Featurefilm
Germany 1971
35 mm
90 min
Color
Optical Sound

Crew

Buch und Regie
Ula Stöckl, Edgar Reitz, Alf Brustellin, Nicos Perakis
Kamera
Edgar Reitz
Kameraassistenz
Christoph Brandt
Ton
Jürgen Köppers, Folkardt Prestin
Musik
Nicos Mamangakis
Geräusche
Hans Walter Kramski
Ausstattung
Nicos Perakis
Ausstattungsassistenz
Peter Tschaikner
Script
Hannelore von Ungern-Sternberg
Betreuer
Gerd Roscher
Aufnahmeleitung
Martin Häussler, Toni Lüdi, Werner Egger
Produktionssekretärin
Erika Heffner, Anne Fleischmann
Schnitt
Hannelore von Ungern-Sternberg
Schnittassistenz
Ina Berlet
Produktion
Edgar Reitz Filmproduktion, WDR
Redaktion
Joachim von Mengershausen

Cast

Jason
Christian Reitz
Lynkeus
Ramin Vahabschadeh
Tiphis
Konstantin Sautier
Herakles
Michael Jeron
Hylas
Mario Zöllner
Pollux
Michael Heinz
Castor
Wolfgang Heinz
Calais
Klaus Kayser
Zethes
Christian Stein
Ankäus
Hermann Haberer
Orpheus
Oliver Jovine
Pelias
Reinhard Hauff
Iris
Angela Elsner
Argos
Erich Beth
1. Offizier
Hans Heinrich Brustellin
Hypsiphile
Katrin Seybold
Kyzikos
Waki Zöllner
Klitis
Ute Ellin
Chiron
Oscar von Schab
Medea
Colombe Smith
Absyrtos
Thomas Haberfellner
Aietes
Wolfgang Bächler
Priesterin
Antje Ellermann
und viele andere

Festival Participation

2. Internationales Forum des Jungen Films 1972
Werkschau, Arsenal, Berlin 1995

Contents

The film is set in a time when mankind was still in a state of childhood (and children were viewed as people). Everyone had just one aim: the Golden Thing.

The 11-year-old Jason goes searching for treasure on his ship, the Argo, along with Hercules, Castor, Pollux, Orpheus and a crew of other Greek princes. Their first stop is the island Dolionen, whose inhabitants they accidentally kill. After this catastrophe the Argonauts reach the island Lemnos, where only women live. They discover the secret of the island and its inhabitants. Then they come to the Symplegaden, two floating cliffs which mark the entry to straits with constantly changing tides. With intelligence and inventiveness they negotiate the passage. Finally they reach the mythical land of Kolchis. Medea, the powerful daughter of the king, falls in love with Jason and helps him in his fight for the Golden Fleece. The Argonauts flee across the sea with the furious people of Kolchis in hot pursuit behind.

In contrast to the traditional saga the Argonauts don't overcome their dangers through their heroic courage or help from the Gods. They survive by virtue of their good sense. Divine powers are explained logically away and the Argonauts reach their goal because they have used the natural intelligence they have, rather than leaving it up to the Gods.

The Film

The film team of Ula Stöckl, Edgar Reitz, Alf Brustellin and Nicos Perakis have adapted the ancient Greek Saga of the Argonauts for the television and cinema and made it understandable and entertaining for the audience. The filming of "The Golden Thing" took a year. The title is a reference to the mythical Golden Fleece, which was known as "Thing" in the land of Kolchis. The filmmakers didn't want to reduce the saga to a level of pop-culture or a cartoon, nor did they want to make the subject boring. Their aim was, after intensive study of the sources, to create something understandable and exciting, as well as demystify the saga by the use of new discoveries. "We went through entire libraries," says Ula Stöckl, "the main source we came across were Mutterrecht by J.J. Bachhofen, Noten zu den Argonautika des Apollonius by Hermann Fränkel and Apollonius himself. They confirmed our suspicion that most of the ancient heroes were actually children. By the time they were 15 or 16 most of them had their most significant heroic acts under their belts. Theseus, for example, who doesn't feature in our film, killed the Minotaur at the age of 15." This is the reason why the roles of the young princes were filled with teenage actors.
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Press

01: This adventure film is based on the great journey of the Argonauts. It is made by Ula Stöckl, Edgar Reitz and Alf Brustellin, features a cast of 10 to 12 year-olds with a set created by Nikos Perakis. Together they re-create an ancient time much more beautiful than it ever was. The film creates something very unique: a re-discovery of forgotten or suppressed opportunities for happiness.
Urs Jenny, SÜddeutsche Zeitung, 11.01.1972
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02: A successful example of a no-nonsense approach to popularizing ancient art.
Spiegel, 10.01.1972
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03: Among the many attempts to bring ancient myths to the screen, this film is, thanks to its quirky and straightforward freshness, unusually delightful.
Ponkie, Abendzeitung München, 13.01.1972
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04: A lesson to producers, actors and consumers of television in how to re-discover the joy of storytelling. The film also shows how to awaken one's awareness of reality by pure and simple make-believe.
c.h. Handelsblatt, 14.01.1972
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05: The film deals with an event in mankind's early history: one of the first victories of the human mind over magic. It is a victory which has far-reaching consequences and which starts the process of growing up which every person has to go through. It seems all too fitting that the Argonauts are children.
rev., Neue Züricher Zeitung, 15.01.1972
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06: All in all a successful example of how to tell the stories which form the basis of our education and knowledge in a lively and adventurous manner.
Wolfgang Ruf, Kirche und Fernsehen Nr. 2, 15.01.1972
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