HEAVEN AND EARTH (HIMMEL UND ERDE)
Michael Pilz's HEAVEN AND EARTH (HIMMEL UND ERDE) is an epic documentary, in two parts, about life in the Styrian mountain village of St. Anna. The film is a documentary in the best sense of the word - a meditation on time, on nature and the struggles of man, as well as a record of a lifestyle ceasing to exist.
“The inhabitants of St. Anna, a mountain village in Austria, live a hard life. They constantly fight with nature to earn their daily keep and to protect themselves from the rigors of the weather. They take after the mountains and glaciers where they live; they are rough and bashful, they prefer to talk to animals, watch the sky and listen to storms rather than engage in long conversations. When they do talk, it is about their work. The things they care for, they care for in silence. Their chores are well integrated into the slow and commanding mountain scenery. In this grand environment endeavors like cutting a tree or killing a hog take on the stature of a pagan or archaic rite. They are not just simple motions one has to go through in order to have wood for the fire or meat for food, but rather a way of identifying with the life cycle.
The film reflects realities. Michael Pilz has a way of getting close to these people using his sensitivity. The end product required three years of filming. Pilz did not want to produce an ethnographic, sociological or political film about the people of Sankt Anna. Instead he wanted to communicate his experience of living with these people. The film is an ode of love to these mountain people who live between heaven and earth.”
— 14e FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE CINÉMA, Nyon, Switzerland, October 1982
"If you let it happen, the film will pull you into its cosmos; it is one of those works that teaches you to see and listen again."
—Ulrich Gregor, 1983
"If you let it happen, the film will pull you into its cosmos; it is one of those works that teaches you to see and listen again."
—Ulrich Gregor, 1983
"If you let it happen, the film will pull you into its cosmos; it is one of those works that teaches you to see and listen again."
– Ulrich Gregor, 1983
Contents
Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code); DVD/DSL Bundle
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HEAVEN AND EARTH I: THE ORDER OF THINGS (HIMMEL UND ERDE I: DIE ORDNUNG DER DINGE)
(Austria, 1982)
Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Producer: Michael Pilz
Music: Konrad Bauer, Konrad Reiter, Norbert Wallner, Oswald Wiener
Sound recording: Georg Buigner
• 136 minutes
• 35mm
• Color
• Sound
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HEAVEN AND EARTH II: THE COURSE OF THINGS (HIMMEL UND ERDE II: DER LAUF DER DINGE
(Austria, 1982)
Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Producer: Michael Pilz
Music: Konrad Bauer, Konrad Reiter, Norbert Wallner, Oswald Wiener
Sound recording: Georg Buigner
• 149 minutes
• 35mm
• Color
• Sound
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Total Running Time: 04:44:44 (2 Discs)
Language: German. English, French & German subtitles
Booklet Text: Michael Pekler & Michael Pilz (Bilingual German & English)
Published By: Edition Filmmuseum
Institutional Price: $300; $600 DVD/DSL bundle (plus shipping).
To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.