Opfergang (1944) User Reviews

Intriguing & beguiling

[tobydale · 7/10 · 16 October 2021]

Well! What a find!

Made in war-time Germany in 1944, The Great Sacrifice (Opfergang) is not a film I'd even heard of this morning. I happened across a reference to it in a Berliners' personal diary from January 1945. A teenager 18, she was enchanted by the movie. When we watch today we should try to remember the impact this film had on her in that cinema in war-torn Berlin in 1945.

First of all - I do not agree with some of the convoluted reviews here. They have not been able to get past the thought that the director (Veit Harlan) made some hideous Nazi propaganda shockers. Opfergang is NOT one of those. Another reviewer seems to think this is not an "escapist" film. It ABSOLUTELY is!!!

So - let's look at Opfergang. First, I saw a restored 4K version on YouTube. The wonderful Agfacolour is MAGNIFICENT and the photography superb. Worth seeing just for those two aspects. It repays multiple watches.

Opfergang is a unique film - intriguing & beguiling, a film of contrasts, but nevertheless one which creates its own language: a language of imagery and metaphors.

There is something fairy-tale and dream-like about the way this thing looks and works. The masquerade ball scene is visually stunning - pure escapism, as is the frolicking with the beautiful horses. The end scenes are enigmatic. Unfortunately, it's not cut that well and it's a bit hard to follow the story, such as it is.

It contains bleak Nietzsche poetry, which is kind of played out in the story. There is a lot of "alluded to" darkness here - but it is uplifted, deliberately uplifted by the colour and camera work, which looks sumptuous.

The story, such as it is, is a tedious tale, something to do with honour & sacrifice. Something to do with how a woman, Octavia (von Mayendorff) makes a "sacrifice" for her husband, Albrecht (Raddatz). It's hard if not impossible to see this though, as we are drawn instead to Äls (Söderbaum) who is the physical & spiritual representation of everything that Octavia is not. Albrecht is drawn to her too. Irresistibly so. We all would be.

Having watched Opfergang several times I now believe that Äls is a sort of elemental force - a Sprite - a force of nature. She's not real. She has a zest for life throughout with a Pixie/Elf-like quality, like the innocent in all of us. I'd want to be her - not one of the other boring creations! However, I'm no longer sure if Äls is real. I wonder if she is a creation of Albrecht, or Octavia, or both of them - the embodiment of everything that is missing from their cold unloving marriage?

Opfergang is essentially a sort of love triangle: a very odd & metaphysical one. Personally - I didn't get that "sacrifice" thing: probably part of the honour thing - lost through today's eyes, but it might mean something through the eyes of a young impressionable German in 1945.

So, Opfergang. A film about a perfect non-wartime world (which, for propaganda purposes shows Hamburg completely undamaged, even though it was destroyed by air-raids in 1943...). Filled with handsome looking well-off people and old farts moralising and reading Nietzsche. Where idealised characters sail, row, ride horses in the surf and play Chopin on a superb grand piano. It's PURE ESCAPISM - a beautiful film to watch as you wait for the next air raid to come and destroy your city and family. If this is some propaganda call to the people of Germany to make a great sacrifice - then it's a very odd vehicle for it.

The more I watch Opfergang - the more tempted I am to give it 8. Watch it on YouTube and see what you think.

Eternal masterpiece

[mart-45 · 10/10 · 8 October 2005]

A truly wonderful piece of film-making. One might try to ridicule it as a Nazi propaganda vehicle, but the truth is, this film is much too good to really suffer for these accusations. Yes, there is the presence of the Nazi principle of sacrifice, and things like "Kraft durch Freude" (strength through joy) are said, but this really doesn't matter. The atmosphere, the colours, the camera-work - everything is top notch. The actors, too: Kristina Söderbaum, the wife of Harlan and a star in his every film, proves for once that she really could act. Even though she seems very plump in this film, it can be understood why she was considered one of the best European actresses of the period. Her acting here is much better than anywhere else, even though on the over-dramatic side as always. Carl Raddatz was never a handsome leading man, so God only knows why Harlan paired him with Kristina so often. He was a decent actor, though. The Estonian-born Irene von Meyendorff is a woman from another planet and perfect in the role of Octavia, plus an amazingly beautiful woman. About the plot: Albrecht and Octavia live in their vanishing, shadowy world of German nobility, in a gloomy mansion where the blinds are always drawn. To a neighbouring villa a voluptuous Swedish amazon moves, and Albrecht is blinded by her sensuous and sometimes almost vulgar appearance. Even though Äls looks like a proper stake-and-kidney-pie, she is nevertheless marked for death. Now, the question is: who should sacrifice himself/herself for who? A lot of beautiful locations, beautiful gowns and a great masked ball scene.

Transcendent film art

[LewisJForce · 23 April 2004]

I have just left a screening of Veit Harlan's film 'Opfergang' ('The Great Sacrifice'). It was shown as part of a film class on German cinema. I've loved film since a very young age, but, shamefully, had never have even have heard of Harlan. Let alone seen any of his pictures. Purely on the basis of this work alone, I would say that his name should be up there with fellow countrymen (and woman) Murnau, Lang and Riefenstahl. One of THE greats of German, nay WORLD cinema. It seems that his remarkable talent has been somewhat eclipsed by his association with Nazi propaganda flicks, and unlike the extraordinary Riefenstahl, his reputation never managed to transcend this.

The film is astonishingly beautiful and moving in a poetically strange way. It's one of those rare films that has an atmosphere that is completely unique and totally mesmeric. An obsessive, intensely personal quality that is magical. I will not attempt to provide a plot synopsis or dally with subtext. I merely urge you to see it however you can. As it seems to be unavailable in almost any media this could prove extremely difficult. It appears that I was incredibly fortunate to see it at all, let alone in a good print on a big screen.

An amazing work of art that, like all real art, has enriched me and changed me in some way.

Before you do anything else, hunt this down and see it NOW.

'Die Sonne sinkt'.

[brogmiller · 9/10 · 18 December 2022]

Of the thirteen hundred or so films produced during the Third Reich a small percentage were overtly propogandist but because of the perfectly understandable revulsion towards the Nazi regime, even the films which were designed to provide escapist entertainment for German audiences have been tarred with the same brush. They might now be considered in the historical sense but their aesthetic qualities have been overlooked.

Such is the case with demonised director Veidt Harlan who will forever be associated with the notorious 'Jud Suss' whilst his intensely lyrical films in colour are destined to be appreciated by a few cinéphiles.

The release of 'Opfergang' which Harlan and Alfred Braun adapted from the novella by George Binding, was delayed by a couple of years owing to the shortage of colour film stock by which time its themes of sacrifice and death could not fail to strike a chord with audiences.

Bruno Mondi is again behind the camera and the Agfacolor is stunning although somewhat faded. It is sorely in need of restoration but that is high unlikely. The script is literate and intelligent and Hans-Otto Borgmann again provides a sumptuous score.

The three leading players in this Cocteauesque romance are all out of the top draw. The far from traditional leading man is the excellent Carl Raddatz whilst the two women in his life are played by Harlan's wife Kristina Soederbaum, an artiste of extreme sensibility who never fails to tug at the heartstrings and the aristocratic, archetypal Aryan Irene von Meyendorff who had the distinction of being number one pin-up for the German army. Each of these characters in their own way makes the 'sacrifice' of the title. Some might interpret the feelings of Octavia for Als as being somewhat Sapphic but that is down to the individual viewer.

One astute critic has suggested that the scene featuring the 'available' females wearing masks might have influenced Stanley Kubrick when making 'Eyes wide shut', Sounds plausible to me especially as Kubrick was married to Harlan's niece!

As well as 'Opfergang', two other gems by this director from the early forties are 'Die Goldene Stadt' and 'Immensee' which together with Helmut Kautner's masterpiece 'Romanze in Moll' from 1943, should be all the more appreciated and revered for having emerged from such terrible times.

Disturbing and morbid

[slabihoud · 5/10 · 16 April 2010]

I must say I am very much surprised to read the other reviews here. The reviewers seems to downplay the circumstances that led to the creation of this particular film. Instead the focus is on the artistry of the director and the cameraman. The story is just a melodrama. An escapist movie. Well...

Everyone should be aware that this film was intended to have an important influence on the German public in 1944. Therefore this is no escapist film! Not at all, and the underlying themes, that some reviewers mention, were the very motive for its making. Otherwise, this film would never have got the green light to be shot in the very expensive and difficult Agfacolor process. This film should be as opulent and stunning as possible, overwhelming the public visually while at the same time speaking to the unconsciousness of each viewer.

In 1944, the Third Reich was bound to go down. The film, as most films in Germany at that time, tries to show an undisturbed country, no war at all. But the repeating themes of death and nocturnal feelings, fate and foresee, plagues and diseases speak to a viewer, who has many sorrows and fears for the future. The goal was to get the people go on through hard times, to face the inevitable and become friends with death! Beside the most melodramatic telling of the story, the music plays a very important, and for my ears, very painful part. The constant use of swelling ups and choruses seemed to be trying to prepare us for the worst (which in reality was really to come). The music wants to pull one over to the "other side". Death is hovering over the whole picture. The whole story has a sickly and foul feeling.

The technical aspects of the film should not be overlooked, though. The color photography is great and so is the Art direction. I saw the film yesterday, a very good print at the Austrian Filmmuseum.

A true piece of art

[vinnienh · 10/10 · 11 August 2002]

This is a film of incredible beauty, without doubt one of the most dramatic and moving pictures ever made. The wonderful Agfacolor-photography is astonishing, the main figures Äls, Albrecht and Octavia are played marvellous by Söderbaum, Raddatz and von Meyendorff. Director Veit Harlan once again surpasses himself!

A very symbolic movie for Germany 1944

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 21 December 2016]

"Opfergang" or "The Great Sacrifice" is a German movie from 1944, so this one is already over 79 years old. It was directed by Veit Harlan and the lead is once again his wife Kristina Söderbaum. The male lead is played by Carl Raddatz and this trio worked together on more occasions around that time. Also co-writer Alfred Braun was not new in collaborating with Harlan, the man who is responsible for the most infamous propaganda film of the 3rd Reich. This 95-minute film here is really harmless compared to "Jud Süß". But it is pretty dramatic and tragic in terms of story and apart from one wild celebration/party scene, there is little positive or uplifting about this one. As usual with Söderbaum who was possibly Germany's biggest star by 1944, the film is in color which makes it look much more modern than most other films from that time. By 1944, World War II was (obvious to be )lost for Germany and this film, which deals with a young woman's severe and lethal illness can somehow be seen as a statement of how Germany felt at that point. They were slowly dying just like their (despicable) idea(l)s. But the film also oozes hope with the fate of Raddatz' character at the very end. Hope for the future.

These interpretations and the political situation when the film was made / came out are possibly the most interesting thing about it. The story otherwise was not good enough in terms of quality for almost 100 minutes and I personally don't see great talent in Raddatz or Söderbaum. They were at the right place at the right time to have such booming careers, especially Söderbaum. But their craft leaves me relatively unimpressed. So yeah, you can probably call it a political movie, even if politics itself are never referenced in here. Could you call it a propaganda film? That's your choice to make, it's a pretty fine line overall I guess. In my opinion, all in all, the negative/forgettable was more frequent than the positive/memorable, even if I would not call this film a failure. I give it a thumbs-down and do not recommend the watch. Maybe I would have with a better lead actress.

decadent and morbid

[WlfrmG · 10/10 · 16 September 2022]

Everything in the films is over the top. The atmosphere is morbid, the colours seem unreal, the people are extremely rich, work are doing the others, costumes and set are perfect. Kristina Söderbaum is perhaps not the perfect cast for one of the leading roles, but her acting is fine. All elements combined add up to an incredible, sort of surrealistic work, set in a time and in an era that never existed. In another place and in another time, it would be very easy to rate this film as masterpiece. But the directors morals are questionable as we know from his other films. It is disturbing to see this perfect world. Knowing that while the film was made at a time when millions died a horrible death. The film comes over as the sound track and moving picture gallery to the death of the Third Reich..

The best German romantic picture

[cynthiahost · 10/10 · 16 January 2010]

As a serious classic film fan. I just learned that the escapist films of Germany during the war was a part of the propaganda machine. For example how Club Foot let jazz and swing be played in a percentage of the musicals of the time like Es Lebe De Lebe, Hallo Janine, Women of My dreams , ex cetera. Inspite of the ban on jazz and swing at that time,Club Foot was hoping to get more members of the Nazi party through buttering up the audience. Mariak Rokk and Christine Soderbaum were queens of AGFA color mainly because of their Aryan looks.So the escapism types were propaganda too in a way. Opfergang is the name of Christine Soderbaums horse,maybe. This is a German Nazi version of a Harlequin romance novel on film. The art direction for the AGFA color cinema photography was gorgeous. The costume ball sequence was great.Although the music in that party was tango and no fox trot ,Aka a sneak word for swing and jazz at the time to get through the third Reich bias.Irene Mynahoff was a lot warmer acting as Carl Radatz wife than she were in Kolberg. She was an ice queen. Chrisitne play a wealthy women who's either divorced or husband had died and left a fortune. She has a little girl but has either a paid servant or her aunt or her mother to take care of it for her.She and Carl meet and ride horses together they succumb to an affair or that it looks that way.Eventually Carl convinces Irene to move to a new house without her realizing he's doing it to be closer to Christine.Frank Sheihaflin play Carls work associate or best Friend.He's playing his age. In Csadaristfurstin he played Johanne Heesters father ,too young .One day as both Irene and Carl are out doors. she starts to get suspicious of the reason why Carl bought the house. When she sees Chrisitne go out of her house and she starts following her until Frank sees her and wonder why she following her. Both discover that she visiting her child. Eventually as with Camille she succumbs to a heart conditioning. Carl gets sick too but pulls out of it .If this was made in united states under the production code Alth and Carl would of both have to pay for their sins any how . In this case Alths died to pay for her sins to following the guidelines of the Nazi production code when a character commits adultery. This thing happen in Das Goldene Staht too. So adulterers didn't get away with it neither in Nazi Germany. There's a scene in the costume ball sequence where a contest is being played and the prize is a barrel of beer from Scholtzes beer garden, Just teasing. I got this print it's a warn video master the color is intact still not sharp but watchable. The restored DVD version has not been put out yet.I got it at German War Films dot com. They tell you the quality of the prints. The only problem with this picture ,other than video print, is that the story is slow moving.05/20/11, Just received the subtitled version.A better print too The story is more understandable.From German war films dot com. 09/01/11. I got the premiere restored print, from Riechs Kino, It a digital transfer. The contrast is even balanced too. But no subtitles.But the print is beautiful. 09/18/11 There was a misunderstanding with Reichs Kino and me. The print they gave me was good but it wasn't restored version. I got suspicious about it .It wasn't perfect. Then they told me . The restored version won't be available till 2012.