Hans-Joachim Hanisch

Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.

Professor Gotthold Kittguß leads a secluded life, which is primarily determined by his books. His housekeeper, the widow Müller, takes care of all the practicalities of life. One day, a strange boy appears at his house to deliver a call for help from his 17-year-old godchild Rosemarie, who is the daughter of a deceased pastor friend and lives with the Schliekers, her so-called foster parents, in the small village of Usadel. The Schliekers manage Rosemarie's inheritance, but are anxious to take possession of the farm. They treat Rosemarie like their maid and allow her to live in undignified conditions. After a moment's hesitation, Professor Kittguß sets off for Usadel to help his godchild. But he doesn't receive a warm welcome there and is even locked up in a cellar. Rosemarie frees him and takes him to a secret hiding place in a nearby fisherman's hut.

Story of Sergio Rodriguez, commissar of an International Battalion in the Spanish Civil War

Santa Claus, expelled from the Heavenly Council because of his alleged failure, finds work on Earth as a stoker in a children's hospital. His willingness to help soon makes him indispensable.

After a breakdown, Rita returns to her childhood village in 1961. As she recovers, she remembers the past two years: her love for the chemist Manfred, ten years her senior; how his enthusiasm about his new chemical process turned to bitter disappointment in the face of official rejection; how he escaped to West Berlin a few weeks before the Wall was built and hoped that she would follow him …

Two 17-year-olds, Werner Holt and Gilbert Wolzow, are pulled out of school and into Hitler's army. Gilbert becomes a fanatical soldier; but at the front, Werner begins to understand the senselessness of war.

A commercial artist with a lisp chooses silence, unexpectedly propelling his career. His perceived innovation leads to rapid advancement in an ad agency. Mueller-Stahl shines in this biting critique of East German workplace culture.

In a quiet St. Louis suburb, naturalized Italian Johnny Polo is found dead from an apparent overdose of his heart medication. Sergeant Jenkins soon uncovers evidence of murder linked to local political and economic power struggles. With his chief refusing the case, Jenkins works solo, interviewing former employer Donna Loyd and enlisting Sheriff McElliott’s help. Through patient detective work and dubious witnesses, he ultimately unmasks Polo’s killer and the motives behind the crime.

Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Platow worked for the railways his entire working life. He took up service at the small station of Luege 34 years ago. Now, the line is to be electrified and Platow, who cannot cope with the new technology, has to work on a secondary local line. Georg, his son, a railway worker as well, is to attend a training course, but Georg refuses to go. Then his father comes to a surprising and highly unusual decision. He pretends to be Georg Platow, making himself twenty years younger than he really is and registers for the course.

After a fierce argument Steffi Zinn′s husband leaves the joint flat and stays away from home over night. The next morning, his wife Steffi has disappeared and is reported as a missing person. Captain Lohm takes over the case and at first looks for signs of a murder, but to no avail. Then, Steffi′s body is found in a lake. After her funeral, a stranger who had attended Steffi′s funeral for a short time is also found dead in a lake, and the connection between the two cases becomes apparent.

Karoline Gluth is approaching forty, has an 18-year-old son who is studying and is therefore independent. She decides to start a new life and says goodbye to the family inn on the island of Rügen, where she earned a good living as a cook. She buys a little house on the outskirts of Berlin - based on a photo. The reality, however, looks less favourable than the picture. The house is close to collapse and has an illegal occupant, Christian. She evicts him, but he helps her through the jungle of organising tradesmen and materials. In the process, she meets construction brigadier Herbert Kotbuß, clashes with him - and impresses him. Karoline struggles through, the money runs out, she even has to sell her car, and in the end the house is still pretty much a patchwork. But she has realised her ambition for herself - a new independent life begins.

The Germanic pagan deity, The Rainmaker, has fallen asleep, causing widespread drought and poverty. A young couple, Andreas and Maren must trick an old goblin into leading them to the magic garden of The Rainmaker and wake her up.

A train travels through the vastness of Russia, a train with German prisoners of war returning home, and Viktor Kleist, a young German communist from an intellectual home in Munich, travels back home with them. During the journey, the stations on his way to Lenin wake up again.

During construction work in a small town in Thuringia, the burial of an unidentified man in an SS uniform with gunshot wounds is discovered. Taking into account that there were no military operations in this place and an ancient gold coin was found near the body, two police inspectors, Captain Stetter and Lieutenant Hoffmann, arrive to investigate the unusual incident. Soon they manage to get on the trail of a mysterious crime that took place twenty years ago, but it is cut short with the murder of the owner of the plot of land where the corpse was found. Realizing that the new crime is closely connected to the death of an unknown SS man, the police search for clues in the memories of old residents and archival documents.

Detlev, a single insurance clerk in his 30s, is kept dependent by his loving and caring mother and loses his girlfriend Karin as a result. Grief and an alcoholic chance acquaintance prompt him to place an ad for marriage. Detlev gets caught up in a whirlwind of friendships and love affairs: with the caring widow Karin; the well-to-do hair salon owner Ute Schöbel; the cultural editor Norma Goldbach, the photo reporter Kerstin and the student Andrea Binz. Detlev, who initially proves himself as a friend and advisor, but also as a lover, becomes increasingly self-confident. He is also successful in his work and finally emancipates himself from his mother. Although he loses "his" women in a turbulent odyssey, Detlev has transformed himself from a mama's boy into a thoroughly acceptable man.

The 17-year-old commercial student Doris, a young, blameless girl, lives with her relatives without parents. It is the nerve-wracking circumstances that make her very unhappy - the dream and longing for a fulfilled life seems far away. Then she meets a young man who recognizes her situation, takes advantage of it and puts her up as a prostitute in a bar. However, Doris escapes this milieu and works as a nanny in Austria. When the stepson of the house falls in love with her and her past comes to light, disaster strikes.

"Route Casanova" is how people call the train driver Roland Diesler, as a love awaits him at almost every station. His colleague even has to carry out a plan extra so that there are no collisions between his rendezvous. However, when Roland looks at Ulla, the daughter of the station manager Bünau, this and father Diesler step in. They change the rosters of the two turtle doves so that they cannot see each other. But can the young couple be stopped by it?

Pensioner Erich Zarling loves two things: his daughter Ulrike and his dog sports club, of which he is chairman. But this position is in danger, so he wants to make himself indispensable with a daring move: He wants to build a sports clubhouse. He has come up with a curious idea to raise the funds: the sale of thirty state-owned trees from Berlin's Puschkinallee. His daughter Ulrike, who loves to sing and dance, is a chambermaid at the "Stadt Berlin" hotel. And against her father's wishes, she dreams of the boards that mean the world. A guest, the pop singer Balter, hires her as a replacement for his absent partner at the "Night of the Celebrities". He promises her more, but disappoints her. Father Zarling comforts her and they sing the "Rose Song" together in his tricked-out sportsman's home.

Brigitte, Carola and Susi can hardly believe their luck. They have hit the jackpot and won a brand new Trabi! Unfortunately, none of the three have a driving license. So they quickly agree to sell the car. Soon there are more interested parties than the three ladies would like and disagreements about who will be the lucky new owner. Plumber Oskar Zahl promptly completes Brigitte's bathroom renovation because he thinks he has a chance of getting the car. Carola hopes that her new flame, choir singer Anastasius Vogel, will buy the Trabi for her. And Susi's fiancé wants to surprise his future wife with the car. The three car owners put all the applicants through their paces and ultimately make a wise decision.

Peter, medical student and son of old materials dealer Richard Müller, wants to get engaged to the daughter of the director of a local construction company. The profession of his father has so far only vaguely hinted out of shame. And so his future in-laws think Richard is working in ministry. When he learns about it, he is initially offended. After all, he lives his profession with body and soul. But then Richard takes advantage of the misunderstanding and pays the bride parents a visit.

His passion for hunting almost spells doom for the sales manager of a GDR convenience store: his ambition to shoot a big buck just before the start of the closed season leads him to fall for a joke played by his son. He has tied horns to a prize-winning breeding goat, leading the hunter on the wrong track. While he tries to cover up the incident, there is a great deal of excitement in the village; resentment and schadenfreude arise, intrigues are played out and village gossip makes the rounds.

1780: When farmer Schmitzdorff in Wust, Brandenburg, is denied permission to marry his stepdaughter Sophie, he goes to Potsdam to obtain permission from the king himself. Because when he believes he is in the right, the proud man stubbornly insists on his opinion. But his stubbornness gets the better of him when he meets the dashing Wordelmann, Frederick II's personal grenadier, in an inn on the way. The latter sees the farmer as a welcome distraction from his otherwise dreary everyday life. Wordelmann tricks Schmitzdorff at his expense and pretends to be allowed to perform the wedding because of his military affiliation. And so the grenadier ends up organizing a wedding that isn't a wedding and takes the dastardly prank to the extreme until everyone involved has lost their laughter.

No description available.

A small town in West Germany. Material for an exhibition with documents from the Nazi era was stolen from Herbert Geerts, only the negatives of the photos did not fall into the hands of the perpetrator. Geerts is found murdered and the group of people who were incriminated by the documents are suspects. Detective Weber takes on the case, which turns out to be "a case of fireworks", and follows the trail of a Nazi criminal...

The oceans seem to be the Nehls' second home. But there is one exception that Grandpa Nehl, alias Martin XI, captain of a training sailing ship, is not at all happy with. His son Martin XII is the first of the family to work ashore. A scandal, really, but Grandpa Nehl doesn't give up. He hopes that his grandson Martin XIII will carry on the maritime tradition. But behind his grandfather's back, he also goes his own way. And so a huge row is brewing, if it weren't for twin sister Martina.

The television play by Werner Bernhardy depicts episodes from the life of Heinrich Zille as well as his much-praised "Milljöh". It tells of Zille's dismissal from the Berlin Photographic Society, of Kommerzienrat Hübel and his wife, of Zille's unreal, loyal friend Gustav Nogler, in whose role the experiences, attitudes and characteristics of many people from those years were incorporated, and of many other Berlin characters.