Das Stacheltier - Der Wintermantel

Sophie "inherits" her uncle's preserved whale and finds out that whoever sleeps in the whale's belly with her will be granted one wish, causing chaos and hatred in the village.

West Germany in '50s is becoming an economic superpower. In such climate, Rosemarie is just one of many enterpreneurs who wants her piece of new fortune. She uses her charms to bring members of West German industrial elite to her bed. There she finds business secrets and later sells them to French competition. However, when scandal errupts, Rosemarie would find that she can't beat the system.

The wealthy industrialist Ernst Schmitt has to take a step back for health reasons. But first he wants to arrange his succession, as he doesn't trust the manager of his chocolate factory. Without further ado, he pretends that his chauffeur is his millionaire boss and that he is his own driver. This allows him to uncover the factory manager's machinations unobserved...

Historical television comedy around Friedrich Alfred Krupp, whose connection to the imperial court and the influence of Kaiser Wilhelm II. to the Krupp family. Not yet 50 years old, the "cannon king" dies in 1902. The emperor holds a memorial speech sown with threats against the "inner enemies". Telltale secret files emerge, strange amorous adventures are in the game.

After returning from a concentration camp, Susanne finds a traumatized ex-soldier living in her apartment in bombed out Berlin. Together the two try to move past their experiences during WWII.

Lake Lucerne in 1868: a passionate and forbidden affair flares up between the gifted composer Richard Wagner and the much younger Cosima von Bülow - the aristocrat is already married and the mother of four children. Contrary to all conventions, the two publicly confess their love - and break a social taboo in the process.

Dr. Blum, a Jewish manufacturer, is falsely accused of a murder. Even when the real killer’s identity becomes evident, the state prosecutor refuses to accept Blum’s innocence.

The Jewish antiques dealer Siegfried Rabinovicz is on his way from New York to Hamburg where he is about to testify as the principal witness in a murder case. During a stop-over, an airport hostess talks him into giving up his seat on the connecting flight to another passenger. While Rabinovicz is waiting in the VIP lounge, he gets into a conversation with a stranger who is remarkably well informed about the murder Rabinovicz is going to testify about.

A refugee from a Nazi concentration camp is discovered by some boys in WWII Berlin. They provide him with food and help him to continue his flight. Later one of the boys, the son of a communist, is charged with theft, arrested and sent to a concentration camp.

Admiral Canaris is chief of the intelligence service of Nazi Germany. His department is quite successful and Hitler grants him all the money he wants for new developments. Still he's a thorn in the side of the Nazi chiefs, since he's not as unscrupulous as they want him and is known to criticize their ideology.

The true story of the Bavarian Tailor Albrecht Berblinger who, after a strange encounter with a balloon starts building a flying machine. Although not an engineer by profession, he never gives up. No matter how many obstacles are put in his way nor how many failures he endures, his ardour is never dampened. He continues with his dream to fly like a bird.

Set in an old suburb of Vienna traversed by the local railway line and full of old dilapidated houses. In this district, and old man lives and when his neighbour dies and new tenants move in his existence is transformed.

East Germany's contribution to the 1957 Cannes Film Festival was the wartime melodrama Betrogen bis zum Juengsten Tag. Had the film been released in the U.S., the title would probably have translated to Duped Till the Last. The film condemns the Nazi mindset by concentrating on a particularly odious cover-up. When his son is involved in the accidental killing of a girl, a Gestapo general pulls strings to save the boy from prosecution. The general manages to pin the blame for the killing on a group of Russians, whereupon he gives the men under his command carte blanche to round up and execute as many innocent Russians as they wish. This act of brutality is contrasted with the pangs of guilt suffered by the son and his co-conspirators.

Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists", from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish.

In 1903, Jan Anskath and his half-brother Martin are living in Rajgorod at the border between Russia and Prussia – Jan on the Russian, Martin on the Prussian side. Both are occasionally smuggling stuff over the border. But while Jan acts from political conviction and is smuggling illegal writings over the border, Martin is only interested in the money. That is why he does not question his shadowy client when he sneaks out refugees into Russia. But then it becomes evident that the distinguished gentleman has robbed the refugees from all of their belongings, only to turn them over to the authorities of the Czar.

The reporter Peter Zabel stumbles upon the sinking of the luxury yacht Orplid in Hamburg on August 14, 1949. The ship went down with a wedding party run by artists on a pleasure trip from Hamburg to Scotland . In spite of good weather and no technical problems. Out of personal curiosity, Zabel starts researching. Could the sinking of Orplid have political reasons? A German political thriller and film noir inspired by Carol Reed's "The Third Man".

DEFA crime film about the smuggling of PVC across the (still open) border from East to West Berlin.

Paul Pospischiel loses his job in the great colliery collapse in the Ruhr, retrains and builds a new life for himself. One day, he receives a letter from his mother, which tears him from his comfort zone and triggers a serious conflict. She has discovered the man who sent his father to a concentration camp decades ago and is therefore responsible for his death. The mother demands accountability from this man. Paul decides to confront the suspected informer and murderer...

A disillusioned Wehrmacht officer named Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944.

Biographic movie of the German fighter ace, who was killed in a plane crash after over 150 kills in North Africa.

Post-war Germany: Like so many other women, Gerda Krause has lost her husband during the war and has to fend for herself and her two children. She finds work as a seamstress but refuses the offering of her department chief Zimmermann to upgrade her qualifications. One day she meets Uschi, an old friend of hers, whom she has helped with schoolwork before the war and subsequently lost track of. The reunion reminds Gerda of her childhood dream: to become a teacher. Thus, she decides to enroll at university to make her dream come true.

Detti leaves the Harz to help build East Berlin but faces a cold welcome. He bonds with roommate Matthias and meets Silke. Assigned to Marzahn’s construction brigade, he works through challenges, determined to stay. His resolve pays off when he falls for Jasmin.

Frieda and August Walkowiak celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. However, the marriage has been in crisis for some time. August wants to spend his old age in peace, while Frieda has no intention of giving up her position as LPG chairman. The problems in the countryside are huge, collectivization is not progressing fast enough, even comrade Heinrich Rantsch is clinging to his individual farm. Frieda fights for progress, even in her private life, because not only her burden but also her higher position is a thorn in her husband's side. During the wedding anniversary celebrations, Frieda is called to the LPG. This is the cause of the family quarrel that has been in the air for a long time. August demands her resignation. In vain - and so he moves in with Rantsch. Their daughter Helga also leaves the house because of the tensions. Frieda collapses. When she is in hospital, August comes to his senses.

This film is the first of a two-part historical and biographical portrait of the communist politician and anti-fascist Ernst Thälmann. In early November 1918, Ernst Thälmann is an unwilling soldier serving on the western front. As the revolutionary movement at home is threatened by the betrayal of the Social Democrats and fissures in the working class, Thälmann calls on his fellow soldiers to put down their weapons and unite with the workers in the communist struggle at home. Thälmann’s qualms about which side he is fighting on continue, but when the local police attempt to prevent a shipment of provisions and supplies from reaching the people in Petrograd, he intervenes and the ship is unloaded. With this moment of clarity, Thälmann continues to follow his political convictions and joins the workers at the Hamburg uprising in October 1923.