Rocker (1972 TV Movie) User Reviews

How Hamburg used to look like in the seventies

[basemnt-dwellr · 6/10 · 22 July 2002]

The story is set in Hamburg, Germany, during the seventies. At this time, Hamburg was a stronghold of the rocker-scene.

SPOILERS AHEAD

It starts with one member of the local rocker gang coming out of jail. After he gets a welcoming reception by his rocker friends, he learns that many things have changed: He visits his former girlfriend who now works as a sales girl in a department store and who stopped being with the gang quite a while ago. At home, his father is annoyed by the music he is playing on the stereo, so he leaves to sleep in the cottage, where he is hassled by the neighbors who don't like rockers.

Meanwhile Modschiedler, about 15 years old, meets with his older brother, who doesn't live at his mother's anymore. He deals in stolen cars and gets in trouble with the local pimps who kill him during an argument. Modschiedler watches it, gets drunk, spends the night drinking, next morning he goes to work drunk (he works in a supermarket), and gets fired because he starts to vandalize the store. To have him out of the way, his mother sends him to his aunt. Because he has been awake the whole night, he falls asleep at the bus station and misses the bus to his aunt. When he enters the nearby diner, he meets our rocker and they make friends.

Modschiedler tells the rocker what has happened to his brother and the rocker decides that this deed needs to be avenged. So he gets the rocker gang together and they drive to the place where the pimps hang out and beat them up.

There is more, i.e. a drug deal etc, but I don't remember it exactly as it is quite a while I've last watched this movie.

END OF SPOILERS

When you are from Hamburg, you will find the film very interesting, because it shows many places in Hamburg and it's always cool to see how those places used to look like so many years ago. Also there are quite a few nice cars to see, and - best of all - the pimps in their seventies outfit, they do really look funny. The rockers are played by members of a real rocker gang. Therefore the acting is pretty bad. But as soon as the actors start talking, you'll forgive them for that, because the slang they use is so amusing to listen to, it's really cool. The whole film is quite funny, although I don't think it was intended to be. It's more like "it is so bad, it is already good". Many scenes are involuntarily funny just because of the bad acting.

I'd give the film 6 out of 10 just for the slang they use and for the clothes they wear.

The characters make it watchable

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 15 August 2016]

"Rocker" is a West German German-language film from 1972, so this one will have its 45th anniversary next year. The writer and director is Klaus Lemke and he was in his early 30s when he shot this one, his probably most known work. Almost half a century later, he is still working in the film industry. This is possibly his career-defining work and the title already tells you what it is about, namely the rock music scene in Hamburg, but it's not just the music, it is also the culture. This one runs for 85 minutes approximately and it is mostly about the fate of Mark, a teenage boy who has to deal with the death of his brother among other things. Early on you probably wouldn't think that he is the protagonist here, but the longer the movie goes, the more screen time he gets. It's also about him making new friends and also a bit of a revenge film.

What I liked most about this one was the characters. Yes they may be over the top, but somehow they still feel authentic and like people that you could actually meet in Hamburg if you frequent the right locations and hang out with the right people. So yeah, it is really all about the characters. I would not say the story is a failure, but it's mostly mediocre and lacks certainly compared to the people that this film is about and who make it so entertaining on some occasions. So it's not too interesting in all areas, but still good enough to let me recommend it. It is also a great example of film that deals with "Zeitgeschichte" of a time that may have been over for several decades now. Thumbs up from me and I can partially see why this one here is considered a cult by many. I would maybe not go so far, but I do believe it is worth seeing and it felt like a documentary on many occasions. Great music too.

The Cream of the Crop!

[t-singhofen · 10/10 · 25 April 2006]

10 out of 10 - and that's basically all to say about it!

The most authentic movie about Hamburg in 1970's - Rock'n'roll, sex, drugs, 1970's lifestyle, 1970's hairstyle, murder, prostitution, Santana, bikers, Reeperbahn, and St. Pauli provide the basis for the story featuring Gerd and Modschiedler, the ill-assorted couple (if at all amateur actors, who act themselves) of this fantastic movie.

The most outstanding characteristic is the idiom of the 1970's - as a German native speaker you will have lots of fun watching this movie. From my perspective the funny but very authentic dialogs are the key highlights - not only of the movie but also of the 1970's.

„Du guckst jetzt „Rocker", du Klappstuhl, das schwör ich dir!"

[t_atzmueller · 10/10 · 16 February 2012]

Let's talk brass tacks first: "Rocker" was filmed completely amateurish; the actors are laymen who've never even seen a camera before, the dialogue is hackneyed, the script virtually non-existent, the editing shoddy and the soundtrack is culled from The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Them and Santana songs. This been said, the film is furthermore one of the most magnificent film to have been produced in Germany over the last 40 years and deserves a perfect ten out of ten.

Every time and place has its own cult-movie, „Rocky Horror Picture Show" or „Easy Rider" – in the case of Hamburg, it's Klaus Lemke's "Rocker".

The story starts with biker (or "Rocker", as they're called in Germany) Gerd, just being released from jail. Gerds way crosses with teenager Mark, whose brother – likewise a rocker – was brutally murdered by a group of pimps, the traditional enemies of rockers, in a quarrel over a stolen Mercedes. Originally Gerd doesn't want to play nanny to some kid but soon becomes friendly with Mark, who helps Gerd, ripping off a drug dealer. In return, Gerd and his gang help Mark to avenge his brother's death: in a street fight, they mercilessly beat up the responsible pimps. In the final scene, Mark smashes the window of the stolen Mercedes, proving that he's the real "Rocker".

The end of the movie is sad – sad, because the glimpse into the lives of Gerd, Mark and all the other (often quirky) characters was too brief and is now over. Sad also, because – with the exception of Paul Lyss, playing Marks brother – none of the actors went on to star in other productions; and thirdly, sad because the film reminds us of times that seemed generally easier and more innocent than our present.

I mentioned that "Rocker" is a purely local affair, from Hamburg for Hamburg. This is not altogether true: watch the Burt Reynolds vehicle "Smokey and the Bandit" and watch the bike-crushing scene; it's taken straight out of "Rocker".

If you ever visit Hamburg, why not visit cinema 3001? They still show "Rockers" there periodically and if you've ever been to a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" screening, you'll find some eerie similarities, such as the audience celebrating and virtually talking along every line in the film. It's not just a screening, it's a celebration! It's not for everybody, but if you have a love for Hamburg, it's particular dialect and the Rocker culture of the 70's, there's no way you want to miss this film. I'd give it a 10 out of 10 points, just like a RHPS-fan would give 10 points for "Rocky Horror Picture Show".