more films with Krüger and Gottschalk: Die Supernasen, Zwei Nasen tanken Super, and Die Einsteiger.
Plot[edit]
The friends Tommy (Thomas Gottschalk) and Mike (Mike Krüger) are broadcasting a Pirate radio program every Monday at 3pm, from a makeshift studio, to counter the "stupid program" of the public broadcasters. Their pirate station is very popular with the public, which greatly annoys the entertainment director Dr. Müller-Hammeldorf of the public radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk. As his own station has to deal with decreasing listening figures, he only wishes to put an end to the activities of the pirate station.
But Mike and Tommy get unexpected help from Mikes sister Irmgard (Evelyn Hamann). She offers them a new mobile broadcasting station, built into a campervan. With bigger coverage and several advertising contracts, the now fully funded Radio Powerplay goes on the air 24 hours every day. A cat-and-mouse game with the public radio and the police ensues, so Mike and Tommy must develop new strategies and get into more and more bizarre disguises.
They finally drive the van into a girl's Boarding school where the pirate station finally is caught by Dr. Müller-Hammeldorf and the police. But instead of being arrested, the entertainment director Müller-Hammeldorf surprises them by hiring the two friends for his own station.
Background[edit]
The movie bears some relation to Gottschalk's own career: He started as Radio DJ at Bayerischer Rundfunk, and was critisized by his superiors for his modern approach and his relaxed presentation style, but had some free reign due to his success with the listeners.[2]
The movie is set at a time when there were no Private broadcasting stations in Germany yet, due to legal restrictions. This only changed in 1984. But especially young listeners voiced the wish for a change of the "stupid" public radio program, as it is phrased at the beginning of the movie.
Music and licensing problems[edit]
The original cut of the film includes the following licensed songs:
- Contraband – Radio Power Play
- Sam & Dave – Soul Sister, Brown Sugar
- Otis Redding – Love Man
- Helen Schneider – Rock’n’Roll Gypsy
- Alan O'Day – Undercover Angel
- J. Geils Band – Give It To Me
- Passport – Rub-A-Dub
- Lucifer's Friend – Stardancer
- Helen Schneider – Jimmy
- Wilson Pickett – In The Midnight Hour
- Rose Royce – Is It Love You're After
- Otis Redding – (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
- The Doobie Brothers – Long Train Runnin'
- Gary Wright – Dream Weaver
- Little Feat – Down On The Farm
- Lucifer’s Friend – Old Man Roller
These songs were only licensed for a certain time, so the film had to be edited several times over the years and was released with different songs later on.
Other film versions[edit]
First video release version (UFA, 1982)[edit]
This first video release (VHS, Video 2000 and LaserDisc) was already edited from the original cinematic release. Many songs from the original version have been replaced with other songs. The now unfitting introductions to these songs by Tommy and Mike have been shortened or deleted in this version.
This version of the film has also been used by the German TV station ZDF for their broadcast, and it's believed that this is the best known version.
Second video release version (Marketing Film, 2001)[edit]
The film was re-released in 2001 (VHS and DVD). In this version the rest of the original songs were replaced as well. All song introductions by Thomas Gottschalk were dubbed by another voice over actor to fit the new songs.
The bonus material on the DVD features an Interview with Mike Krüger and a galery with images from the film.
Original version on DVD (MCP Sound & Media, 2007)[edit]
In 2007 the fim was finally released on DVD in its original cinematic version. Bonus features on this DVD are bloopers.
Re-release on Blu-ray (Lisa Film, 2020)[edit]
The movie was re-released with all three audio versions in January 2020. The Blue-ray also features the isolated film music of the original version.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Die erfolgreichsten Filme in Deutschland 1982".
- ↑ Gottschalk, Thomas (2016). Herbstblond - Die Autobiographie (Paperback ed.). Munich: Heyne Verlag. pp. 88–96. ISBN 978-3-453-60404-9. Search this book on
External links[edit]
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