A Big Thing - DVD

Film: On August 16, 1988 Dieter Degowski and Hans-Jürgen Rösner robbed a branch of the Deutsche Bank in Gladbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia. The robbery does not go according to plan and soon the gangsters are on the run with two hostages, which only comes to a bloody end two days later on the A3 near Bad Honnef. After this hostage-taking, not only the police action, which the hostage Silke Bischoff had to pay for with her life, but also the behaviour of the reporting media is in the crossfire of criticism. The reappraisal of the hostage drama did not only take place in front of the judiciary, in newspapers and reportages. Since the early 1990s, filmmakers have also repeatedly attempted to film the events. Probably the most successful version is Bernd Schadewald's 1999 TV two-parter loosely based on the hostage drama, which has now been released on DVD for the first time in an unabridged version.

One big thing, though, is a fictional version of the events, for which not only the names of those involved but also the locations have been changed. For Schadewald, Degowski and Rösner became ex-con Hans Georg Pauler (Richy Müller) and his crony Ulrich Raffcyk (Jürgen Vogel), who rob a small bank branch in Harburg. When the police surround the building, the gangsters first barricade themselves in the bank with the two bank employees Anna Klages (Katja Flint) and Kristin Bauer (Fiona Corrs), before they are chased across the country in a getaway car with the two women in tow as hostages. It's not just the police who are hot on their heels. The sensationalist press also follows the hostage-takers at every turn. And because of this siege, the situation soon threatens to escalate.

Bernd Schadewald has of course taken some dramaturgical liberties to tell the story in a more cinematic way. So he has also invented some characters that did not exist in reality. But in the crucial moments he sticks very closely, almost documentary-like to the truth. It's shocking that these are the scenes that seem so unbelievable, so exaggerated. At these points, reality has helped write the story in a truly gruesome way, which Schadewald has turned into a clear critique against the media's sensationalism, which remains unabated to this day.

But first and foremost, A Big Thing is a tense and well-acted thriller that has a few minor lengths, but overall still manages to grab you after nearly fifteen years. It's nice that after a significantly shortened home movie version, the complete two-parter is finally available. For this there is a more than deserved: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: That the film is a TV production that is almost 15 years old, the image and sound quality of the DVD is quite noticeable. There is ever-so-slight blurring or image trickling. Nevertheless, in view of the age, a quite positive overall impression remains in the end, which also continues with the rather unspectacular, but well understandably mixed stereo sound. Who expects nothing more than decent TV quality, should not be disappointed by the audiovisual realization.

Extras: Bonus material has the DVD unfortunately not to offer.

Conclusion: A big thing is an exciting and oppressive cinematic approach to the hostage drama of Gladbeck. Filmmaker Bernd Schadewald directed a gripping TV two-parter in 1999, which is now available in its uncut version on DVD for the first time. Even after all these years, the well-cast film still works excellently as a thriller, but also as a media critique and psycho-drama. A good film, which despite various dramaturgical liberties very authentically reflects the true background. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp