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The Legends of Rita

Play trailer Poster for The Legends of Rita Released Feb 16, 2000 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Rita Vogt (Bibiana Beglau) is seduced into the terrorist movement through her sense of justice and her love for Andi (Harald Schrott). Years later, realizing the movement is falling apart, she goes underground, hiding out in East Germany. With the help of a Stasi agent named Erwin Hull (Martin Wuttke), she assumes a new identity amidst the everyday world of the working class. As much as she wants to fit in, her young co-worker Tatjana (Nadja Uhl) wants to get out, to escape to the west.

Critics Reviews

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Wesley Morris San Francisco Chronicle Apr 16, 2001 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Rated: 4/5 Apr 16, 2001 Full Review Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The Legend of Rita doesn't adopt a simplistic political view. It's not propaganda for either side, but the story of how the division and reunification of Germany swept individual lives away indifferently in its tide. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 16, 2001 Full Review Jason Gorber Film Scouts The film could have been an insightful examination of the East/West divide that kept Germany apart for almost half a century. Instead, the film's early potential slows to a halt, and the predictable machine of melodrama takes over..." Rated: C Jun 21, 2007 Full Review Maria Garcia Film Journal International Excellent performances by lead actors Beglau and Martin Wuttke...as well as an unforgettable performance by Nadja Uhl...humanize the unfamiliar internal politics of Germany. Apr 7, 2007 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 23, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member A intelligent and brave but still little too bland attempt to portray the psyche of 70's RAF terrorists. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Liked the cinematography and direction by Schlondorff. Interesting story as well. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Titolo italiano: Il silenzio dopo lo sparo Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty good display of the GDR Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member sort of interesting but not pleasing to watch Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Movie about a West German terrorist-idealist who becomes disillusioned with what she is doing and moves to East Germany to live out her life as a worker. Things don't go down as planned and she has to keep on moving. Nothing really spectacular here, just the embodiment of a sub-culture's ideals in a woman and the end of an era. The acting is serviceable and the music is hilarious in an unintentional way. Of note: The ending appears to be pretty much lifted from Easy Rider. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Legends of Rita

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Cast & Crew

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Volker Schlöndorff

Director

Bibiana Beglau

Rita Vogt

Martin Wuttke

Erwin Hull

Nadja Uhl

Tatjana

Harald Schrott

Andreas Klein

Alexander Beyer

Jochen
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The Legends of Rita

The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Rita Vogt (Bibiana Beglau) is seduced into the terrorist movement through her sense of justice and her love for Andi (Harald Schrott). Years later, realizing the movement is falling apart, she goes underground, hiding out in East Germany. With the help of a Stasi agent named Erwin Hull (Martin Wuttke), she assumes a new identity amidst the everyday world of the working class. As much as she wants to fit in, her young co-worker Tatjana (Nadja Uhl) wants to get out, to escape to the west.
Director
Volker Schlöndorff
Producer
Arthur Hofer, Emmo Lempert, Friedrich-Carl Wachs
Screenwriter
Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Volker Schlöndorff
Distributor
Kino Pictures
Production Co
Babelsberg Film GmbH, Mitteldeutsches Filmkontor, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 16, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 21, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$71.6K
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)