The Laughing Man (1966)

[kelber at mindspring.com]

A few clicks away from The Laughing Man (1966) found this interesting list: Films as Subversive Art, on which Laughing Man is listed.  So are The Andromeda Strain and Love Story - not exactly sure what's subversive or artistic about them - but it's still an unusual list of shorts, features and docs, from the silent era to the 70s, from around the world.

http://artandpopularculture.com/List_of_films_from_Film_as_a_Subversive_Art

Laura


-----Original Message-----
>From: jochen stremmel <jstremmel at gmail.com>
>Sent: Feb 3, 2013 2:28 AM
>To: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
>Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>Subject: Re: The Laughing Man (1966)
>
>not so hard to find anymore: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGAUW1ZF2xI
>
>2013/2/3 Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>:
>> User Reviews
>>
>> for liberté, fraternité and all that, you know these sayings...
>>  17 March 2006 | by slaughtermob (Germany) – See all my reviews
>>
>> In this fascinating interview, east German film makers Heynowski and
>> Scheumann try to reveal the true face of western imperialism in
>> Africa, and the result is a propagandistic tour de force: Siegfried
>> Mueller, ex-officer of the Wehrmacht, in the uniform of the Kongolese
>> Army and adorned with the Cross of Iron awarded in 1945, talks about
>> his involvement as a mercenary in Kongo's civil war in the 1960s. In
>> the course of the film the bottle of Pernod is emptied, and the Major
>> gets more revealing; practically denying his earlier statements about
>> civil killings, the ethics of war and the defense of western
>> libertarian values. Masterfully caricatured with pictures of him and
>> comrades proudly posing with severed skulls, other Nazi officers now
>> active in Afrika and incidental mentioning of American exertion of
>> influence. The tag line reads "Confessions of a Murderer", and the
>> directors skillfully talk the increasingly drunk Kongo-Mueller into
>> his role and into the the wanted statements. I was deeply impressed by
>> this movie, which gives unique insight into a neglected chapter of the
>> cold war and its zeitgeist, and also its sheer suggestive power, which
>> creates a ghastly image of this smiling murderer. This film was banned
>> in West Germany for many years. Highly recommended, even though
>> extremely hard to find.
>>
>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0165853/