''Decoder'' is a 1984
West German film
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early ...
directed by
Muscha. It is a
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian Futurism, futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of low-life, lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial in ...
and
counter-cultural film roughly based on the writings of
William S. Burroughs, who also acts in the film.
Bill Rice plays Jaeger ("Hunter"), an agent of the government in charge of suppressing dissidents, while
FM Einheit plays a burger shop employee who discovers that by changing the background music from pleasantly calming to
industrial "noise" music, he can incite riots and a revolution against the looming power of the government.
''Decoder'' was made on a small budget, and was written by Muscha,
Klaus Maeck,
Volker Schäfer Volker may refer to:
* Volker (name), including a list of people with the given name or surname
* Volker, Kansas City, a historic neighborhood in Kansas City
* Volker Boulevard, Kansas City
* ''Alien Nations'' (German: ''Die Völker''), a real-time ...
, and
Trini Trimpop. Nevertheless, the project was able to attract a number of notable people within the countercultural and industrial music "scenes" to perform in it. Actors included Burroughs,
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions art ...
,
Christiane Felscherinow
Christiane Vera Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book ''Christiane F.'' (original title: ), and the film and television miniseries based on the ...
, and bands included
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of " Tainted Love" and their pla ...
,
Psychic TV,
Einstürzende Neubauten, and
The The
() are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with singer-songwriter Matt Johnson being the only constant band member. achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles ...
.
The film was considered "oddly forgotten", and for numerous years was not in wide circulation.
In 2019, however, the film was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD.
Cast
*
F.M. Einheit as F.M.
*
Bill Rice as Jaeger
*
Christiane F. as Christiana
*Berthold Bell as H-Burger trainer (as Britzhold Baron De Belle)
*
Matthias Fuchs as H-Burger manager
*
William S. Burroughs as Old Man
*
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (born Neil Andrew Megson; 22 February 1950 – 14 March 2020) was a singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist who rose to notoriety as the founder of the COUM Transmissions art ...
as High Priest
*
Ralf Richter
See also
* ''
The Electronic Revolution'', by Burroughs
References
External links
*
1984 films
West German films
1980s German-language films
Cyberpunk films
Films about conspiracy theories
German avant-garde and experimental films
Punk films
William S. Burroughs
1980s avant-garde and experimental films
1980s German films
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