Watch: Early Michael Haneke TV Movie 'Lemmings: Part 1' In Full, With English Subtitles

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by Kevin Jagernauth
September 22, 2012 9:59 AM
5 Comments

Before he made his first feature film outing with "The Seventh Continent" in 1989, Michael Haneke logged a considerable amount of time on TV projects. They certainly aren't the easiest efforts to track down, and are likely a fascinating window into the development of the celebrated director, but thanks to the magic of the interwebs, one of his earliest endeavors is now available for your weekend viewing.

Haneke's 1979 picture "Lemminge, Teil 1 Arkadien" (aka "Lemmings, Part 1: Arcades") has made its way online, in full, with English subtitles. Frankly, we don't know much about it, so here's the YouTube synopsis:

Lemmings is a two-part drama, made for Austrian television, about the fate of Haneke's own generation that came of age after World War II. The first part, Arkadien (Arcades), depicts the generational gap between 1950s teenagers and their parents. A group of high school students grows up in the affluent but morally restrictive bourgeois world of the Wiener Neustadt. The challenges they are confronted with end up permanently damaging their personalities.

Part 2 doesn't seem available as far as we can tell, but hopefully it too will pop up. Watch below.

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5 Comments

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cc | September 23, 2012 3:19 PMReply

Wow. Cars instead of cabbages. Thanks for posting this.
Neil | September 23, 2012 2:15 AMReply

Wow. That was really good. Sure, the characters are miserable(as with most Haneke films) and the film makes you watch them at their worst moments, but the best thing about this film is how you are transported to Austria 1959 and come to care about what happens to the characters - despite that they are not the most likable of folks. Also, no criticism on media here. It is more a movie about teenage angst and how the overbearing and incredibly troubled parents only add to the frustration. The filmmaking is great, if not a little less rigorous in comparison to his recent work. Then there's the fact that the soundtrack, while typically lacking in non-diegetic elements, features a surprising amount of English songs that are incredibly fitting and, if anything, it shows that Haneke can pick out a hell of a soundtrack if only he allowed himself the luxury to do so.
DG | September 22, 2012 8:05 PMReply

I'm going to take a guess and say it'll have something to do with cruelty
horst | September 22, 2012 7:55 PMReply

aaaaand it's not available in Germany. How ironic. And how unfortunate.
Tyrannosaurus Max | September 24, 2012 9:53 AM

hey Horst! I'm in Germany too but I was able to download it from Youtube by using this proxy site: https://proxtube.com/
Give it a shot. It worked for me. Viel Glueck!