Kaiser Wilhelm Overdrive - a historical sound recording opera

Please read the foreword below / bitte die Einleitung unten lesen

(English)
Kaiser Wilhelm Overdrive is the first of three parts from the "Deutsche Krieger" trilogy, a collage of historical recordings titled "electronic sound recording opera" composed by Andreas Ammer & F.M. Einheit (of Einstürzende Neubauten fame) for the Bayrischen Rundfunk (a german radio broadcasting company).

Since I've always been fascinated by this album I decided to compose a fitting video which reflects the rather harsh, dissonat and sometimes outright disturbing music. Lots of wartime propaganda posters, anti-war paintings (especially by german painter Otto Dix) and excerpts from documentaries about the 1st world war were used to create the clip and I took the liberty to "prop up" the existing music with fitting sound effects where I deemed them appropriate. I hope you like the result. Please leave coments.

(Deutsch)
Kaiser Wilhelm Overdrive ist der erste Teil der "Deutsche Krieger" Trilogie von Andreas Ammer und F.M. Einheit (bekannt von den Einstürzenden Neubauten). Das Stück besteht aus einem Sammelsurium aus Soundfetzen von historischen Grammophonaufnahmen (Rundfunkaufnahmen gab es noch nicht) die manchmal absichtlich aus dem Kontext gerissen und zu neuen Bedeutungen zusammengefügt wurden um die Scheinheiligkeit kriegstreiberischer Propaganda zu offenbaren. Der ungeschickt agierende, prunksüchtige letzte Kaiser des Deutschen Reichs wird durch Ausschnitte aus Werken von Heinrich Heine (Belsazar) Hugo von Hofmansthal (Der Jedermann), Friedrich Schiller (Die Räuber) und anderen als tragische Figur dargestellt, die es trotz markiger Worte nicht vermag, das Reich vor der Katastrophe und die Monarchie vor dem Untergang zu retten.

Ich hoffe, dass alle, an der Thematik Wilhelm 2 und den Ersten Weltkrieg Interessierten, mit diesem Clip etwas anfangen können. Bitte hinterlasst Kommentare.


Cast / Von und mit:

Kaiser Wilhelm II, Ludwig v. Beethoven, Heinrich Heine, Friedrich Schiller, Otto Dix, Paul A. Weber, Erich Maria Remarque, Jan van Eyk, Hugo v. Hofmansthal, Edison Orchester Berlin, Paul v. Hindenburg, Lenin, Apollinaire, Heinrich Mann, Ernst Jandl, Karl Liebknecht, Leni Riefenstahl, Phillip Scheidemann, Heinrich Hoffmann, Edison-Phonograph demonstration record, Sergej Eisenstein, Erich Ludendorff, Harry Julius, Käthe Kollwitz, Terry Gilliam etc.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• FM Einheit
• Andreas Ammer
• Kaiser Wilhelm 2
• World War One
• History
• historical recordings
• grammophone
• satire
• imperial germany
• Kaiserreich
• Materialschlacht
• Otto Dix
• War
• cartoons
• Animation
• Collage
• Novemberrevolution
• 1914

[themysteriouscrumpet]

But seriously, if anybody could help me get the German text from these songs, I would really appreciate it.

[robotron2084]

@themysteriouscrumpet ooops, sorry...I totally forgot your request. I will sendyou a pm with the translation. :)

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 Also, may I ask where it is you got some of those film clips from? I can recognize Monty Python's Flying Circus and the 1930 original "All Quiet on the Western Front". but I'd be very interested to know where you found the propaganda animation. Also, that clip at 11:47 looks like it's from "The Kaiser: The Beast of Berlin"(1918), a film I thought was officially lost last time I heard. Is that true?

[robotron2084]

@themysteriouscrumpet the animations and the clip at 11:47 were taken from several documentations about ww1, most of which I forgot the name of. Try searching for "Die Propagandaschlacht im Ersten Weltkrieg " here on youtube to find the only one I can vaguely remember.

[robotron2084]

the opening scene however and the pythonesque animations of General Mackensen and Ludendorff were made by me using photoshop.

[musicbox1317]

Haben den Film im Geschichtsunterricht geguckt und ich war erstaunt. Alles passte zusammen. Die Musik, das Bild, der geschichtliche Hintergrund. Dank dem Film wurde alles viel klarer. Danke

[robotron2084]

@musicbox1317 Herzlichen Dank für deinen Kommentar. Ich fühle mich sehr geehrt. :)

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 Yes, you did an excellent job of those. The visual pun with Nietzsche as "UBERMENSCH!!!!" was brilliant, and giving Mackensen the death's head he so famously distinguished himself and his regiment with was genius!

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 Thank you, that's fascinating! I found several of the same ones you used, and was delighted to find such rare clips, considering the propaganda animation and film of the first war has not attracted nearly the same amount of attention as those of the second.

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 I quite appreciate your help! Not that I wish to burden you further, but may I ask what the exact german words of that text were, now that I know what they mean in English?

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 Thank you very much!

[themysteriouscrumpet]

@robotron2084 Actually, I would be particularly interested to know what the text was between 5:33 and 11:08.