Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


Dead Pigeon on Beethovenstrasse (1972)

Director: Samuel Fuller

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Those misguided individuals who didn't like White Dog had better stay clear of this, Fuller's most bizarre film. Made for German TV, it's a complex crime thriller about an American agent visiting Bonn to find the killer of his partner, and getting involved in a treacherous world of blackmail, drugs, nude photography and murder. In conventional terms it's ruined by wooden acting (notably Fuller's wife Lang as femme fatale) and a wayward plot. But its great attraction lies not only in the typically vigorous direction (pacy action scenes accompanied by the music of Can), but in the madcap humour which turns the entire film into a parody of thuggish thrillers. Add to that the wicked movie references (Alphaville is presented as a skinflick, Rio Bravo is shown with a German Dean Martin ordering schnapps), and the startling, even surreal use of locations, not to mention a weird credits sequence, and you have what is virtually a professional home movie that delights by its sheer sense of fun and absurdity.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Ben Drew aka Plan B interview

Ben Drew aka Plan B interview

The singer, rapper and now film director discusses his debut film 'Ill Manors'

Cannes Film Festival 2012: final round-up

Cannes Film Festival 2012: final round-up

Dave Calhoun draws the curtain on the world's greatest film festival

Béla Tarr interview

Béla Tarr interview

The Hungarian auteur tells Time Out why he's quitting

The Palme d'Or effect

The Palme d'Or effect

We explore the fortunes of the past decade’s Palme d'Or winners

Ridley Scott interview

Ridley Scott interview

Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback

Open-air movies in London

Open-air movies in London

Cath Clarke rounds up this summer's crop of outdoor film screenings

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach talks to us about his Cannes Film Festival entry 'The Angels' Share'