To the point sweetheart - DVD

Film: 6.5 million viewers, three Federal Film Awards, including in a category created especially for this film, the Goldene Leinwand and a Bambi for leading actress Uschi Glas - these are just some of the stages on the success story of Zur Sache Schätzchen, the cult film from 1968. At the time, director May Spils was the first German director of the post-war generation to surprise cinema audiences and critics with a comedy that, beneath its loose surface, directly struck a chord with the times and thus had an enormous influence on the pop culture of the late 1960s. With its cheeky dialogues, the film also left its mark on the German vernacular. And for Uschi Glas, Zur Sache Schätzchen was the breakthrough to an acting career in German film and television that lasted over four decades.

Reason enough to give this classic film a digital makeover. And so the story about the bored lyricist Martin (Werner Enke) from Munich-Schwabing, who prefers to bring his environment to despair with his pseudo-philosophical thoughts, until the dashing Barbara (Uschi Glas) from a middle-class house finally brings some momentum into his life, can be experienced in new splendor. And it's still a lot of fun, even after all these years, to rediscover or rediscover this film for yourself.

Because even if there are some aspects that are so strongly influenced by the feeling of the times of the late 1960s that they don't work quite as well from today's perspective, other scenes and dialogues still seem surprisingly fresh and amusing. Guys like Martin actually still exist in 2013 and his very own views on his environment and his fellow human beings also only seem very dusty to a certain extent. The acting of the actors, unlike what one is used to from many German comedies of the 1960s, is not too over-the-top silly, but has an amusing nonchalance that somehow seems timeless.

Surely, at no moment can it really be denied that Zur Sache Schätzchen is a product of its time. And it may also be doubted that younger viewers will be able to relate to the black-and-white look and dialogue. But open-minded viewers over 20 who are interested in German cinema history, and of course all those who still know and love the film from their own youth, should be very pleased with this digitally restored re-release. Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The film has been digitally restored for the DVD and Blu-ray release. It's true that you can still tell that the film has over four decades under its belt. Especially the mono sound is a bit dull, the stereo mix is a bit more powerful. And even the black and white picture still has some minor flaws here and there. But overall, the polished version leaves just visually a very good impression in terms of image sharpness and cleanliness, so that there is an absolutely deserved good here.

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has, in addition to the original trailer, two short films by May Spils from 1966 (The Portrait and Maneuver, each approx. 10 min.), as well as one of the rare interviews with Werner Enke from 2012 (approx. 10 min.) to offer. There's also a 12-page booklet with background information on the film. Good!

Conclusion: Zur Sache Schätzchen is one of THE classics of post-war German cinema. The comedy, which attracted over 6 million viewers to cinemas in 1968, became a career springboard for Uschi Glas and a cult film that still works very well over 45 years later. The digitally restored version presents the classic in new splendor and also offers the viewer a few nice extras. For this there is a more than deserved: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp