The little town of Ulm is governed and oppressed by its bishop. Nobody speaks up against him except the tailor, who is also an artist. He rebels against the bishop’s power and believes the impossible is possible. He believes in his dream—that he can fly!
Two homeless boys, Mick and Sauly, live in a fictional big city that looks much like New York. They want to fulfill their dream of escaping to the ocean.
Disenchanted and angry, Dr. Dallow has been released after 21 months in prison for playing piano in a “subversive” cabaret program. He refuses the Stasi offer to "help" him get his university position back in exchange for becoming an informant.
From May to October 1974, Peter Voigt filmed at the Berliner Ensemble (BE) during the 25th anniversary of the theater’s founding. Voigt, a member of the BE himself in the 1950s, interviewed theater technicians who had been part of the world-famous ensemble for decades.
On the eve of the Peasants’ Revolt, Till Eulenspiegel—the legendary fool and provocateur of old folktales—goes tearing through the countryside laying bare society’s grievances.
Susanne and Wolfgang have a harmonious relationship. But when Susanne meets Christian, she is attracted to his restless energy, and they fall for each other. Although she decides to end the affair after spending an intense week together, the experience has left deep marks on both of them.
Tom Schilling, choreographer at the Komische Oper Berlin (Comedic Opera Berlin), made significant contributions to musical theater in the GDR through his style of realistic dance theater.
The title of this documentary is drawn from the final monologue of Goethe's Faust, in which the protagonist looks back on his life's work, saying, "The trace of my days on earth cannot disappear for eons."
Martin Brandt (1903-1989), an unforgettable Jewish actor and former member of the Jewish Kulturbund Theater in Berlin, recites from Macbeth and Nathan the Wise, the play that opened the theater in October 1933.
In the Dutch town of Saardam, Tsar Peter the Great has disguised himself in order to learn the art of ship-building. Another Russian named Peter also works at the wharf, causing a comical case of mistaken identities.