The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Criterion Collection (1975)

A striking examination of the power of the police and excesses of the media, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum grows more pertinent every day. When the police burst into Katharina Blum's apartment, they fail to find the suspected terrorist they've been tracking and arrest Blum for harboring a fugitive. Immediately she becomes a media sensation; between the ruthless interrogation of the police, the even more invasive muckraking of a notorious tabloid, and harassment from the sensation-hungry public, Blum's ordinary life is turned inside out until she has to lash out to defend her own sanity. A German film made in 1975, The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum could have been made today in the U.S. Angela Winkler gives a compelling performance as Katharina, but the entire movie is superbly realized: suspenseful, compassionate, and shot through with dark humor. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

 The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Tense, taut suspenser presents an object lesson on the nature of presumed guilt, and the corrosive power of the media, working with a police force desperate for "results', to virtually destroy the life of an innocent person. Directors Schlondorff and Von Trotta unfold this waking nightmare with a tense realism that's unnerving. Winkler makes a most sympathetic victim, while the craggy, enigmatic Prochnow is tailor-made for his shadowy part. In all, a disturbing and thought-provoking entry, expertly rendered. July 5, 2007

 Katharina Blum is not an Innocent Victim
This is a very fine movie regarding a young and confused woman who is hiding a terrorist. Katharina Blum (Angela Winkler) is breaking the law. She is definitely not an innocent victim. The police are totally justified in pushing the envelope to protect the general public. Ludwig (Jürgen Prochnow) may be warm and gentle towards Katharina---but he is still a dedicated anarchist who endangers the lives of innocent people. If anything, "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum" highlights the struggle of honest and hard working police officers to do their job while still respecting the rights of suspected criminals. Where is the line drawn? How far should they go? Certain members of the media, however, do behave deplorably. The scandal monger journalist is truly a despicable human being. He has no hesitation to distort the truth to get a juicy headline. This film may be somewhat dated. Still, it is worth seeing today. The moral and legal dilemma of how best for a democratic society to pursue its sworn enemies will not go away anytime in the near future.

David Thomson
Flares into Darkness January 8, 2007

 Wie Gewalt entstehen und wohin sie führen kann
Good movie based on the novel by Heinrich Böll. Katharina Blum (Angela Winkler) is interrogated by Kommissar Beizmenne (Mario Adorf) because she has just spent the night with Ludwig, a terrorist. The police are brutes, but we're never really sure what Katharina knows or doesn't know, and I thought the moral ambiguity on this point increased the overall credibility of the film. The best part about it was pretty unambiguous, though - pretty damning indictment of the press, here characterized by an incredibly unscrupulous newspaper reporter, Toetges (Dieter Laser). Nice score by Hans Werner Henze. The DVD edition includes a great interview with the husband and wife directors, Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta. June 13, 2005

 Breathtaking movie !
This is one the most appreciated gems in the german cinema of the middle seventies.
The bitter and unstopable process of decay in Katherine Blum is described with vivid expression , overwhelmong camera work and superb script .
You will watch a depressive movie and a mature picture . Tasefully made but without any drop of oversimplifications and
ornaments . The film is incisive and direct . It plays hard with the sensibility of the viewer . So beware with this movie .
Extraordinary film and undoubtedly a master gem of this brilliant director , unfortunately missed in the present time : Wolker Schlondorff. December 13, 2004

 a great film with an important message
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

The Lost Honor of Katherina Blum, originally released in East Germany as "Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum oder: Wie Gewalt entstehen und wohin sie führen kann" which translates to: "The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, or How Violence Develops and Where It Can Lead" is an excellent film regarding the treatment of persosn suspected of consorting with terrorists. It is based on a book by Heinrich Böll.

I would assume the re-release was inspired in part by the September 11 attacks and the susequent crackdown on those suspected of helping terrorists.

In the film a woman is accused of harboring a member of a left-wing terrorist group. After her release, she is followed everywhere by a member of a tabloid newspaper and receives obscene hate mail and prank phone calls. The film depicts how every person who comes into contact witht he terrorist is followed by the police and checked out.

The film stirs worries that some have regarding their civil liberties in a post 9/11 America. I find the film to be quite good and is set against actual events in 1970's Germany during an uprising of a German terrorist group known as the RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion or Red Army Faction)

The Criterion Collection release has interviews with the film's two co-directors,Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta. and with director of photography, Jost Vacano.

Thre is also a documentary about author Heinrich Böll and a theatrical trailer for the film.

The film is quite good but is not for everyone. November 1, 2004

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