The Legend of Paul and Paula
| The Legend of Paul and Paula | |
|---|---|
| Die Legende von Paul und Paula (German) | |
| Directed by | Heiner Carow |
| Written by | Ulrich Plenzdorf and Heiner Carow |
| Produced by | Erich Albrecht |
| Starring | Angelica Domröse Winfried Glatzeder |
| Cinematography | Jürgen Brauer |
| Edited by | Evelyn Carow |
| Music by | Peter Gotthardt |
| Distributed by | DEFA |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
| Language | German |
| Budget | N/A |
Die Legende von Paul und Paula (German: [diː leˈɡɛndə fɔn ˈpaʊl ʔʊnt ˈpaʊla] ⓘ; English: The Legend of Paul and Paula) is a 1973 surreal tragicomic East German film directed by Heiner Carow. A novel by Ulrich Plenzdorf named Die Legende vom Glück ohne Ende was based on this film.
The film was extremely popular on release and drew 3,294,985 viewers (the GDR had a population at the time of around 17 million). However, due to the film's political overtones it was almost not released. East German leader Erich Honecker personally decided to allow it to be shown.
Today it is one of the best-known East German films. In Berlin-Lichtenberg, part of the shore of Lake Rummelsburg, where the surrealist wedding scene was filmed, has been named Paul and Paula shore. It received another wave of broad popular reception as part of the Ostalgie movement, and also attracts continued critical and scholarly attention.