Iris Berben, actress: “I’m standing at the airport in Lisbon and I can’t understand that Klaus is dead. But maybe it’s the right place to wish him a good flight… I met him when I was 18 years old, in the pinball club “Bungalow ” in Maxvorstadt. Everyone was there at the time: Lemke, Max Zihlmann, Rudolf Thome, Fassbinder, all the young Munich filmmakers. I started an affair with Klaus that didn’t last long. We made a film called “Brandstifter” and It was very close to the time, the arson attack in Frankfurt in April 1968 had just made the headlines, Baader and Ensslin had been arrested for it. Later I didn’t see Klaus very often, we both lived in Munich, but in different worlds “I admired him for being incorruptible. For taking the right to do everything the way he wanted. The radicalism in his films was also the radicalism of his life. This nonconformist cowboy is missing. He fails t. He’s missing.”
Urs Spörri, friend, filmmaker and moderator at the Munich Film Festival: “I was allowed to moderate Klaus’ last premiere, we’ve been friends for ten years and have been in daily contact for the past two weeks. He was so happy about this last great success. Suddenly Klaus was there again. With a hat and a sign he painted himself: “Art is coming of kisses.” The last premiere exactly two weeks ago at the Munich Film Festival, the last big show. The city cinema trembled with euphoria about the new film “Champagne for the eyes – poison for the rest”. He gave three young fans from Kaiserslautern as a present Tickets, gave autographs on T-shirts. The King of Schwabing was back. After the film, we talked on stage for what felt like an eternity. About Cleo, about Sylvie, about Fierek. And his heroes: Which actor would he like to work with? “Belmondo,” Klaus answered without hesitation. “But he’s already dead.” – “It doesn’t matter!” Dying, that wasn’t a category for him. Film heroes live on. And as if Klaus had guessed it, he says in the very last Fr name of his last film in On: “It was a pleasure to make this film for you.” Bomb, Digga. Thank you for everything.”
Klaus Lemke before the premiere of his last film “Champagne for the Eyes – Gift for the Rest”, which took place as part of the Munich Film Festival 2022.
(Photo: Felix Hörhager/dpa)
Wolfgang Büld, documentarist of “Punk in London”, director of zeitgeist films like “Give Gas – I want fun” and “Manta, Manta”: “We have known each other since 1974 from the Café Capri in Schwabing, where Klaus was the absolute ruler. We then called my first production company for “Give Gas, I Want Fun” with Nena and Markus Capri Film. Our friendship lasted a lifetime, even though Klaus couldn’t do anything with my later films and I had little to do with his. In 2013 he tried to make a film about me. He came up with the idea because I told him what had happened to me in my favorite bar in Hamburg I had given my favorite waitress a few of my films to watch, including things like “Penetration Angst” (a British cult trash horror film ed. ed.) She didn’t speak to me after that talked and eventually disappeared. So I called her. She said: “I’m in a psychiatric ward now”. Klaus thought it was so wonderful that he absolutely wanted to make a film out of it. I told him straight away that a gag like that wasn’t enough for a whole movie. But he came to my place in London for weeks and did interviews with me, which he always found boring. He just couldn’t imagine that when I was shooting, even when the films were about sex and violence, it was always very peaceful and funny.”
Richard Schmelcher, operator of the copy oasis in Amalienstraße, Lemke actor and friend: “We still had so many plans. Shooting of the new film was supposed to start in mid-August. I was supposed to play the bad guy. When he still lived on Amalienstrasse, he went shopping or to the gym at least once a day I stopped by to see what was new about him on the internet, who had emailed him or what I had stored for him, or we designed new flyers and edited pictures for the web. He thought so always great, earth shattering, I thought that was rather normal, which he then found strange again. We often had the pictures ready within minutes; he said that others needed days. On the other hand, we sometimes tinkered for weeks, discarded many versions and ended up with it it looked like we had cobbled it together in ten minutes on purpose. As in his films. The first “shot” was often the most spontaneous and best. This spontaneity and authenticity was always important to him G. He always filmed without a script, he spontaneously came up with something that we then implemented immediately. That often didn’t fit the plot line, which meant that many good scenes unfortunately had to be cut out. Often, however, so much was cut away that the viewer could no longer properly understand the plot. Schwabing and Maxvorstadt have lost their last cowboy, the “King of Schwabing”. We will miss him very much.”
The Copy Oase in Amalienstraße and Richard Schmelcher were important contact points for Klaus Lemke. Here one could often meet the director.
(Photo: Yoav Kedem)
Florian Kohlert, editor and photographer: “More than 15 years ago we sat together in the editing room for the first time and edited a film. A few weeks ago the last time was at “Champagne for the eyes – poison for the rest.” In all these years we have talked a lot – about films, series and the whole world. It has always impressed me so much how Klaus Lemke absorbed everything that is new, innovative and modern. He was way ahead of many of his younger colleagues. But what was really special for me was his great appreciation and his honest interest in people. You could always feel that. It was very important to him how I and others were doing, his questions were always meant seriously. Klaus Lemke loved making films, that’s what he did The editing of a film was always magical for him, too. People interested him more than history, which is what it is today character driven storytelling is called has always been the DNA of his work, that has distinguished his films, but also him as a person. Thanks Klaus, it was wonderful. Thank you for your magic, interest and respect.”
Anton Biebl, Cultural Officer of the City of Munich: “With Klaus Lemke, Munich loses a great, stubborn, non-conformist and creative filmmaker and screenwriter. He inspired generations of cineastes and kept reinventing himself. Even the titles of his films – such as “New Gods in the Maxvorstadt” or “Dirty South ” – are pure cinematic poetry; “My beautiful short life” was the name of a film from 1970. We are glad that Klaus Lemke has dedicated a long life to filmmaking even after that!”
The actress Cleo Kretschmer and Klaus Lemke were a couple in the 1980s, professionally and privately.
(Photo: Istvan Bajzat/dpa)
Bernd Brehmer, cinema maker and Lemke actor: “A life that became celluloid, out of breath between Godard and Hawks, Munich, Hamburg, Acapulco. And always the most beautiful and exciting women by his side. A few weeks ago he said, full of energy: “Digga, need it in these darn times We’re not art, we’re beauty!” Because: “Beauty keeps us alive!” And if it’s not true that Bardot once wanted to produce his second feature film, the same still applies: Print the legend! Farewell, cowboy! KIZZ.”
May Spils, director, and Werner Enke, actor (“Zur Sache, Schätzchen”): “We would never have made films without him. He made the first short film “Kleine Front” with Enke in 1965. We were close friends and are totally shocked. Lemke, the Vitalinski: Enke last met him while jogging in the English Garden, he hung himself in his slipstream with his racing bike. Unbelievable! We are sad.”