filmporta.de
Historical Materialism
Source: DIF© DEFA-Stiftung, DEFA-Daßdorf
Gojko Miti? (third from left) in "Ulzana"
(1974)
In 1966 – the year of "Winnetou und das Halbblut Apanatschi" ("The Half-Breed"), one of the last Winnetou films to appear in West German movie theaters – "Die Söhne der großen Bärin" ("The Sons of the Great She-Bear") appeared, the DEFA's first western. It was based on an internationally successful book series by Lieselotte Welskopf-Henrich, who also wrote the screenplay. As shown by the correspondence between Welskopf-Henrich and the studio management, the DEFA was expressly interested in historical accuracy, something of little importance for West German westerns. The didactic aims of historical materialism came across strongly here; the emphasis on the daily life of America's native inhabitants resulted in films which were not westerns so much as "historical adventure films in an Indian milieu". At the same time, the DEFA's westerns were often filmed in the same parts of Yugoslavia where the Winnetou films were made.
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