Villa Tugendhat (2013) ( Haus Tugendhat )

Villa Tugendhat (2013) (DVD) (*)

~~$37.99~~ $31.97

Original Title: Haus Tugendhat
Language Selections:
Czech ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Czech ( Subtitles )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Subtitles )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
German ( Subtitles )
Italian ( Subtitles )
Portuguese ( Subtitles )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Germany ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
280 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
2-DVD Set
Deleted Scenes
Documentary
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Booklet

Movie filmed in 2013 and produced in:
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Dieter Reifarth

Written By:
Dieter Reifarth

Actors:
Daniela Hammer-Tugendhat ..... Herself
Ruth Guggenheim-Tugendhat ..... Herself
Ernst Tugendhat ..... Himself
Ivo Hammer ..... Himself
Lukas Hammer ..... Himself
Josef Guggenheim ..... Himself
Michael Guggenheim ..... Himself
Irene Kalkofen ..... Herself
Miroslav Ambroz ..... Himself
Dieter Bartetzko ..... Himself
Iveta Cerná ..... Herself
Eva Dvoráková ..... Herself
Bedriska Felixová ..... Herself
Viktor Hájek ..... Himself
Andreas Haus ..... Himself

Synopsis:

Brno, Czech Republic: Slowly, almost reverentially, the camera approaches the simple white facade before gliding through one of the extensive glazed outer walls into the innards of the building. The first minutes of Dieter Reifarth's documentary HAUS TUGENDHAT are a careful approach to this icon of modern architecture, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Built in 1930 as a family home for the cosmopolitan Jewish family Tugendhat, the villa was threatened by neglect for decades ever since their escape from the Nazis. Dieter Reifarth dedicates his film to both, the destiny of the family and the destiny of the house. Thanks to numerous interviews and original documents his film is multi-faceted, but still characterized by minimalist aesthetics.

Director and producer Dieter Reifarth made his film documentary by interweaving conversations with Tugendhat family members, former users of the house, art historians and restorers, together with historical photos and film footage, creating a multifaceted biography of a building. Against the background of the political catastrophes of the 20th century, the film tells of the personal experiences of residents and users of the unique house, whose beauty and charisma left its profound traces with several generations. At first glance, it is just a story of an extraordinary building. In fact however, the documentary by Dieter Reifarth about a house by Mies van der Rohe is so epic and exciting as a novel that spans a whole century.

Intelligently interweaving the restoration of the house (stripping back paint layers to old surfaces) and searing interviews with surviving Tugendhat siblings, it slowly unpicks family truths, from the Shangri-La of childhood, through exile (for being Jewish in the wrong place and time) to uncertain attempts at remaking the dream elsewhere. The most beautiful words are left to the ordinary Czechs with spinal injuries who lived there as children under Communism, and who simply revered its light, space and architecture as a background to their emerging lives - underscoring the film's theme about the relationship between people and the hard and complex nature of brilliant things.

This product was added to our catalog on Monday 09 June, 2014.