Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Wrong Move Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 14, 2016

Winner of multiple German Film Awards, including Best Direction and Best Cinematography, Wim Wenders' "Wrong Move" a.k.a. "Falsche Bewegung" (1975) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival audio commentary and new video interview with Wim Wenders; new interviews with actors Rudiger Vogler and Lisa Kreuzer; and archival footage from the shooting of the film. The release also arrives with a 480page illustrated book featuring essay by filmmakers Michael Almereyda and Allison Anders, author James Robinson and critic Nick Roddick. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"I have to make a conscious effort to observe. Everyone else notices more details than me."

There are three different stories in Wrong Move, though two of them frequently overlap and one could probably easily argue that the third is only an extension of sorts. In the grand scheme of things, however, how one chooses to identify them is largely irrelevant.

The first story is about a young novelist (Rudiger Vogler, Alice in the Cities, Kings of the Road) in 1970s West Germany who decides to go on the road so that he can reconnect with the world he wants to write about. At first this seems like a fairly easy project -- he would travel across the country, observe his countrymen and absorb the stories they are willing to share with him. He is convinced that the movement -- the journey and the exchange of information -- would quickly recharge his intellectual batteries and after that it would be only a matter of time before he writes a brilliant book. Soon after his elderly mother hands him a train ticket to Bonn, however, the novelist is forced to reconsider the structure of his project because he realizes that he is a terrible listener. Then, after a series of odd encounters and events that surprise him and even temporarily force him out of his comfort zone, he also begins to wonder if anyone would actually want to read about the strange world he has discovered during his journey.

The second story is about a country struggling to choose an identity. It is told through some truly brilliant selections of images that capture the pulse of a quiet but painful struggle to move away from a very difficult past. The choice of colors is very important here -- cold grays and blues and thick browns make every place the novelist visits look either incredibly sad or notably depressing.

The third story is very personal and probably as honest as the one told in Federico Fellini’s legendary film 8 ½. Indeed, it is not that difficult to tell that the novelist is in fact Wenders’ alter ego and that his frustration actually belongs to the director and is only channeled through him. So in a way Wrong Move is also a cinematic confession, only here it brings to the spotlight an entire country whose sense of guilt has transformed the majority of its people into disillusioned loners and pessimists.

Viewers unfamiliar with the socio-political climate in West Germany during the Cold War could find some of the melancholy that permeates the film slightly artificial, but the truth is that for a long period of time the country was stuck in a transitional process that put tremendous pressure on its people and had a serious psychological effect on their relationships. (A similar transitional process also had a huge impact on ordinary people living in East Germany after the unification in 1990).

In a new interview included on this release Vogler mentions that he apparently never managed to become the character he wanted to be, but it is difficult to critique his disenchanted novelist. The great Hanna Schygulla, who appeared in many of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s best films, is equally good as the object of his affection. Hans Christian Blech is an Olympian athlete living the past. Peter Kern, who recently passed away, plays a desperate poet looking for an audience to appreciate his work. Ivan Desny is a cynical industrialist who has hit the bottom. A very young Nastassja Kinski also made her acting debut in this film as the mute beauty Mignon.

Wenders shot the film with his favorite cinematographer, Robby Müller. The soundtrack was composed by Jürgen Knieper, who also collaborated with the director on many of his best films.

Wrong Move Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wim Wenders' Wrong Move arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the book provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Wrong Move and Kings of the Road are presented in their original theatrical aspect ratios of 1.66:1. These new digital transfers were created from the original 35mm negatives and scanned in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner. The films were also color corrected in 4K resolution.

Scan and restoration lab: ARRI Media, Berlin.
Transfer supervisors: Wim and Donata Wenders.
Colorist: Philipp Orgassa.
Commissioned by: The Wim Wenders Foundation, with support from the German Federal Film Board (FFA).
Financing and coordination: Laura Schmidt, Francesca Hecht, Bernd Eichorn, Johanna Muth, Dominik Bollen."

Detail and clarity are very good. A lot of the outdoor footage also looks very crisp, though virtually the entire film appears to have been shot during some quite gloomy and cold weather. Grain is evenly distributed; the high-quality scan has also ensured that it is wonderfully resolved. This translates into fantastic depth, with the outdoor footage often looking very impressive. The color scheme favors mostly cold primaries, but they do not overwhelm the different nuances. However, I feel that the overall balance could have been handled even more carefully. There is at least one segment where depth could have benefited from a better balance (see screencapture #15). The good news here is that even with the intended appearance the film's basic organic qualities, including those that are sometimes impacted by color shifts, remain strong. Overall image stability is outstanding. There are no large debris, damage marks, cuts, scratches, or stains. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Wrong Move Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Jürgen Knieper's score has a secondary role, but there are short sequences in which the intended atmosphere is in fact greatly influenced by the music. Dynamic intensity is modest, but there are random sounds and noises that are very effectively identified. The dialog is always stable and easy to follow.

Wrong Move Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Three for the Road - in this new and quite illuminating interview, dierctor Wim Wenders discusses the evolution of his professional career, his relationship with a number of his long-time collaborators that helped him direct many of his best films (with very interesting comments about cinematographer Robby Müller and editor Peter Przygodda), some of the unique themes in the films in The Road Trilogy, the various locations where they were short, the socio-political environment in which they emerged, etc. The interview was conducted and edited by filmmaker Michael Almereyda (Hamlet, Experimenter) in Berlin on January 23, 2016. In English, not subtitled. (75 min, 1080p).

• Interviews - in this new program, actor Rudiger Vogler (Wilhelm) discusses his interest in classic literature and how it influenced his decision to enter the film business, his initial discussions of Peter Handke's screenplay with Wim Wenders (who apparently wanted Jean-Perre Leaud to play the main character in Wrong Move), his interactions with the rest of the actors (Hanna Schygulla, Peter Kern, Ivan Desny), the lensing of some of the longer takes, the fact that he apparently never managed to become the character he wanted to be in the film, etc. Actor Lisa Kreuzer (Janine) also recalls how she became involved with Wrong Move, and discusses Wim Wenders' working methods, the casting of Nastassja Kinski, etc. The program was produced in 2016. In German, with optional English subtitles. (22 min, 1080p).

• Super 8 Footage - presented here is Super 8 footage that was shot during the making of Wrong Move. The original footage is without sound, but it is presented with music from Jurgen Knieper's score. (5 min, 1080i).

• Commentary - in this audio commentary, dierctor Wim Wenders discusses in great detail the production history of Wrong Move, the nature of the relationships between the main characters, the visual style, tone and atmosphere of the film, etc. The commentary was recorded in 2002. In English, not subtitled.

• Book - 48-page illustrated book featuring Michael Almereyda's essay "Between Me and the World", Allison Anders' essay "A Girl's Story", James Robinson's essay "Utter Detachment, Utter Truth", Nick Roddick's essay "Keep on Truckin'", and technical credits.

Wrong Move Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is probably best that you see Wim Wenders' Wrong Move after the other two films in The Road Trilogy, Alice in the Cities and Kings of the Road. I think that it is the most personal one and given the structure and themes of its narrative the most challenging one. Its main story is about a frustrated writer who goes on the road so that he can reconnect with the world he wants to write about and recharge his intellectual batteries, but makes a series of surprising discoveries that force him to begin reevaluating his life. However, the film also has a lot to say about a country from the past that struggled to choose an identity. Amongst the special features on this upcoming release is a fantastic new interview with Wim Wenders that actually feels like a documentary film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.