The movie is receiving its first-ever U.S. big-screen release.
Eckhart Schmidt’s 1982 film DER FAN has received a 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative from Fun City Editions, which launches tomorrow, August 28 at the Metrograph theater (7 Ludlow Street). Following that exclusive one-week run (with an introduction on opening night by filmmaker Jacqueline Castel), it’ll move on to other nationwide bookings, including LA’s American Cinematheque on Thursday, September 3 and Saturday, September 5.
Presented with its original stereo soundtrack for the first time since its ’82 German theatrical play, DER FAN stars Désirée Nosbusch and Bodo Staiger. The synopsis: “Teen runaway Simone [Nosbusch] loves the Neue Deutsche Welle pop singer known only as “R” [Staiger]…loves him so much, in fact, that she could just about eat him alive. And when she finally meets her idol—only to be callously treated by him as a disposable sex object—well, Simone gets the chance to really become one with her beloved forever. A hard, cool-to-the-touch, and utterly riveting slow-burn psychological thriller that speaks to our age of parasocial obsession, featuring a sinister synth-pop soundtrack by Staiger’s own band, Rheingold, and a last act that’s finger-lickin’ good.” Accompanying DER FAN’s run at the Metrograph, the theater will present a series called “That Most Taboo of Red Meats,” showcasing movies about female cannibals, including HOUSE, IN MY SKIN, JENNIFER’S BODY, RAW and SPIDER BABY.
The poster below was designed by Luke Insect, with additional layout by Scott Saslow, and Insect tells us, “I wanted to give the artwork a New Wave feel, echoing the music and styling of the pop singer ‘R,’ who is the object of our antiheroine’s affection and obsession, and also reflect the excellent soundtrack to the film itself by Rheingold. I researched rare German post-punk and new wave vinyl single sleeves, utilizing fonts from that era of the early ’80s. I also wanted the artwork to have a kind of cold, industrial feel, so I stripped back the color scheme to a duotone of black, white and red.”
