united docs – On the road to success with historical biographies
Cologne/Budapest, 16 July 2009 – German documentary distributor united docs put in a successful appearance at the central and eastern Europe’s leading film trade fair. Films about historical personalities were particularly in demand at the DISCOP in Budapest. The HD production “Hitler & Stalin” (90’/2x52’) continues the success of its predecessor “Hitler & Mussolini” (90’/2x52’), which already enjoyed multiple broadcasts world-wide. A recounting of the enmities between Germany and Russia, “Hitler & Stalin” has been licensed for Poland, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Slovenia as well as France and Scandinavia. There are also several queries from DVD distributors in these markets for both films. united docs’ most successful new project is called “Molotov – The Man Behind The Cocktail” (52’/90’). The HDTV film about the Soviet foreign minister under Stalin will be finished in 2010, but has already been pre-sold to Switzerland and Slovakia as well as Finland, France and Spain. All three of these historical documentaries are penned by the successful team around director Ulrich H. Kasten. “In times of crisis, people are especially interested in background stories. Our portraits about statesman of international significance bring history to life. They reveal the personalities of the powerful, and give viewers the answers they are looking for, along with new insights,” said Silke Spahr, managing director of united docs. “The sales success of these two films proves that they hit the needs of history programming decision makers.”
“Hitler and Stalin – A Duel For Dominance” is a double biography that focuses on the two protagonists and the paranoia they both shared. It is constructed as a political-psychological drama of increasing intensity that ends with a catastrophe. It juxtaposes material from international archives, some of which has never been seen before, with new footage filmed in cinematic quality at historical locations to create a suspenseful atmosphere: Hitler and Stalin are philosophical opposites and yet blood brothers. The film provides insights into to personality-driven party states, regimes of terror, command economies, concentration camps and military superpowers. It illuminates phenomena that shocked and disrupted the world of the 20th century, with consequences that reach into the 21st century.
“Molotov – The Man Behind The Cocktail” was one of Stalin’s closest advisors. He served as the Soviet foreign minister for many years, and announced to the world the decisions made by the Kremlin. He negotiated with Hitler and Goebbels, with Roosevelt and Churchill. During the Second World War, he was Moscow’s representative in discussions with the western allies. After Stalin’s death he clung to his Stalinist worldview, and initially remained foreign minister. He was subsequently banned from the Communist Party and not rehabilitated until just two years before his death. Molotov died in 1986 at the age of 96. This documentary focuses on the politician’s life, including its strange and tragic phases. No other 20th century politician clung to the Soviet legacy as long and as fast as Molotov. The film meets the same aesthetic standards as Ullrich Kasten’s successful productions “Hitler & Mussolini” and “Hitler & Stalin”. In particular, the intelligent use of archive material gives these films a style of their own and brings historical facts to life.
