Alice in the Cities
Encyclopedia
Alice in the Cities is a 1974
German road movie
directed by Wim Wenders
. This was the first part of Wenders' "Road Movie Trilogy
" which included The Wrong Move
(1975) and Kings of the Road
(1976). The film is shot in black and white by Robby Müller
with several long scenes without dialogue.
. The scenario of a young girl and a writer thrown together was inspired by his long time collaborator Peter Handke's
experience as a single parent. The influence also of Short Letter, Long Farewell, Handke's 1972 novel, also featuring an alienated German-speaker travelling across the United States, can be inferred from the film's use of clips from John Ford
's Young Mr. Lincoln
, itself heavily referenced in the novel.
1974 in film
The year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
German road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
directed by Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
. This was the first part of Wenders' "Road Movie Trilogy
Road Movie Trilogy
The Road Movie Trilogy is a series of three road movies directed by German film director Wim Wenders in the mid-1970s. They include Alice in the Cities , The Wrong Move , and Kings of the Road . All three films were shot by cinematographer Robby Müller and mostly take place in West Germany...
" which included The Wrong Move
The Wrong Move
The Wrong Move or Wrong Movement is a 1975 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. This was the second part of Wenders' "Road Movie Trilogy" which included Alice in the Cities and Kings of the Road...
(1975) and Kings of the Road
Kings of the Road
Kings of the Road is a 1976 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' "Road Movie Trilogy" which included Alice in the Cities and The Wrong Move...
(1976). The film is shot in black and white by Robby Müller
Robby Müller
Robby Müller is a cinematographer whose name is most often associated with film director Wim Wenders.-Life and work:...
with several long scenes without dialogue.
Plot
By an unlikely twist of fate, reporter Phil Winter finds himself stuck with a little girl, Alice, searching the cities of Germany for her grandmother, whose name and address Alice can't remember. The only clue they have is a photograph of her grandmother's front door with no house number and no one in the shot. The film's theme closely foreshadows Wenders' later film Paris, TexasParis, Texas (film)
Paris, Texas is a 1984 drama film directed by Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by L.M. Kit Carson and playwright Sam Shepard, and the distinctive musical score was composed by Ry Cooder. The cinematography is by Robby Müller....
. The scenario of a young girl and a writer thrown together was inspired by his long time collaborator Peter Handke's
Peter Handke
Peter Handke is an avant-garde Austrian novelist and playwright.-Early life:Handke and his mother lived in the Soviet-occupied Pankow district of Berlin from 1944 to 1948 before resettling in Griffen...
experience as a single parent. The influence also of Short Letter, Long Farewell, Handke's 1972 novel, also featuring an alienated German-speaker travelling across the United States, can be inferred from the film's use of clips from John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's Young Mr. Lincoln
Young Mr. Lincoln
Young Mr. Lincoln is a 1939 partly fictionalized biography about the early life of President Abraham Lincoln, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ford and producer Darryl F. Zanuck fought for control of the film, to the point where Ford destroyed unwanted takes for fear the studio...
, itself heavily referenced in the novel.
Cast
- Rüdiger VoglerRüdiger VoglerRüdiger Vogler is a German film and stage actor.-Biography:Rüdiger Vogler attended acting school in Heidelberg from 1963 to 1965...
as Phil Winter - Yella RottländerYella RottländerYella Rottländer is a German television and film actress as well as costume designer.Rottländer first appeared in the Wim Wenders film Der scharlachrote Buchstabe in a supporting role...
as Alice - Lisa KreuzerLisa KreuzerLisa Kreuzer is a German television and film actress.Co-Star with Dennis Hopper in 1975 film My American Friend, German French co-production....
as Alice's Mother - Sibylle BaierSibylle BaierSibylle Baier is a German folk singer and actress whose musical abilities achieved belated recognition with the 2006 release of the album Colour Green, compiled from songs she had recorded in the early 1970s....
as The Woman