The Oldest Profession
January 31, 2012
Film Info
- Austria
- 2008
- 122 minutes
- Color
- 1.85:1
- German
- Spine #502
A gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, Revanche is the stunning, Oscar-nominated international breakthrough of Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. In a ragged section of Vienna, hardened ex-con Alex (the mesmerizing Johannes Krisch) works in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara. Their desperate plans for escape unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop and his seemingly content wife. With meticulous, elegant direction, Spielmann creates a tense, existential, and surprising portrait of vengeance and redemption, and a journey into the darkest forest of human nature, in which violence and beauty exist side by side.
Cast
| Alex | Johannes Krisch |
| Tamara | Irina Potapenko |
| Susanne | Ursula Strauss |
| Robert | Andreas Lust |
| Hausner | Hannes Thanheiser |
| Konecny | Hanno Pöschl |
Credits
| Director | Götz Spielmann |
| Cinematography | Martin Gschlacht |
| Producer | Sandra Bohle, Mathias Forberg, Götz Spielmann and Heinz Stussak |
| Screenplay | Götz Spielmann |
| Sound | Heinz Ebner |
| Editing | Karina Ressler |
| Production design | Maria Gruber |
| Costumes | Monika Buttinger |
| Makeup | Susanne Weichesmiller |
| Casting | Rita Waszilovics |
| Sound editor | Bernhard Bamberger |
| Production manager | Stephanie Wagner |
Disc Features
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer, approved by director Götz Spielmann, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- New video interview with Spielmann
- The Making of “Revanche,” a half-hour documentary shot on the set
- Foreign Land (Fremdland), Spielmann’s award-winning student short film, with an introduction by the director
- U.S. theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Armond White
New cover by Eric Skillman
Current Posts
Photo Galleries
Clippings
The State of Criterion’s Art
March 04, 2010
Our own Eric Skillman, who has crafted the covers for numerous releases over the years . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Revanche: Revival of the Fittest
By February 11, 2010
Revanche begins with a reflection of trees in a lake at twilight. They’re seen upside down—an . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Revanche: Revival of the Fittest
By February 11, 2010
Revanche begins with a reflection of trees in a lake at twilight. They’re seen upside down—an . . . Read more »
Photo Galleries
Clippings
The State of Criterion’s Art
March 04, 2010
Our own Eric Skillman, who has crafted the covers for numerous releases over the years . . . Read more »
Press Notes
Press Notes: Revanche
March 01, 2010
The name Götz Spielmann is still unknown to many North American movie watchers, but if reviews . . . Read more »
Film Essays
Revanche: Revival of the Fittest
By February 11, 2010
Revanche begins with a reflection of trees in a lake at twilight. They’re seen upside down—an . . . Read more »
Clippings
Revanche Is Coming
April 21, 2009
Mark your calendars: Janus Films and the Criterion Collection’s theatrical release Revanche . . . Read more »
Announcements
Criterion Goes to the Oscars
January 22, 2009
Last fall the Criterion Collection and Janus Films joined forces to acquire a first-run film . . . Read more »
News
Janus and Criterion Team Up for Revanche
October 29, 2008
Goetz Spielmann’s Revanche, a 2008 festival favorite and Austria’s submission for the best . . . Read more »
