Die Ringe des Saturn

Another excellent product from European TV early 1990's. Great script, tight and always very fluid, believable dialogs, excellent camera work in a wide screen that lets often think this was probably even distributed in Cinemas or was meant to be in some Countries, at least. Mainly a co-production between 2 of the most powerful networks respectively from Germany and Italy, this 2 parts film was shot on wonderful, very well filmed locations mainly in ultra modern Berlin, lovely Salzburg and sunny Rome, Italy. The story is intricate: a mix of a spy story Cold War style, with a thrilling, quasi Giallo scenario, and, many supernatural events that perhaps are not all supernatural at the end. This was definitely made with a big budget, looking at the International Markets, and, I remember it appeared in HBO in the mid 1990's in the US. Again, i am not gonna go over the long, sinister, gripping story, where everything happens in a very close future (a big shout out to costume designers, make up artists, and, especially, production designer here, for making it all look very believable, and, never campy!). An extremely entertaining product, but, clever, and, with a very precise and distinctive style, something that we have lost in TV today, the only other one i would say could definitely stay next to, if not even go above this one, is the splendid "Karaoke" also from the mid 1990's and produced in the UK by BBC1 starring among others the legends Albert Finney and Julie Christie, in one of their very rare TV appearances. But, while the extraordinary Karaoke was almost bleak and Orwellian, with a touch of "Children of Men", this one even though extremely chilling, is always shot or set in particularly wonderful exteriors or lush interiors, and, all together, it appears at the end, even more mainstream! Always solidly directed and with an excellent International cast, rich of very well known faces: from the magnificent Hans Christian Blech, to the always intense and then still extremely seductive, Mathieu Carriere, a very distinguished and calibrated actor, while both Domiziano Arcangeli and Lara Wendel, then both extremely young, play against type roles with tremendous skills that even improve one very convoluted segment of the plot. Overall, excellent! I only wish SyFy or even Fox TV would make a mini series or even a movie so well done and never less than compelling!