End of the Game
| End of the Game | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Maximilian Schell |
| Produced by |
Maximilian Schell Arlene Sellers |
| Screenplay by |
Maximilian Schell Roberto De Leonardis |
| Based on |
The Judge and His Hangman 1950 novella by Friedrich Durrenmatt |
| Starring |
Jon Voight Jacqueline Bisset Martin Ritt Robert Shaw |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone |
| Cinematography |
Roberto Gerardi Ennio Guarnieri Klaus König |
| Edited by | Dagmar Hirtz |
Production company |
MFG-Film T.R.A.C. |
| Distributed by | National Broadcasting Company |
Release date |
(USA) |
Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | English |
End of the Game (German: Der Richter und sein Henker) is a 1975 DeLuxe Color German political thriller drama film directed by Maximilian Schell and starring Jon Voight, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Ritt and Robert Shaw. Co-written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the film is an adaptation of his 1950 crime novella The Judge and His Hangman (German: Der Richter und sein Henker). Dürrenmatt also appeared in the film, and Donald Sutherland played the role of the corpse of Ulrich Schmied. German silent film actress Lil Dagover made her last screen appearance before retirement in the film.
Plot summary
Walter Tschantz (Jon Voight) gets on a case when Lt. Robert Schmied (Donald Sutherland) is found dead while investigating Richard Gastmann (Robert Shaw), who inspector Hans Barlach (Martin Ritt) suspects of killing his girlfriend (Rita Calderoni) 30 years ago.
Cast
- Jon Voight as Herr Walter Tschanz
- Jacqueline Bisset as Frau Anna Crawley
- Martin Ritt as Kommisar Hans Baerlach
- Robert Shaw as Herr Richard Gastmann
- Helmut Qualtinger as Herr von Schwedi
- Gabriele Ferzetti as Doctor Lucius Lutz
- Rita Calderoni as Nadine
- Norbert Schiller as Dr. Hungertobel
- Lil Dagover as Gastmann's mother
- Friedrich Dürrenmatt as Friedrich the writer
Crazy credit
- Donald Sutherland as Corpse of Lt. Robert Schmied
Soundtrack
Most of Ennio Morricone's original compositions for this film were replaced for the international film version, using music the composer had written for older projects. Only five tracks of Morricone's score had been later released on a vinyl album. In 2010 the Italian record company Beat Records released the score as originally composed by Morricone as a limited CD edition containing 31 tracks with a total time of 76:20 minutes.[1]
Release
Alternate English-language titles under which this same film has released include Getting Away With Murder, Murder on the Bridge and Deception.[2] The original 105 minute film version has not been released on the home video market. For unknown reasons, in 2011 only a much shorter 91 minute international version has been restored and released on a German Blu-ray edition.
Reception
The film won two awards at the German Film Awards: For Best Editing (Dagmar Hirtz), and Outstanding Feature Film. Maximilian Schell also nominated for Best Direction and won the Silver Seashell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.
References
External links
- Der Richter und sein Henker aka Deception (1975) Trailer VHS Rip on YouTube, 2:08 min.
- End of the Game on IMDb
- End of the Game at Rotten Tomatoes
- Der Richter und sein Henker at AllMovie
- End of the Game at the TCM Movie Database