Von Wegen (OFF WAYS)

Einstuerzende Neubauten – preparing to leave for the East (21 Dec 1989)

At noon on December 21st, 1989 the members of Einstuerzende Neubauten – a band then hailed as a West-German cult export – hit the road in West Berlin for their very first concert in East Berlin, (still) capital of the GDR. In the film, it is still a long, strange journey from Berlin Kreuzberg to Berlin Lichtenberg, into the Wilhelm Pieck-Hall of the industrial plant VEB Elektrokohle. The Berlin Wall is still standing and there are still tedious border control…

Continue for LIVE VIDEO, PHOTO & INTERVIEWS

ELEKTROKOHLE: Von Wegen (Off Ways)

Director: Uli M. Schüppel (2009)

Filmmaker Uli M. Schüppel, a friend of the band, accompanied Einstuerzende Neubauten throughout this ‘extraordinary’ day – extraordinary for the musicians who for the most part had grown up in West Berlin and who previously had never been granted an official permit to perform in the GDR. Extraordinary, because the concert in the evening had been arranged through the mediation of GDR playwright Heiner Mueller, who was a friend of Blixa Bargeld at that time, and who also would introduce the concert with a short speech. The fact, that he appeared backstage with a delegation of French ministers (amongst them then Culture Minister Jack Lang) belongs to the bizarre side-occurrences of that day …

But most notably, this concert is also an extraordinary event for the GDR audience, which had associated so much with the name and concept of Einstuerzende Neubauten, and which was suddenly – facing the band and the West – confronted with their projections. (Schueppel Films)

ELEKTROKOHLE (VON WEGEN)
91 min; HD-CAM, color, Dolby st, Germany 2009

Inside extensive bonus-material:
– CONCERT MATERIAL, 76min
– ZUGABE (Interview material), 74min, with Blixa Bargeld, FM Einheit, Alexander Hacke, and many others.

Released on “good!movies”
Distributor: Indigo DV 933508, EAN 4047179335089 (@Amazon.de)

VIDEOS: Official Trailer; Photo session + concert footage

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN – ELEKTROKOHLE (VON WEGEN) / OFF WAYS (trailer)

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN in der DDR – Fototermin (Von Wegen)

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN in der DDR – Konzert (Von Wegen)
Tx to XDreamer & KoenigVonWestfalen

BACKSTAGE PHOTOS

Jack Lang, Heiner Müller, Blixa Bargeld

V.E.B. Elektrokohle exterior (left) and interior (right). Photos by Jens Loewe (2007)

5 comments

    1. Thank you for this link. You offer insightful commentary on the social and political aspects of this film as well as the cinematic elements that make it so powerful to watch. The construction is simply brilliant as Schueppel intersperses old/new footage to create a set of dichotomies between the band/concert-goers, past/present, and of course, East/West. Although it did sit on a shelf for so long, the release was well-timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. It is an important documentary on Berlin and on the band. The concert footage and interview extras are priceless, as you point out, a full four hours of material. This DVD is a must-have for Neubauten fans (both old and new). Thank you again for your review. Great writing.

      Best wishes,
      Morgan Wolfe

  2. So who is the baby with the do-rag? A punk rock rugrat! XD

    (I’m assuming that’s Hacke’s munchkin since he’s the one toting the kid around, but…?)

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