Der Todesking

Plot synopsis:
Monday A man comes home, phones his boss to resign from his job, writes mysterious letters, cleans his apartment and swallows poison in his bathtub. His death is simultaneous with the death of his fish, the only being that was close to him.
Tuesday A man rents a film in a video store, a Nazisploitation movie in which Nazi soldiers are torturing a prisoner in a concentration camp, castrating him and painting a swastika on his breast. When the young man's girlfriend comes home, she yells at him until he shoots her. He then places a picture frame over the place on the wall where her brain matter was splattered. This whole episode is revealed as being shown on a TV screen in a room where somebody else committed suicide by hanging.
Wednesday A man and a girl meet in a park in the pouring rain. The man tells the girl about his disastrous sex life with his wife which led to him killing her. The girl pulls out a gun to kill him, but the man takes it from her and shoots himself.
Thursday A motorway bridge somewhere in Germany, superimposed by the names, ages, and occupations of the people who have jumped from it.
Friday A woman, alone in her apartment, is observing a young, seemingly happy couple in the neighbourhood. She spies on them and finds a chain letter in front of her door, urging her to kill herself. Obviously everybody in the house got the letter. She ignores it, eats chocolates and falls asleep, dreaming of surprising her parents when they make love. The camera shows the young couple, dead on their bed.
Saturday A young woman, equipped with a camera and a gun, kills several people in the audience of a rock concert (the frontman is played by Die Ärzte drummer Bela B.) and records it on film, until someone kills her.
Sunday A man, alone on his bed, is crying and banging his head over and over, violently against the wall, until he succumbs to brain damage.

Tags: cruelty, murder, violence, flashback, insanity, sadist

Review:
'Der Todesking' is my first experience with Jorg Buttgereit.
This of course awoke my curiosity so I ordered Nekromantik 1 & 2 and Der Todesking (The Death King).
The Nekromantik movies are Ok, even kind of interesting and unique in their approach to the subject Necrophilia (even if they obviously are horror-opera entries rather than intended to invoke fear in the viewers mind, they are actually quite funny.)TODESKING, on the other hand is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made.
"Who wants to live forever?"I believe that when Buttgereit shows a body, that are being consumed by maggots, he shows not only decomposition, but GENERATION of new life.
Is it not better to die and give life to maggots and then birds and eventually become soil, than to remain the living dead zombie that is one of the the favorite pets of the genre?When you realize this, you see Der Todesking it its right context.Sieben Tage hat die Woche, siebenmal letzte Stunden.
Seven are the days of week (weak, mortal !), seven times the last hour.Dont fear the Reaper, Buttgereit tells us, because the Reaper takes only what is ripe.
And apples that are not plucked for food will rot!Have a good life, fellow IMDB'ers !(And watch this film, that compares only to Ingemar Bergmans "The Seventh Seal" in terms of depth and universality).
Buttgereit's masterpiece is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
Der Todesking is an Art film with the soul of a Horror film.
Jorg "Nekromantik" Buttgereit continued his serious obsession with death on this harrowing suicide-fest.
"Der Todesking"-Jorg Buttgereit's second full-length feature film(the first one was notorious "Nekromantik")has no central character or characters,but instead thematic continuity in the act of suicide.Divided into days of the week,it comprises of a series of set-pieces,each of which featuring the self-destruction of a complete stranger.Yes,the production values are low and it's disturbing,but in many ways "Der Todesking" is extremely effective.It makes you think which is sometimes more important than pure entertainment.Unlike the other Buttgereit's works it isn't very gory,but there are some unpleasant images like castration scene in the Tuesday episode,a decomposing corpse and various acts of suicide.The last(Sunday)episode is so depressing and full of pain!-just amazing if you want my opinion.10 out of 10-check out this post-modernism shocker!Disturbing art in the purest form!.
Jörg Buttgereit's films are not for everyone, but I have to say he has become my favorite horror director in the period 1985-1995.
Buttgeriet has made his own art-house-horror genre and the more I watch, the more I like his style.In Der Todesking Jörg Buttgereit was obviously inspired by Ole Luk-Oie (transl: "Ole Shut-Eye") - H.C. Anderssen's famous fairytale about the Sandman.
As a kid the Sunday story always got me, the one where Ole Luk-Oie tells he has brother - also named Ole Luk-Oie - who only comes to you once and another name for him is...Death Jørg Buttgereit's fairytale is similar in structure: For every day in the week we are presented with a short story.
In the end you learn the truth about people going crazy and killing others and who the Death King really is...As usual the film is accompanied by Buttgereit's trademark soundtracks: The lonely piano, the dissonant (bit amateurish) fiddle tunes etc.
Actually it's seven movies about suicide.
We get to follow Buttgereit in to his strange world of death, it's not a fun trip, but I can guarantee you that it's not meant to be an enjoyable film.
The film is divided into different short stories, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...
If you haven't seen any of Buttgereits earlier movies this one can be pretty hard to sit through cause it is pretty bizarre although not as graphic as his other movies, Nekromantik, Schramm.
I wouldn't care if Spielberg, Scorsese and Coppola never made another film (actually, I'd be rather grateful), but the possibility that Joerg Buttgereit might never direct another movie is truly upsetting.
It's been 13 years since his last film, Schramm, but I live in hope.Der Todesking is one of Buttgereit's most accessible films.
The film is a collection of vignettes relating to suicide and death, linked by footage of a rotting corpse.
Buttgereit has always exceeded in making the most repulsive act (having a threesome with a rotting corpse, for example) visually appealing.
In the meantime, Der Todesking is a great reminder of Joerg Buttgereit's skill and genius..
"Der Todesking" is not exactly the type of film that makes you merry Jörg Buttgereit's second cult monument in a row, which is actually a lot better than the infamous "Nekromantik", exists of seven short episodes  one for each day of the week  revolving on unrelated people's suicides.
In between these already very disturbing episodes, Buttgereit inserts truly horrifying images of a severely decomposing male corpse.
The episodes aren't all equally powerful but, as a wholesome, "Der Todesking" is ranked quite high on the list of all-time most depressing art-house films.
The added value of this film, or any other shockumenary like it, is debatable and I'm not even sure whether or not Buttgereit had any type of message to communicate here.
There's the vague mentioning of an eerie chain letter that encourages its readers to commit suicide but mostly we remain uninformed about these people's motivations to end their lives so dramatically.
The Thursday episode is a perfect example of this, as it stylishly shows different viewpoints of a famous German bridge while the names, ages and occupations of persons who jumped off appear on the screen.
Only a handful of horror directors are true craftsmen when it comes to constructing fear out of celluloid, and Jorg Buttgereit is one of them.
"Der Todesking" is an early, virtually plot less effort from the German auteur that follows a week in the life of a deadly chain letter.
The film possesses a stream-of-consciousness style which strings together a series of random, nightmarish images (the sped-up decomposition of a corpse; castration; suicide) that rely on a coldly realistic tone to deliver chills.
What's more, it explores the odd impulse of suicide in a very frank way, not pulling any punches in what it shows, yet not dwelling and over-sensationalising the subject matter.
it has hints of documentary about it as well as horror and art-house cinema, and deserves a place amongst the canon of 'different' horror films like The Blair Witch Project and the original Ring (both of which it predates and could well be an unacknowledged influence on).
Der Todesking, the first film that I ever saw by the amazing director Jorg Buttereit, and what a profound film this is!
I will admit, that the intervals between each story of a decomposing body, can be quite slow, and I would suggest fast-forwading (because they seem to drag forever) but dont let you stray you away from the actual film!
Buttgereit does a beautiful film about suicide?
Who would have thought that the same director of the filthy, Nekromantik, would be capable of bringing us such a moving portrait about suicide.
Well, it is also a film about violent death, not just suicide.
The film itself is actually seven short films each one dealing with violent death/suicide from different aspects.
There are indeed some parts that will move you to tears such as a bridge (somewhere in Germany, we don't know where but that's not important) and on film captions of the occupations (no real names given) and ages of the people who have used the bridge to meet their end.
I am initially underwhelmed by Der Todesking (The Death King).
So what we basically get is an anti-suicide movie made on a shoe- string budget it does work quite well for what its trying to achieve with the budget they had.
However, Its a bit of a hit and miss with some of the stories some of the scenes tend to drag on and one day which was Thursday was just shots of the bridge in Germany called the suicide bridge.
check it out if you're a film student or interested in the themes presented here but i can't recommend it personally..
Der Todesking (1990) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The "story" of this Jorg Buttgereit film is pretty simple.
All seven stories deal with people who commit suicide.DER TODESKING was made by the director right after his notorious NEKROMANTIK and it seems that a lot of people call this film here his masterpiece but I'd argue that it's not nearly as good as the film that came before it.
With that said, not too many filmmakers would make an entire movie based around suicide since, obviously, the story isn't going to go over well with the masses but it probably wouldn't go over too well even inside the horror community.I must say that I was really letdown by this film.
The film does manage to have a certain dark atmosphere that really works to its favor and the director also throws in some gore.
The problem I had with the film is that none of the seven stories really struck me as being anything overly interesting.
The subject notwithstanding, this is an amateur, exhibitionist movie--or an effort at one--which is about as interesting and daring as a moody high school student's composition book full of death "poetry".
I cannot state enough what a piece of s**t this movie is - Avoid this movie at all costs (and ignore the comments that praise this film as 'art').
The only Buttgereit film I'd seen previously was Nekromantik and I hated every minute of it, but - shockingly - this film is worse!
Der Todesking is pointless in the same way as Nekromantik, but it's a worse film because it's boring in a way that few movies have ever managed (it's not far off The Blair Witch Project, seriously).
The director may have been making a point about death, but only he knows what it is.
How anyone could watch this film and be anything other than bored with it is completely beyond me.
The film revolves around the theme of suicide, and follows the deaths of seven different people over the course of a week.
Der Todesking is apparently an 'art' film, although this would appear to be a reference to the way that not very much makes sense rather than a reference to the film bearing any resemblance to 'art'.
Buttgereit uses a few evocative images; but I'm unlikely to remember any of them for more than a week or so because this film just isn't that memorable.
There's a shot involving a decomposing man's body that features fairly often, but that gets old pretty quick and all you're left with is the rest of the film, which is unfortunate.
As I mentioned, Nekromantik is the only other film I've seen from this amateur director; I have copies of Schramm and Nekromantik 2, and now I'm really in no rush to watch either.
Der Todesking is a dull film with no point and anyone that calls it 'art' is very much mistaken.
Interesting "Art-House" Film From Jorg Buttgereit.
DER TODESKING is not one of my favorite Jorg Buttgereit film - but still is an interesting film dealing with suicide and it's reasons and ramifications.
Those looking for a gore-fest, or exploitation in the style of the NEKROMANTIK films or SCHRAMM will probably be disappointed.
DER TODESKING is definitely an "art-house" style film, so those that need linear, explainable narratives need not apply...The basic concept of DER TODESKING is that there is an "episode" for each day of the week that revolves around a strange chain letter that apparently causes people to commit suicide, interspersed with scenes of a slowly decomposing corpse...There are some very well done and thought provoking scenes, including the man talking about the "problems" with his wife, and the concert massacre (which unfortunately lost some of it's "power" on me, because I was too busy laughing at the SCORPIONS look-alike band on stage...).
But seriously - this is a sometimes beautiful (the scene that shows different angles of that huge bridge is particularly effective - especially if you understand the significance of the scene, and that the names shown are of people that actually committed suicide from jumping from the bridge...), sometimes confusing, sometimes silly (the SHE WOLF OF THE SS rip-off is pretty amusing), sometimes harrowing (I found the scene of the guy talking to the girl in the park about his wife particularly effective) film that is more of an "experience" then just entertainment, as many of these "art" films are meant to be.
Definitely worth a look to any Buttgereit or "art" film fan.
If you dig this type of film - check out SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY - in my opinion the BEST art-house/horror film that I've seen.
This film wishes so hard to be art, but it just doesn't have what it takes to get there.
Not that it matters much, since it is an "art" film.
As for this movie, I have seen better from the likes of Jorg.
The reason why I've rated this movie a five is because I do like certain parts of the film.
The decomposing corpse is particularly good and life-like, and the concept is okay (from what I understand), but it lacks importance, and it's definitely over-played.
If you're looking for something that is a good "art" movie, I'd recommend Un Chein Andelou, or Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Both are remarkable pieces of film art..
Jörg Buttgereit goes a bit too far with his movies and themes at times, even for my taste but his movies are always something special and hard to classify.
It also doesn't have a main character but instead focuses on 7 different suicides and killings, on 7 different days.All different stories are being told with lots of class, though some of them are of course more 'interesting' and realistic than the others.
It helps to make this movie an effective one to watch.Again, the production values all aren't too high and this might be something that might scare off some people.
It however helps for this particular movie to set the right tone and atmosphere for the entire movie and its dark, disturbing and depressing themes.A Buttgereit movie that I 'enjoyed' watching.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
This film is brought to you by the controversial German director, Jörg Buttgereit.
I had a difficult time understanding the premise to its maximum potential – but from what I've gathered, for each day of the week, a short tale is told with the theme of death or suicide present in each one.
It makes reference to a religious chain letter in circulation from a group calling themselves "The Brotherhood of the 7th Day." Also, the reoccurring scene of a decomposing corpse against a black back drop is shown with the use of classical music in the background.
Each person has control over their destiny and this enables them to become "The King of Death." This concept is not without interest, but Buttgereit's delivery was lackluster.
Buttgereit doesn't spell the message of his film out to the audience, and whatever feeling you're left with after watching Der Todesking is the right one.
So Der Todesking is not the most feel good film of all time, as it's subject matter is suicide, loneliness, depression, and also redemption in the absolute worst ways.
It is a film about people who get the short end of the stick in life and how people at their worst can take control of their miserable lives through suicide, thus becoming Der TodesKing (or King of Death).
The King of Death supposedly exists within all minds and can manifest when we are at our worst, driving suicidal thoughts into our minds.
The film is broken up into 7 days following different people who are struggling to cope with existence in a world they view as empty.
The film attempts to explain the concept of suicide as a radical escape from harsh reality, and a way of taking revenge against society for it's progressiveness that tends to leave so many behind.
When left behind those who tend to take their own life know for but a moment that they will not be ignored if only for the moment, and in spite remind everybody of the emptiness in their existence that others may have contributed to.Overall being a Jorg Buttgereit (Nekromantik 1 & 2, and Schramm) film, I couldn't help but be surprised the film wasn't more exploitive like his past works.
He says the film is supposed to be anti-suicide, but nobody in the film really has anything good happening in life.
This appears to be a movie about suicide.
Then back again to the corpse which has almost been reduced to a skeleton.Day seven...a guy writhes about on a bed for no apparent reason and the film ends with a little girl drawing a skeleton labelled The Death King (the name of the film).
More experiment then successful film its a look at seven deaths in seven days.
Jörg Buttgereit's second feature film has a simple plot, well not even a plot, its seven days and seven deaths.
Seven seemingly unconnected people die over the course of the film.
Made between his two Nekromantic films this is a dark mediation on death and despair.
With the exception of the fake decaying corpse that bridges the stories, this is probably his least graphic film.
Give Jörg Buttgereit points for trying to go and do something different, and give him points for almost pulling it off (and breaking conventions) but in the end it's an interesting misfire nothing more.
"Der Todesking" is a 72-minute German movie from the fairly famous Jörg Buttgereit.
This is basically a collection of 7 short films and we get a new tale for every day of the week.
All in all, I would not recommend it, but it may be a good way to start if you want to explore the world of Jörg Buttgereit.