Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 25, 2016

Winner of Best Performance by a Young Actress at the German Film Awards, Roger Fritz's "Girls, Girls" a.k.a. "Mädchen, Mädchen" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of German label Subkultur Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; new audio commentary with director Roger Fritz, Rainer Knepperges and Sano Cestnik; new video interviews with director Roger Fritz and actor Jürgen Jung; new video interview with actress Monika Zinnenberg; deleted scenes; and more. In German, with optional English, Italian, and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The girl

German label Subkultur Entertainment has restored and released on Blu-ray yet another film from director Roger Fritz that I had not seen before. These are the type of Blu-ray releases that I enjoy the most nowadays because it is always a special treat discovering good forgotten or lost films that have literally been given a new life. (Subkultur Entertainment also has a fantastic English-friendly Blu-ray release of director Fritz’s The Brutes, a cult German film that is practically unknown in the United States).

My take on Girls, Girls will probably be slightly different than that of a German viewer that might have seen it when it was released in 1967, though something tells me that since it was Fritz’s directorial debut most likely it did not play in a lot of theaters and perhaps there is a very large group of German film aficionados that will also discover it via the Blu-ray release and react to it similarly to the way I did. The film is essentially divided into two uneven parts. A good portion of the first part reminds of something that Jack Hill would have shot during the late 1960s. I am thinking of Pit Stop, in which a handsome but very wild wheelman gets out of jail and then falls in love with a beautiful girl that changes his life forever. For a while Girls, Girls has exactly the type of rough edge that Pit Stop has and also looks like a low-budget documentary feature. In this film, however, the main protagonist is a very young girl named Andrea (Helga Anders) who is released from sort of a detention center and soon after picked up by a truck driver (Klaus Löwitsch) on his way to a large factory somewhere in the countryside. Shortly after, she begins a relationship with the son (Jürgen Jung) of the jailed man that runs the factory with whom she has had an affair. This is where the second part begins.

Andrea and the young man very quickly fall in love -- or so it appears. There is a physical attraction between them, but I also felt that both were interested in being part of a game. She is with her former lover’s son, and he is with his father’s mistress. It is exciting and they both tell each other that they are truly in love and that nothing will change when the old man gets out of jail. But are they sincere?

The finale provides a lot of food for thought. Before it there is plenty of beautiful and peaceful footage that reminds of Serge Bourguignon’s Sundays and Cybèle that seems to suggest that there is a big dramatic conclusion coming up. But I was surprised. At the end it turned out that the real story was actually about a transitional period in a country in which the moral standards are changing.

As a directorial debut Girls, Girls is quite impressive. The lovemaking footage is especially beautiful and at times even strikingly elegant.

*There are two versions of Girls, Girls that are included on the Blu-ray: original Theatrical Version (1967) and Revised Version (2016). The difference between the two is very small and it appears only in the very beginning, but I think that it actually effectively puts the real story in the proper context.

Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Fritz's Girls, Girls arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Subkultur Entertainment.

I had not seen Girls, Girls prior to receiving the Blu-ray from Germany but I can categorically state this is the best presentation of the film has had on the home video market. Indeed, it has been recently restored in 2K from the original camera negatives and it looks simply gorgeous in high-definition. Close-ups and the wider panoramic shots from the forest, for instance, boast the same excellent depth, and from start to finish fluidity remains very impressive. The grayscale is also wonderfully balanced -- there are solid, well saturated blacks, natural whites, and a wide, very healthy range of nuanced grays. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening corrections. Grain exposure is exposed and resolved very well. There are no basic stability issues. Finally, debris, cuts, stains, damage marks, and all other visible age-related imperfections have been carefully removed. (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. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English, Italian, and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film has an organic sound design with some minor fluctuations, but this is how it was recorded. In terms of clarity and depth, however, I think that the end result is very impressive. There are no audio dropouts, pops, static, or digital distortios to report in our review.

Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - presented here is an exclusive new audio commentary with director Roger Fritz, Rainer Knepperges and Sano Cestnik. The bulk of the material is about the production history of the film and the manner in which various sequences were shots, as well as main social themes and the nature of the conflicts between the protagonists. In German, with optional English and German subtitles.

• Two Boys and Girls Girls - in this brand new video piece, director Roger Fritz provides the entire history of Girls, Girls from the initial funding troubles to the eventual release. Actor Jürgen Jung also recalls his involvement with the film and discusses the socio-political environment in Germany and how his career evolved during the years. In German, with optional English and German subtitles. (63 min).

• The Girl Monika -in this brand new interview, Monika Zinnenberg discusses her acting career and involvement with Girls, Girls. In German, with optional German and English subtitles. (16 min).

• Short Film: "Help" - presented here is a short film which Monika Zinnenberg directed in 1986. With music by Birger Heymann. With optional English subtitles. (9 min).

• Restoration Comparison - presented here is a restoration featurette with detailed technical information and before-and-after comparisons. With music and English text. (3 min).

• Alternate Ending - with effects and music only. (3 min).

• Alternate Scene "113" - take 7 without audio. (2 min).

• From the Cutting Room Floor - additional unused content. Without audio. (2 min).

• German Trailers - In German, not subtitled.
  
  1. Theatrical. (4 min).
  2. Unreleased. (2 min).
  3. Workprint (2 min).

• Gallery - a large collection of original promotional materials for the film. (10 min).

• EDV Trailer Show - a gallery of trailers for other Subkultur Entertainment releases.

• Booklet - 16-page illustrated booklet with writings on the film in German.

Mädchen, Mädchen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Subkultur Entertainment has saved yet another very interesting German film from oblivion. It is dierctor Roger Fritz's Girls, Girls about a very young girl who has to choose between her older lover who has been jailed and his handsome son. The film has been fully restored in 2K and is now available on Blu-ray with an excellent selection of English-friendly supplemental features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (Also consider adding to your collections dierctor Fritz's cult film The Brutes, which has also been fully restored).