The Dance of Death (1967 film)

The Dance of Death
DVD Cover
Directed by	Michael Verhoeven
Written by	August Strindberg (play) Michael Verhoeven
Produced by	Senta Berger Michael Verhoeven
Starring	Lilli Palmer Paul Verhoeven Karl Michael Vogler
Cinematography	Henning Kristiansen
Edited by	Monika Pfefferle
Music by	Joseph Berger Hermann Thieme
Production company	Sentana Filmproduktion
Distributed by	Eckelkamp Verleih
Release date	9 November 1967 (1967-11-09)
Running time	83 minutes
Country	West Germany
Language	German

The Dance of Death (German: Paarungen) is a 1967 West German drama film directed by Michael Verhoeven and starring Lilli Palmer, Paul Verhoeven and Karl Michael Vogler. It is an adaptation of August Strindberg's play of the same title. It was shot in Eastmancolor.

Plot

An egocentric artillery Captain and his venomous wife engage in savage unremitting battles in their isolated island fortress off the coast of Sweden at the turn of the century. Alice, a former actress, sacrificed her career for secluded military life with Edgar. On the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary, she reveals the veritable hell their marriage has been. Edgar, an aging schizophrenic who refuses to acknowledge his severe illness, struggles to sustain his ferocity and arrogance with an animal disregard for other people. Sensing that Alice, together with her cousin and would-be lover, Kurt, may ally against him, retaliates with vicious force. Alice lures Kurt into the illusion of sharing a passionate assignation and recruits him in a plot to destroy Edgar.

Cast

• Lilli Palmer as Alice
• Paul Verhoeven as Edgar
• Karl Michael Vogler as Kurt
• Ilona Grübel as Judith
• Michael von Harbach as Allan
• Melanie Horeschowsky as Maja
• Dietrich Kerky as Prisoner
• Dieter Klein as Ekmark
• Inken Sommer as Jenny

Bibliography

• Reimer, Robert C. & Reimer, Carol J. The A to Z of German Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

External links

• The Dance of Death at IMDb