Has anyone seen this series from Germany yet? It's set in the early '30s Weimar era Berlin and the clips and stills I've seen look fantastic. I'm getting the idea Sky is showing it in Europe. I should be watching season one (8 episodes) subtitled soon, but I'd prefer if they dubbed it into English. No idea if it will ever be picked up for America (where Louise Brooks was from and someone who looks a lot like she did figures in some of the publicity art).
Just watched the first two episodes of this (subtitled)... really excellent and involving so far. I'm sorry a lot of people might not get to see this series. They have put so much attention to detail into it. Of course there are some obvious things like the Josephine Baker style dancers in the big nightclub with the banana skirts and the lust-morde photos to be cataloged. I hope eventually there can be an English dubbed version because I feel dubbing can be done well. This next to The Deuce is sort of like an estranged Weimar great-aunt/uncle.
This popped up yesterday on Netflix and three eps in I'm hooked. I found the dubbing to be distracting, so I went with subtitles.
The english dubbing is awful. Go with the german subtitles. I love the opening titles with its art deco Bauhaus kaleidoscope design. Absolutely chilling! So far, few complaints. This is a well made series with complex characters and an ominous foreboding.
I’m about Halfway through, my new favorite show. It’s really well done, a fascinating time and place in history - as a bonus the story is interesting and the large and interesting cast of characters is impressive. Great acting, impressive scenery, good music - I’m pretty sure that was Bryan Ferry singing in one of the nightclub scenes.
I see a DVD called Berlin Babylon. Not the same thing? I've just watched an astonishingly good docuementary called Symphony of a Great City -Berlin - all 1920s Berlin, very atmospheric and artistic. https://www.amazon.com/Berlin-Symph...id=1518124503&sr=1-1&keywords=symphony+berlin
Beautifully made show. Just finished the first season.. didn't feel super compelled to rush through it.. though it felt like the plot elements were tied up nicely. The Gereon Rath character kinda reminded me of Buster Keaton. Charlotte's a beauty.
I've watched the first one, and I plan to watch them all... If you're fascinated by that time period, I heartily recommend Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels. (If you can imagine Raymond Chandler putting his Philip Marlowe character in 30's Berlin...) Kerr is a master of hard-boiled noir writing. His main character, Bernie Gunther, is a flawed human being, a Berlin detective who usually--but not always-- does the right thing. He hates the Nazis, and a lot of the plots revolve around Bernie's having to deal with the hardcore Nazis. The first three novels have been anthologized in a paperback called 'The Berlin Noir' trilogy (available at Amazon for around $20). Once you read them, though, you may get hooked; there are a dozen or so Bernie novels, and I've read all nearly all of them. Here's the New Yorker appreciation of Kerr's writing, with a few representative passages: Nazi Comb-Overs
I'm halfway season 2 (really binged this one the last three days!) and I absolutely love it! Besides "Berlin Alexanderplatz" it sure is the best series ever to have been produced in Germany until now, imo.
Have you seen Deutschland 83? It's by one of the creators of Babylon Berlin and is also a very good (mini)series. Chad
I've only watched one episode so far, and enjoyed it. I just wanted to share this amusing (to me) anecdote. When I first started the episode, it defaulted to English. So, I changed the Audio to German. The next day, I started watching another Netflix title, The Cloverfield Paradox. It starts with radio voices, and I heard German. I assumed it was a montage of international voices. Then, the two main characters, of African descent, started talking in German. Of course, it's entirely possible, but seemed unlikely. That's when I realized the Netflix app keeps your Audio and Subtitle selections as defaults!
The big dance scene in the Moka Efti club struck me as very strange and out of period, both musically and in the odd line dance they did. The "Dietrich-pastiche"-looking singer is ok, but the music sounded quite wrong and the dancing surely wasn't authentic. If there is evidence to the contrary, by all means let me know.
It would be good to know the level of authenticity, but you gotta admit it was pretty thrilling. The Weimar era is so fascinating. Can anyone recommend a good general historical survey?
A very good question. The "modernity" of it did raise suspicions. Perhaps a 108 year old board member who was there might like to chime in?
At least here in Austria - Sky broadcast it right after season 1 ended and you can watch it since broadcast on various services. Isn't it out yet in the US?
Yes, in the UK it was released at the back end of last year, Nov/Dec I think, with all episodes available on demand at the same time.
Man, you guys really made me curious. Unfortunately it's not on Netflix in Germany, because Sky has the rights here. Looks like I have to wait for the TV airing at the end of this year. Bummer. Maybe there will be a Blu-ray release I can rent before that.
Netflix US has both S1 and S2 listed as a single, long season 1 for some reason. 16 episodes total I think for both seasons so far.
Was not impressed by the trailer, cheap production values. But, if Tom Tykwer (director/creator) is involved I may check it out.