Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Fan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 18, 2015

Eckhart Schmidt's "The Fan" a.k.a. "Der Fan" (1982) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent U.S. distributors Mondo Macabro. The supplemental features on the disc include a video interview with the German director; cast/crew and production profiles; and more. In German or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The star and his fan

Simone (Desiree Nosbusch) is a beautiful young girl who has fallen in love with a rising pop star named R (Bodo Steiger). She has sent him numerous letters to let him know how special his songs are and how they have changed her life, but he hasn’t replied and now she is depressed.

Simone‘s parents have noticed that she has changed, but have been too busy to find out why. When they eventually try to talk to her, she runs away and then hitchhikes to Munich to see R. She meets the singer in front of a large studio where he is planning to shoot a new video. Much to her delight, he invites her to attend the shooting session.

During a short break, Simone and R have lunch together, but when his friends appear she becomes seriously upset. Later than night, however, R invites Simone to the lavish home of a close friend who has moved to America and the two make love. Then R tells Simone that he has to go away for a few months and she goes berserk.

German director Eckhart Schmidt’s The Fan has never had an official American home video release. In the United Kingdom, the film was officially released, but it was dubbed in English, retitled (it was distributed under the alternative title Trance), and censored.

The Fan has a dual identity which is quite similar to that of Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession. Indeed, it follows closely Simone’s obsession with the pop star and gradual detachment from the real world, but its story also serves as a metaphor for Germany’s fascination with Adolph Hitler and National Socialism. Its ending is very unusual -- or not so much if one compares The Fan to Possession and examines closely the similar visual references the two films employ -- but it serves the two reads of the story very well. (Possession and The Fan were made in the early '80s, only a year apart from each).

Visually, The Fan is not as well polished as Possession, but its rawness actually blends quite well with its punk/new wave vibe. In fact, the prolonged video shoot intentionally highlights a few such rougher segments.

Nosbusch’s performance is very bold and very confident. Her character transformation during the second half of the film, in particular, is every bit as striking as Natja Brunckhorst’s in Uli Edel’s powerful drama Christiane F.. Staiger is also convincing as the rather naïve singer.

The film is complimented by a stylish soundtrack blending elements of early dark wave and electro pop/synthesizer rock which was created by the German band Rheingold. This particular style will later on be popularized by such bands as Die Krupps (now firmly in the industrial rock camp), Propaganda, FSK, and Front 242, amongst others.

Note: Mondo Macabro’s Blu-ray release of The Fan contains the film’s fully uncut version. The old R2 DVD release of The Fan is cut.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Eckhart Schmidt's The Fan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Mondo Macabro.

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master and there are some obvious fluctuations in terms of definition and clarity. Generally speaking, the majority of the daylight footage has a pleasing organic appearance. Most close-ups, in particular, boast decent depth (see screencapture #2). The darker indoor footage, however, is quite inconsistent. In fact, I have to speculate that the master might be a reconstruction job of some sort as there are some pretty drastic fluctuations that impact definition, depth, and clarity. For example, during the family gathering early into the film, there is a sudden drop in clarity and depth that occurs during a single transition (see screencapture #3 and screencapture #11). Elsewhere there are also traces of light denoising, though it is obvious that they are not recent (see screencapture #7). During a few darker sequences some light artifacts also attempt to sneak and at least one of these sequences once again exhibits the same drop in clarity and depth. For the most part colors appear natural, but saturation is most convincing during the daylight sequences (see screencapture #12). There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Finally, a few minor scratches pop up here and there, but overall image stability is good. To sum it all up, even though the presentation is somewhat inconsistent, for the most part the film does have a relatively good organic appearance. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. For the record, Mondo Macabro have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Generally speaking, depth and clarity are pleasing, but it is easy to tell that The Fan was shot with a small budget. Indeed, there is some minor unevenness when music is used to further enhance the unique atmosphere and some transitions appear a bit uneven. Some extremely light background hiss occasionally makes its presence felt, but it never becomes distracting. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Eckhart Schmidt - in this video interview, director Eckhart Schmidt recalls how he entered the film business, and discusses his early work (shooting newsreels for TV and eventually short films in Munich), the original magazine story that inspired him to shoot The Fan, Simone's obsession with the rock star and her character transformation, etc. In German, with optional English subtitles. (20 min).

• About the Film - production information about The Fan. Presented in text-format.

• Cast and Crew - three profiles in text-format:
  
  1. Desiree Nosbusch (Simone)
  2. Bodo Staiger (R)
  3. Eckhart Schmidt (writer/director)

• Rheingold and the German New Wave - an excellent essay focusing on the German punk and new wave scenes during the late 70s and German band Rheingold, who provided the soundtrack to The Fan. Bodo Staiger, "R", was the band's lead singer. In text-format.

• More from Mondo Macabro - trailers for other Mondo Macabro releases.

The Fan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eckhart Schmidt's The Fan can easily be compared to Andrzej Zulawski's Possession. It is a very interesting time capsule whose unusual story is actually a metaphor for Germany's fascination with Adolph Hitler and National Socialism. Mondo Macabro offer the film's fully uncut version on Blu-ray, which marks its official home video debut in the United States. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.