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The Legends of Rita

Play trailer Poster for The Legends of Rita 2000 1h 43m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
79% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Rita Vogt (Bibiana Beglau) is seduced into the terrorist movement through her sense of justice and her love for Andi (Harald Schrott). Years later, realizing the movement is falling apart, she goes underground, hiding out in East Germany. With the help of a Stasi agent named Erwin Hull (Martin Wuttke), she assumes a new identity amidst the everyday world of the working class. As much as she wants to fit in, her young co-worker Tatjana (Nadja Uhl) wants to get out, to escape to the west.

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Apr 16, 2001
3.5/4
The Legend of Rita doesn't adopt a simplistic political view. It's not propaganda for either side, but the story of how the division and reunification of Germany swept individual lives away indifferently in its tide. Go to Full Review
Jason Gorber Film Scouts Jun 21, 2007
C
The film could have been an insightful examination of the East/West divide that kept Germany apart for almost half a century. Instead, the film's early potential slows to a halt, and the predictable machine of melodrama takes over..." Go to Full Review
Maria Garcia Film Journal International Apr 7, 2007
Excellent performances by lead actors Beglau and Martin Wuttke...as well as an unforgettable performance by Nadja Uhl...humanize the unfamiliar internal politics of Germany. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jul 23, 2005
2/5
Eric Lurio Greenwich Village Gazette Nov 7, 2003
But there's the problem with character's past...that Baglau portrays Rita as a sweet young thing is just disconcerting. Go to Full Review
Prairie Miller WBAI Web Radio Jan 20, 2002
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Audience Reviews

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Jul 10, 2009 A intelligent and brave but still little too bland attempt to portray the psyche of 70's RAF terrorists. See more
Apr 1, 2009 Liked the cinematography and direction by Schlondorff. Interesting story as well. See more
Mar 2, 2009 Titolo italiano: Il silenzio dopo lo sparo See more
Dec 26, 2008 Pretty good display of the GDR See more
Jul 3, 2008 sort of interesting but not pleasing to watch See more
Apr 4, 2008 Movie about a West German terrorist-idealist who becomes disillusioned with what she is doing and moves to East Germany to live out her life as a worker. Things don't go down as planned and she has to keep on moving. Nothing really spectacular here, just the embodiment of a sub-culture's ideals in a woman and the end of an era. The acting is serviceable and the music is hilarious in an unintentional way. Of note: The ending appears to be pretty much lifted from Easy Rider. See more
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The Legends of Rita

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Cast & Crew

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Volker Schlöndorff

Director

Bibiana Beglau

Rita Vogt

Martin Wuttke

Erwin Hull

Nadja Uhl

Tatjana

Harald Schrott

Andreas Klein

Alexander Beyer

Jochen
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The Legends of Rita

Bibiana Beglau as Rita (with gun), Harald Schrott as Andi (far right). L to R: Bibiana Beglau as Rita, Alexander Beyer as Jochen. Bibiana Beglau as Rita. L to R: Bibiana Beglau as Rita, Nadja Uhl as Tatjana. Bibiana Beglau as Rita. The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) The Legends of Rita (1999) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Rita Vogt (Bibiana Beglau) is seduced into the terrorist movement through her sense of justice and her love for Andi (Harald Schrott). Years later, realizing the movement is falling apart, she goes underground, hiding out in East Germany. With the help of a Stasi agent named Erwin Hull (Martin Wuttke), she assumes a new identity amidst the everyday world of the working class. As much as she wants to fit in, her young co-worker Tatjana (Nadja Uhl) wants to get out, to escape to the west.
Director
Volker Schlöndorff
Producer
Arthur Hofer, Emmo Lempert, Friedrich-Carl Wachs
Screenwriter
Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Volker Schlöndorff
Distributor
Kino Pictures
Production Co
Babelsberg Film GmbH, Mitteldeutsches Filmkontor, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 16, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 21, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$71.6K
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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