And now for the screencaps. Because Wolfgang Keeling and Götz George have so many expressions, and also there is some really neat detail in there because Stade has read Morgenstern, and if you want to see the Potsdam Oboists, look no further.
Gundling at the start of the movie, when he just lost his job as F1's historian:
Gundling meets FW for the first time
FW without a wig
FW with a wig, later in the Tobacco College
Gundling and the court fool. Remember the costume of the fool, we'll see it again.
Gundling's first return after his first escape attempt. FW has just told him he gets another title, Gundling says "Ihr erhöht mich, um mich zu erniedrigen".
Remember, FW fired the court musicians except for orchestra leader Pepusch, then told him to train some Potsdam Giants to play. This is the result, and they're even playing Händel!
Another neat detail is that FW prays before he eats. They're not named in the movie, unlike in the novel where they are named, but those are Grumbkow and Seckendorff next to him:
FW and Grumbkow, whom Gundling in the novel characterizes as always having his eyes half closed and impossible to read.
Gundling's second escape attempt leads him to Breslau, and the library where his old study buddy works is so beautiful I had to include it:
But it's no use, he gets kidnapped back. BTW, I was wrong. The non fictional biography has arrived, and FW did indeed sent the Old Dessauer himself to retrieve him. Upon his return, FW makes Gundling Master of Ceremonies, an office that hadn't been fulfilled anymore since he fired Besser, and now Gundling has to wear this get up at court functions you'll see below. The first time the audience sees him in it, he meets his future wife, Anne de Larrey , for the first time. This is the moment when he first looks at her and she looks back and he is so sure he knows what she must think:
But Anne is a good observer and watches him being kind to one of the old footmen who had to stand all the time; Gundling uses his Master-of-Ceremonies title to order the old guy to sit down. This is Anne:
Here's a screenshot where you see the full get up as Gundling has to entertain FW and the rest:
Next we get the only scene in the movie where you see Hohenzollerns that are not FW. It's a family walk in the park Gundling gets invited to, featuring FW, pregnant SD, Fritz and Wilhelmine. Since Fritz and Wilhelmine as children keep running to and thro, it's hard to get them in the same shot, so here we go:
Gundling and Anne fall in love:
Which means for the first time since a loooong while, Gundling shows up at the tobacco parliament happy:
Naturally, it can't last. Here he is reading the "Voltaire off to England" news:
He uses that excuse to quote some Voltairian zingers at at guest Rottembourg (the one in white) that apply not just to French monarchies. The Tobacco Parliament is not amused:
Really not amused:
See above for how this ends for Gundling. Next time he is at the Hellfire Club, err, the tobbacco college, it's just him and FW at first. FW tells him he's found a good potential successor for Gundling:
Enter David Fassmann, trying to win FW by insulting Gundling.
Gundling loses it, takes the heating pan and starts to beat at Fassmann.
This is where he hits his final rock bottom. Afterwards, he starts to drink from all the bottles around.
Fassmann holds the FW penned mocking funeral speech:
Surprisingly, he doesn't look happy. It's just a small part, but the actor is good. Check how he conveys with his expression that it dawns on Fassmann just what kind of position it is that he has won:
The oboists play (btw, this is way more dignified than how the actual funeral went):
The barrel-coffin:
And the end (that's Anne and her niece and nephew standing there behind the Giants):
Huh. George works surprisingly well as a young FW.
Was about to ask if "without a wig" was an actual thing but then I remembered that Fritz wore his own hair in Rheinsberg, if I remember correctly. Although that doesn't say anything about FW of course.
Golden Hats!?
Library! (Any idea where that was filmed?)
Grumbkow looks younger and maybe more obviously untrustworthy than I think he should? Hm. (I was reading about the 1725 Grumbkow/Dessauer duel(s) yesterday, and how FW was basically the one trying to get them to make peace and almost threw up his hands at various points because Old Dessauer was so stubborn and had such a temper and wouldn't listen to him, which was a bit hilarious, so reading your write-up today = quite the contrast.)
That kid playing Fritz on the other hand looks cuter than he has any right to be in that one screencap.
Doesn't he just? The film is from 1981, so just before Schimanski, and way before he reinvented himself as a middle aged critically praised character actor. But like I said, he's fantastic in the part. Great job, casting people!
Was about to ask if "without a wig" was an actual thing but then I remembered that Fritz wore his own hair in Rheinsberg, if I remember correctly. Although that doesn't say anything about FW of course
I don't know about FW as a young King, either, but yes, Fritz as a young man - even as a young King - did go without a wig often enough for some envoys to include it in their "hot or not?" reports. And I think at least one of the reports on young MT mentions her, along with the simple dresses she wears on non-festive ways, not always donning a wig. It's always worth reminding that the way all these monarchs look on portraits, in full state robes and splendid get up, was not how they walked around on a day to day basis. And as long as you are young and still have your full hair, and are someone who works a lot, I imagine removing your wig now and then is a temptation. For FW in particular, since he scorned all the court ceremonies and splendor so much it could also be a statement, though I note in the movie he only has the wig off in intimate surroundings - in the first meeting scene, he, Gundling and Creutz are alone in FW's study and FW is working - and on whenever he's with a greater number of people.
Golden Hats!?
He. Even for his beloved Potsdam Giants, I doubt FW would have forked over the money. Maybe whichever material was used in the original uniforms didn't photograph well?
Grumbkow: Like I said, the movie doesn't identify him or give him any lines at all. I only know who this is supposed to be from the descriptions in the novel. (The movie cut down the speaking Tobacco College members to Forcade - who gets humiliated when FW is making read a petition out loud, which shows Forcade can barely read - and Old Dessauer (the one with the eyepatch).
The kid playing Fritz does look adorable. It's a shame that "Der Thronfolger" is no longer online, for the kid playing Fritz there in the first ten minutes does, too.
Old Dessauer: well, Seckendorff's late 18th century biographer is convinced he was the most evil, vile-tempered man of the century. *g* Whereas Grumbkow was accused of many things, but an unability to keep his temper was not one of them....
ETA: I forgot re: library - I don't know, but I suspect Prague. Because filming historical movies in Prague became a thing for Western producers in the 1980s, notably for Amadeus, of course, and that library looks very much like the one on the Hradschin.
Huh, so it seems they fictionalized his role completely in the movie, as opposed to the novel. Because I don't think he wore an eyepatch and IMDB actually calls the guy in question v. Hermsdorf, which is a name I've never heard. Strange decision, given Dessauer's prominence.
On the other hand, googling the non-existent eyepatch, I learned that Old Dessauer, against the wishes of his mother, married a non-noble who was the daughter of their court pharmacist and his childhood sweetheart. Did not expect that.
...that pic of FW in a blond curly wig reminds me of one of the pics one of you showed me of young!Fritz. I don't remember which one, but that is sort of interesting to me. (Although I guess Fritz was supposed to resemble his mom's family more.)
Gundling's first return after his first escape attempt. FW has just told him he gets another title, Gundling says "Ihr erhöht mich, um mich zu erniedrigen".
Man, that little smile of FW's. *shiver*
Remember, FW fired the court musicians except for orchestra leader Pepusch, then told him to train some Potsdam Giants to play. This is the result, and they're even playing Händel!
LOL!
Oh wow, that wig and that getup. And, again, FW's face...
Okay, I know the tobacco parliament not being amused is going to end (really) badly, but the screencap is hilarious
I've referred to it in a previous comment, but omg Fassmann's face!
that pic of FW in a blond curly wig reminds me of one of the pics one of you showed me of young!Fritz.
Well, it's the same type of wig as painted by Pesne. And presumably the makeup people had a look at more than just FW portraits for their inspiration.
re: the get up - Sabrow in his biography points out that it's a parody of the Louis XIV style ceremonial robes born out of FW's dislike and hate for all the pomp and circumstances of the German courtes modelling themselves on the French court.
The facial expressions are so great. Everyone is really superb in this film. If you want to try out your German, check it out.
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Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
Gundling at the start of the movie, when he just lost his job as F1's historian:
Gundling meets FW for the first time
FW without a wig
FW with a wig, later in the Tobacco College
Gundling and the court fool. Remember the costume of the fool, we'll see it again.
Gundling's first return after his first escape attempt. FW has just told him he gets another title, Gundling says "Ihr erhöht mich, um mich zu erniedrigen".
Remember, FW fired the court musicians except for orchestra leader Pepusch, then told him to train some Potsdam Giants to play. This is the result, and they're even playing Händel!
Another neat detail is that FW prays before he eats. They're not named in the movie, unlike in the novel where they are named, but those are Grumbkow and Seckendorff next to him:
FW and Grumbkow, whom Gundling in the novel characterizes as always having his eyes half closed and impossible to read.
Gundling's second escape attempt leads him to Breslau, and the library where his old study buddy works is so beautiful I had to include it:
But it's no use, he gets kidnapped back. BTW, I was wrong. The non fictional biography has arrived, and FW did indeed sent the Old Dessauer himself to retrieve him. Upon his return, FW makes Gundling Master of Ceremonies, an office that hadn't been fulfilled anymore since he fired Besser, and now Gundling has to wear this get up at court functions you'll see below. The first time the audience sees him in it, he meets his future wife, Anne de Larrey , for the first time. This is the moment when he first looks at her and she looks back and he is so sure he knows what she must think:
But Anne is a good observer and watches him being kind to one of the old footmen who had to stand all the time; Gundling uses his Master-of-Ceremonies title to order the old guy to sit down. This is Anne:
Here's a screenshot where you see the full get up as Gundling has to entertain FW and the rest:
Next we get the only scene in the movie where you see Hohenzollerns that are not FW. It's a family walk in the park Gundling gets invited to, featuring FW, pregnant SD, Fritz and Wilhelmine. Since Fritz and Wilhelmine as children keep running to and thro, it's hard to get them in the same shot, so here we go:
Gundling and Anne fall in love:
Which means for the first time since a loooong while, Gundling shows up at the tobacco parliament happy:
Naturally, it can't last. Here he is reading the "Voltaire off to England" news:
He uses that excuse to quote some Voltairian zingers at at guest Rottembourg (the one in white) that apply not just to French monarchies. The Tobacco Parliament is not amused:
Really not amused:
See above for how this ends for Gundling. Next time he is at the Hellfire Club, err, the tobbacco college, it's just him and FW at first. FW tells him he's found a good potential successor for Gundling:
Enter David Fassmann, trying to win FW by insulting Gundling.
Gundling loses it, takes the heating pan and starts to beat at Fassmann.
This is where he hits his final rock bottom. Afterwards, he starts to drink from all the bottles around.
Fassmann holds the FW penned mocking funeral speech:
Surprisingly, he doesn't look happy. It's just a small part, but the actor is good. Check how he conveys with his expression that it dawns on Fassmann just what kind of position it is that he has won:
The oboists play (btw, this is way more dignified than how the actual funeral went):
The barrel-coffin:
And the end (that's Anne and her niece and nephew standing there behind the Giants):
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
Was about to ask if "without a wig" was an actual thing but then I remembered that Fritz wore his own hair in Rheinsberg, if I remember correctly. Although that doesn't say anything about FW of course.
Golden Hats!?
Library! (Any idea where that was filmed?)
Grumbkow looks younger and maybe more obviously untrustworthy than I think he should? Hm. (I was reading about the 1725 Grumbkow/Dessauer duel(s) yesterday, and how FW was basically the one trying to get them to make peace and almost threw up his hands at various points because Old Dessauer was so stubborn and had such a temper and wouldn't listen to him, which was a bit hilarious, so reading your write-up today = quite the contrast.)
That kid playing Fritz on the other hand looks cuter than he has any right to be in that one screencap.
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
Doesn't he just? The film is from 1981, so just before Schimanski, and way before he reinvented himself as a middle aged critically praised character actor. But like I said, he's fantastic in the part. Great job, casting people!
Was about to ask if "without a wig" was an actual thing but then I remembered that Fritz wore his own hair in Rheinsberg, if I remember correctly. Although that doesn't say anything about FW of course
I don't know about FW as a young King, either, but yes, Fritz as a young man - even as a young King - did go without a wig often enough for some envoys to include it in their "hot or not?" reports. And I think at least one of the reports on young MT mentions her, along with the simple dresses she wears on non-festive ways, not always donning a wig. It's always worth reminding that the way all these monarchs look on portraits, in full state robes and splendid get up, was not how they walked around on a day to day basis. And as long as you are young and still have your full hair, and are someone who works a lot, I imagine removing your wig now and then is a temptation. For FW in particular, since he scorned all the court ceremonies and splendor so much it could also be a statement, though I note in the movie he only has the wig off in intimate surroundings - in the first meeting scene, he, Gundling and Creutz are alone in FW's study and FW is working - and on whenever he's with a greater number of people.
Golden Hats!?
He. Even for his beloved Potsdam Giants, I doubt FW would have forked over the money. Maybe whichever material was used in the original uniforms didn't photograph well?
Grumbkow: Like I said, the movie doesn't identify him or give him any lines at all. I only know who this is supposed to be from the descriptions in the novel. (The movie cut down the speaking Tobacco College members to Forcade - who gets humiliated when FW is making read a petition out loud, which shows Forcade can barely read - and Old Dessauer (the one with the eyepatch).
The kid playing Fritz does look adorable. It's a shame that "Der Thronfolger" is no longer online, for the kid playing Fritz there in the first ten minutes does, too.
Old Dessauer: well, Seckendorff's late 18th century biographer is convinced he was the most evil, vile-tempered man of the century. *g* Whereas Grumbkow was accused of many things, but an unability to keep his temper was not one of them....
ETA: I forgot re: library - I don't know, but I suspect Prague. Because filming historical movies in Prague became a thing for Western producers in the 1980s, notably for Amadeus, of course, and that library looks very much like the one on the Hradschin.
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
Huh, so it seems they fictionalized his role completely in the movie, as opposed to the novel. Because I don't think he wore an eyepatch and IMDB actually calls the guy in question v. Hermsdorf, which is a name I've never heard. Strange decision, given Dessauer's prominence.
On the other hand, googling the non-existent eyepatch, I learned that Old Dessauer, against the wishes of his mother, married a non-noble who was the daughter of their court pharmacist and his childhood sweetheart. Did not expect that.
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
...that pic of FW in a blond curly wig reminds me of one of the pics one of you showed me of young!Fritz. I don't remember which one, but that is sort of interesting to me. (Although I guess Fritz was supposed to resemble his mom's family more.)
Gundling's first return after his first escape attempt. FW has just told him he gets another title, Gundling says "Ihr erhöht mich, um mich zu erniedrigen".
Man, that little smile of FW's. *shiver*
Remember, FW fired the court musicians except for orchestra leader Pepusch, then told him to train some Potsdam Giants to play. This is the result, and they're even playing Händel!
LOL!
Oh wow, that wig and that getup. And, again, FW's face...
Okay, I know the tobacco parliament not being amused is going to end (really) badly, but the screencap is hilarious
I've referred to it in a previous comment, but omg Fassmann's face!
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
Well, it's the same type of wig as painted by Pesne. And presumably the makeup people had a look at more than just FW portraits for their inspiration.
re: the get up - Sabrow in his biography points out that it's a parody of the Louis XIV style ceremonial robes born out of FW's dislike and hate for all the pomp and circumstances of the German courtes modelling themselves on the French court.
The facial expressions are so great. Everyone is really superb in this film. If you want to try out your German, check it out.
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps
I get "This video is not available," and I imagine
Re: Der König und sein Narr: Screencaps