Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 3, 2023

Gustav Ehmck's "Die Spalte" a.k.a. "The Making of a Prostitute" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Subkultur Entertainment. The supplemental features on the release include extended and alternate footage; widescreen version of the film; vintage promotional and publicity materials; and more. In German, with optional English and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

If Gustav Ehmck had made a better-polished version of Die Spalte a.k.a. The Making of a Prostitute (1971), it would have been impossible not to speculate that his film was the spiritual godfather of Uli Edel’s Christiane F. (1981). Perhaps in Germany some people consider The Making of a Prostitute to be that kind of an influential film, but I am quite certain that internationally very few people are even aware of its existence. I certainly was not. However, now that I have seen The Making of a Prostitute, I can understand why it did not become a ‘big’ film, too. It is not one of those explicit films that would have been impossible to screen in mainstream theaters across most of Europe and America, but it is not a risky arthouse film either. The Making of a Prostitute is a rougher film, conceived to resemble a documentary but not to behave as one. Mainstream viewers would not have embraced it, while mainstream critics would have loved to bury it. Perhaps this is what happened in 1971. Critics whose opinions mattered saw The Making of a Prostitute, did not like its attitude, and buried it.

I have to point out the other reason The Making of a Prostitute does not enjoy the same reputation Christiane F. does. Virtually all of the actors that made it did not have prior acting experience, so there is a lot of improvising in it that is incompatible with the type of material arthouse films produced at the time. On the other hand, this is the very reason The Making of a Prostitute now works well as a time capsule -- it is genuinely raw and sincere.

The story that is told in The Making of a Prostitute is short and predictable. A miserable young mother abandons her baby at a railroad track, knowing that an incoming train will soon crush its tiny body. However, just moments after the mother disappears, an elderly woman saves the baby. Some years later, long after the elderly woman has passed away, Sophie (Gerhild Berktold), now a beautiful teenage girl, escapes from an orphanage determined to start a new life as an adult. Instead, while trying to figure out how to survive alone in the big city, she is picked up by an amateur pimp that begins offering her to middle-aged men. After the amateur pimp defaults on some important debts, he sells Sophie to a more prominent pimp that doubles her ‘duties’ but refuses to pay her medical expenses after she contracts syphilis.

The focus of attention is not on Sophie’s relationship with the pimps -- there is nothing new there to see or ponder. These despicable men manipulate her in all the familiar ways that have kept the prostitution business alive over the years. Instead, Ehmck attempts to capture the nature of the odd environment in which Sophie and her clients meet, interact, and engage in a sexual act. The switch in the attitudes that occurs before the sexual act is very unsettling to observe because it implies that the supposedly proper coexistence of the two sexes in contemporary society is nothing more than carefully staged theater.

The most tragic revelation is a familiar one, too. When Sophie attempts to walk away from her pimp, she encounters an elderly prostitute that has not only embraced the misery of her profession but concluded that it helped her learn about the real world and how to survive in it. It is easy to see that she is not telling the truth and years ago dreamed of a very different life, and it is just as easy to tell that her entire existence is a repetitive cycle of meaningless and demeaning activities. People like the elderly prostitute are the most difficult ones to save because they are just going through the time they have left to live.

I must mention one more detail that is crucial and will never lose its relevance. A strong family is a child’s greatest protector and educator, and a strong family needs a strong father figure. In The Making of a Prostitute and Christiane F., the two girls head down the path of self-destruction after abandoning their dysfunctional families. Needless to say, this is not a coincidence.

Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Subkultur Entertainment's release of The Making of a Prostitute is a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and offers two presentations of the film in 1080. One in the film's original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, and one in the alternate 1.66:1 aspect ratio. Both versions have been fully restored.

I chose to view the film in the 1.37:1 ratio, but I must mention that I do not have any previous experience with it. On my system, the entire film looked outstanding. While in a few areas it is easy to tell that some of the footage was done quickly and as a result there are minor fluctuations in terms of density and clarity, all visuals have the type of consistent organic appearance that we expect from a great modern restoration. I thought that the dynamic range of the visuals was very impressive too, so I do not think that in their native resolution they can perform significantly better. Color balance is very convincing. The primaries and the supporting nuances appear very healthy and with pitch-perfect saturation levels. Image stability is outstanding. All in all, The Making of a Prostitute has received the type of impressive makeover that big-budget productions get, which frankly is not at all surprising given Subkultur Entertainment's record. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (24fps), German DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (25fps), and Italian Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English and German titles are provided for the main feature.

I viewed the film with the German DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (24fps) track. All dialog is very clear, sharp, and stable. Dynamic intensity is very limited, but the film welcomes plenty of organic sounds and noises to support its preferred documentary appearance, so this is hardly surprising. Balance is good. if there were any age-related anomalies before -- and I have to assume that there were some -- it is impossible to tell now. The English translation is very good.

Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Alternate Version - presented here is a fully restored alternate version of The Making of a Prostitute in the 1.66:1 ratio. In German, with optional English and German subtitles. (1080p).

• Optical Audio One - presented here is a German optical audio for the 1.66:1 version.

• Optical Audio Two - presented here is a German optical audio for the 1.37:1 version.

• Alternate Scenes - presented here are alternate scenes for the Italian presentation of the film, called "Le Fessura". In Italian, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Opening Titles (English) - presented here are silent opening titles for the film. (2 min).

• Opening Titles (French) - presented here are silent opening titles for the film. (2 min).

• Extended Textless Opening (Silent) - (3 min).

• Trailer One - a newly restored original German trailer for The Making of a Prostitute. (4 min).

• Trailer Two - a newly remastered original Italian trailer for The Making of a Prostitute. (3 min).

• Gallery - a gallery of vintage promotional materials for The Making of a Prostitute. Also included is a copy of the screenplay for the film as well as copies of published materials.

• Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet with writings on The Making of a Prostitute and technical credits. In German.

Die Spalte Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In contemporary America, the destruction of the nuclear family is directly related to the unprecedented explosion of violence. Why is the destruction of the nuclear family allowed and encouraged? Because it is good for politics and great for business. However, this important relationship is not a contemporary American phenomenon and is easy to discover in countries all across the world. Gustav Ehmck's Die Spalte a.k.a. The Making of a Prostitute comes from the 1970s and tells a predictably tragic story about a very young girl that heads down the path of self-destruction because she does not have a loving family to protect her. After viewing The Making of a Prostitute for the first time a few nights ago and thinking about it quite a bit, I must write that it deserves to be placed next to Uli Edel's powerful and much better-known drama Christiane F.. This Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from German label Subkultur Entertainment introduces a very beautiful exclusive new restoration of The Making of a Prostitute and is Region-Free. If the film's subject matter intrigues you, do not miss it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.