Der Schuh des Manitu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Der Schuh des Manitu | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Michael Bully Herbig |
| Produced by | Michael Bully Herbig |
| Written by | Michael Bully Herbig |
| Starring | Michael Bully Herbig, Christian Tramitz |
| Music by | Ralf Wengenmayr |
| Editing by | Alexander Dittner |
| Distributed by | Constantin Film |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Running time | 82 minutes (original edition), 88 minutes (extended edition) |
| Language | German |
| Budget | 4,500,000€ |
| IMDb profile | |
Der Schuh des Manitu (English: Manitou's Shoe) is a 2001 German parody of western films. Directed by Michael Herbig, it is a film adaptation of the Manitou sketches from his Pro Sieben television show Bullyparade. It is one of the most successful German films ever made.
Contents |
[edit] The Movie
Despite being a parody the movie appears to be very professionally made and of the same technical quality as many big Hollywood productions.
It has many similarities to the parodies of Mel Brooks like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It. For example: the character Ranger gets stopped by a sheriff for "fast riding" and being asked for his "riding licence", or Santa Maria connecting the dots on a map by using a feather with a marker-tip. Greek character Dimitri owns a mule named Apollo 13 (his twelve brothers were killed by speeding trains), and in lack of a hatchet the Shoshones, a Native American tribe, dig out a folding-chair they had buried.
The movie has several references to the Karl May movies of the 1960s and to Herbig's own TV show. It features many puns that are difficult to translate into English, e.g. "Das Land wo die Schoschonen schön wohnen" (the land where the Shoshones live well) or Stammlokal (Stammlokal, in German means a "regular guest" as well as "tribe"). In the German version, Abahachi, Ranger and Winnetouch all speak with a rather strong Bavarian accent that is predominant in the Bullyparde-Show, which is mentioned by the barkeep at the saloon by "You must be Ranger, the man with the Southern States accent".
Many scenes have been shot in Spain, at the same places that can be seen in many movies of Sergio Leone. Most of the Indians in the movie are actually Spanish, but many of the more important roles have been played by true Native Americans. According to Herbig's comments, some Spanish can be heard on the DVD, and he was never entirely sure if they really knew what kind of movie the Spaniards were participating in. The Mexican Hombre is played by Hilmi Sözer, a Turkish-German actor.
[edit] The Winnetou Novels
„Der Schuh des Manitu“ parodies a series of wild west adventure novels of the 19th century German author Karl May.
The main topic of these novels is the deep friendship of a fictional Apache chief (Winnetou) and his white settler companion and blood-brother (Old Shatterhand), who are both exemplarily virtuous and stand together to keep the peace between Indians and immigrating White settlers. Der Schuh des Manitu spoofs the friendship motif in the Winnetou novels and in their 1960s film adaptations (Karl May movies) which has largely led to high, but sometimes idealised and cliché ridden admiration of Native Americans in Germany. Many shots of the original Winnetou movies feature Old Shatterhand and Winnetou riding side by side, accompanied by romantic orchestral music (which is also happening in the parody).
Winnetou’s main objection against European settlers is their "greed." He dislikes that they want to take all the land for themselves and cannot share with the natives. A recurring opponent is the bandit Santer who kills Winnetou's father and sister, probably the namesake of Santa Maria in the parody.
There is also a movie called "Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi" based not on a May novel, but using his characters - the name of the movie's main character is probably based on this.
[edit] Story
Abahachi (Michael Herbig) and his blood brother Ranger (Christian Tramitz) are an inseparable pair since Ranger saved Abahachi from a speeding train on an unguarded railroad crossing. After 16 years of riding and adventuring together, they aim to buy a pub ("Stammlokal" = "regular bar", with a pun on "Stamm", meaning both "frequently used" and "tribe") for Abahachi's tribe, the Apaches, by borrowing money from Stinking Lizard (originally: "Listiger Lurch" - "Sly Newt") of the Shoshone tribe. The whole deal is carried out through a real estate agent from Wyoming by the name of Santa Maria (Sky du Mont).
However, the deal falls through in spectacular fashion - the pub is found to be a mere cardboard cut-out, and Stinking Lizards's son, Sonny Rabbit (in the German version it's "Falscher Hase" - literally "fake hare", actually "meatloaf") attempts to grab the money and run in panic. Santa Maria kills Sonny Rabbit, grabs the money and sets his henchmen on Abahachi and Ranger, who take refuge from the shooting behind the only remaining artifact of the "pub" - a saloon door. Suddenly, Santa Maria and his men are gone, and they are left with the body of Sonny Rabbit.
Abahachi and Ranger return to the Shoshones to explain what has happened. To their surprise, they are taken captive and tied to totem poles, and charged to be executed for the murder of Sonny Rabbit and the theft of the money. Santa Maria has arrived there before them, befriended the tribe, and conveyed his fabricated story to Stinking Lizard. He retires for the night, leaving his second-in-command, Hombre (who also serves as his personal ashtray), to watch the prisoners.
During the night, Ranger sees his chance to escape. He attempts to rouse the sleeping Abahachi by imitating several animals (including Flipper), with no luck. In a final attempt, he kicks up a large stone, juggles it footballer-style and kicks it in Abahachi's direction to wake him up. The plan succeeds, but the stone bounces off into the background, hitting the sleeping Hombre in the genitals and painfully waking him up.
In order to reimburse Stinking Lizard's loss, Abahatchi remembers and plans to recover a secret treasure kept inside a large, shoe-shaped rock called Manitou's Shoe (a spoof of "Der Schatz im Silbersee"/"The treasure in the Silver Lake", another Winnetou novel and movie). However, there is a problem: The location of Manitou's Shoe is shown on a map which Abahatchi inherited from his grandfather, and which he shared with his best friends in a drunken rout after his grandfather had died.
In frustration, Ranger puts his hands to his face - to discover that their bonds have already been cut. They decide to sneak off, but as they walk away, the totem poles to which they were bound fall over (they were not planted in the ground), killing a hapless Bunny Rabbit, the pet of Stinking Lizard. This causes the chief to hunt Apahachi for killing both rabbits (Sonny and Bunny). Moreover, Hombre has listened into the conversation and informed Santa Maria, who has decided to swipe the treasure for himself and thus enabled the blood-brothers' escape.
To recollect all pieces of the map, Abahatchi has to re-unite with his friends - his twin brother Winnetouch, and a Greek named Dimitri (Rick Kavanian). The fourth piece of the map is tattoed on the back of Abahatchi's former "hough school" honey Ursula (Uschi), once an "ugly duckling" kind of girl and now a beautiful saloon dancer.
Meanwhile, the Shoshones are preparing for war. But since their only hatchet is broken ("burying the hatchet"), they have to dig out a folding chair instead. Also, their lack of horses - Stinking Lizard's only horse has shrunk down to pony size during washing - forces them first to hike on foot, later on a rail handcar (since they couldn't afford a locomotive).
Ranger is awkwardly stunned when he meets Abahatchi's twin Winnetouch, an Indian with an exaggeratedly gay attitude wearing an all-pink headdress and all-pink clothes living on the "Pink Face Powder Ranch" (original German: "Puder Rosa Ranch"), an all-pink parody of Ponderosa Ranch. Nevertheless, Winnetouch willingly hands over the map and agrees (after much affected arguing) to pose as a decoy, while Abahatchi and Ranger go looking for Dimitri and Uschi, respectively. During his decoy action Winnetouch is captured and left behind, guarded by Hombre, while Santa goes after Uschi. Unexpectantly, Winnetouch and Hombre begin a close relationship during their wait.
Abahatchi and Ranger both find their respective targets, but Ranger and Uschi - who subsequently fall in love - are captured by Santa, and later Abahatchi is added to the list. Abahatchi, Winnetouch and Ranger are left in the Puder Rosa Ranch, which is torched by the villains, but with the help of Dimitri they manage to escape. Uschi is taken along by Santa, who has taken a fancy on her.
Santa and his men arrive first at Manitou's Shoe. Santa enters the hill with two men (whom he later shoots when they rebel); the rest are left outside with Uschi. Abahatchi and his friends arrive some time later, and while Dimitri, posing as a 'foreign exchange bandit', acts as a decoy, the others free Uschi and sneak into the rock; Hombre, happily reunited with Winnetouch, joins them. Due to a series of mishappenings, the group splits up; Winnetouch falls through a secret door, and Abahatchi and Ranger start an argument about each other's faults, blood-brothering, and their affections for Uschi.
Abahatchi separates from the others and is cornered by Santa, who shoots him. (The subsequent flashback scenes of Apahachi's life are a spoof on the novel/movie "Winnetou III", in which Winnetou is killed in battle.) But surprisingly, Abahatchi survives; the bullet has hit a ginger bread heart which Apahachi was wearing under his shirt. The heroes are happily reunited and start an impromptu "Gingerbread heart" dance.
In the meantime, Santa has retrieved the treasure, a golden necklace with a giant blue diamond. Cornered by the heroes, he is dumped into a mud trap by Winnetouch (who has managed to find his way out) and sinks to his death. But just as the friends start celebrating, Winnetouch triggers another trap, and they all find themselves in a parody of the 'roller coaster' ride from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They break out of Manitou's shoe and right into Santa's henchmen; but the Shoshones also arrive at the scene, and a firefight breaks out which the heroes and Indians win. However, during the ride Winnetouch has lost the necklace, starting the problems all over again, but Hombre returns the gold to Stinking Lizard and testifies in Abahatchi's favor.
The movie ends with all good characters celebrating. Dimitri gets his heart's wish - becoming a "real Indian" - fulfilled, and his tavern becomes the new pub for Abahatchi's tribe; Stinking Lizard gets a new bunny, a shockingly pink costume for himself, from Winnetouch; Hombre patents the barbeque ashtray; and Uschi is pregnant by Ranger. But on Uschi's urging, Ranger sets off with Abahatchi, riding into the sunset for new adventures.
[edit] Trivia
- Karl May has a sort-of cameo in the movie, as an alcoholic author who is looking for inspirations.
- When the movie was presented, actor Pierre Brice, who had played Winnetou in the original Karl May movies (and who also has a cameo in an old photograph of Abahatchi's and Winnetouch's father), did not think that this parody was funny. A dispute resulted between Brice and Herbig, which was settled only after a meeting in the game show Wetten, dass..?, where Thomas Gottschalk helped mediate.
- Michael Herbig actually plays three roles here: Abahatchi, his twin brother Winnetouch, and their grandfather, Grauer Star (meaning both "Grey Starling" and "Cataract"). The later - an Indian version of Elvis Presley - appears only in the extended version.
- In the extended version, Abahatchi's grandfather, Grauer Star, had died because he had spontaneously invented stage diving - "but the audience was not yet ready for that" - and plunged face-first into the groud. Incidentally, there has been a similar accident; On July 20 2005, singer Patrick Sherry of the rock band Bad Beat Revue died after he had attempted to make a dive for a lighting rig and failed to grasp it, suffering severe head and back injuries in the process.
- When Santa enters Manitou's Shoe, two of his men call to him, demanding of him to bring them something. In the original German version, they spoof a commercial of Ferrero's "Kinderüberraschung" ("Kinder Surprise"). The original wording is: "Something exciting!" "And something to play with!" "And chocolate!"
- The name of the character Uschi may have been inspired by the German actress Uschi Glas, who performed Apanatschi in the movie Winnetou und das Halbblut Apanatschi ("Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi").
- The blonde squaw who provided Apahachi with his ginger-bread heart is Diana Herold, a German model who has also participated in the Bullyparade as a background dancer and extra actress.
- Santa, Jim, and John also have an appearance in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1, where they "terrorize" a town in Nevada in the wild west.
