Badesalz: Bindannda - DVD

Content: For almost a quarter of a century now, Henni Nachtsheim and Gerd Knebel as BADESALZ have become an integral part of the comedy scene in Germany. Their humour is bizarre, offbeat and yet always very close to (Hessian) reality. With their live shows, their comedy albums, their sketch series for TV and of course with Abbuze, their excursion into cinema, BADESALZ have built up a loyal fan base over the years that reaches far beyond the borders of Hesse.

The best way to enjoy the duo is of course live, because especially on stage and in front of an audience that appreciates their style, their absurd humor can unfold quite wonderfully. After successful stage programs like the cult Das Super Dong-Dong, Hammersbald or the later also filmed comedy fairy tale Das Baby mit dem Goldzahn, the duo toured the lands from 2010 with Bindannda, proving once again that their style is truly unique and still works perfectly after more than a quarter of a century.

Instead of simply presenting their gags in the form of short sketches or classic standup comedy like many of their colleagues, Knebel and Nachtsheim once again crafted a rather absurd story around them for this program: Actually, Peter Lembach (Nachtsheim), a manufacturer of light metal cans, just wanted to get a short paragliding flight, which his wife gave him, over with. But instead of the good quarter of an hour that the boss of the rental company had predicted for him, Peter flew a whole 7 hours criss-crossing the area and has now landed in the middle of nowhere. There is no cell phone network here and not a soul far and wide - except for the strange dropout (Gerd Knebel), who has built a new life here in his hut. And also Peter has to prepare himself for a longer stay here in the middle of the forest, because there seems to be no way back to civilization...

The play, that is called Hessian Mystery in the subtitle, is filled with satirical sideswipes at politics, pop culture and social current affairs, spiced with a few musical interludes and delightful running gags. You learn how muskrat a la Berlusconi is prepared, why the Hessians wouldn't mind if the Biblis nuclear power plant blew up in our faces, and what the perfect TV series would look like, with a plot based around songs by Udo Jürgens. Sure, there are some gags that don't quite work and that even loyal Badesalz fans can only smile comparatively tiredly about. But a large part of the program recorded in the Bürgerhaus Dreieich offers typical Badesalz humor at its best. Those who have so far had little or nothing to do with this kind of Hessian comedy will hardly be able to convince Bindannda of anything better. But if you've been able to laugh at Gerd Knebel and Henni Nachtsheim for the last two decades, you'll get a lot of good laughs for your money here. Not quite as good as seeing the duo really live, but damn close and therefore also: absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: From a live stage program should not be expected a revelation in terms of picture and sound. That being said, the technical realization of the DVD is absolutely fine. The picture is very clean, the image sharpness is on a high level and also the color scheme seems absolutely harmonious. The stereo mix lets all gags, dialogues and songs sound very well understandable from the boxes. Also, the live atmosphere was captured coherently, which in the end is enough for a more than satisfied good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has thirteen clips from the Badesalz Comedy Central series (about 13 minutes) to offer. Among them is an episode of Asso TV, food against the right, a commercial from Outtake Productions or even a bad case of sitcom tinitus. In addition to these short clips, there are four guest scenes from the Eintracht Frankfurt film Träume in Schwarz und Weiß (approx. 4 min.), as well as the animated film Kernseif (approx. 4 min.). Somewhat unusual but nice to watch are the school version of the Badesalz sketch Anthony Sabini (approx. 3 min.) and the HR-Online Redakteur version of Gereizt (approx. 3 min.). Good!

Conclusion: Bindannda is a must for all fans of Badesalz and an excellent testimony to why the duo can still hold their own in Germany's increasingly cluttered comedy scene, despite the sometimes very special humor. Besides the amusing stage program, the DVD has a few nice extras to offer. For fans there is really no reasonable reason not to get this DVD. Absolutely recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp