“Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi” runs on German Unity Day on ZDF

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Winnetou continues to run on ZDF. The transmitter shows on Monday October 3rd, i.e. on the day of German unity, the film “Winnetou and the Half-Blood Apanatschi”. Karl May’s books and the films based on them were recently criticized in a debate about cultural appropriation.

The film was made in 1966 and directed by Harald Philipp. It stars Pierre Brice as Winnetou, Lex Barker as Old Shatterhand and, in one of her first films, Uschi Glas. She plays the “half-blood” Apanatschi, who is kidnapped by prospectors. The film is loosely based on May’s short story Half-Blood, but the plot has been almost completely rewritten.

“After the great success of the previous Karl May films in the 1960s, successful producer Horst Wendlandt remained true to the tried and tested approach,” writes ZDF about the film. “The famous writer’s original, in this case the tale ‘Half-Blood’, has been altered and rewritten almost beyond recognition; Only basic motives remained. The adventure story was then brought to the big screen with the well-known stars.”

In contrast to ZDF, according to the program management, ARD let the license for the “Winnetou” films expire in 2020. The current debate about the material began in August with the new cinema film “The Young Chief Winnetou”. Ravensburger Verlag originally wanted to publish two accompanying books, but withdrew them due to criticism. The accusation is that the “Winnetou” books and films portray a romanticized and unrealistic version of Native American culture. Others reject this, a petition in defense of the author has so far reached almost 15,000 signatures.

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