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(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004) More at IMDb Pro »

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Misses just as often as it hits, 6 November 2006

Author: GoD-s-LoNeLy-MaN from Berlin, Germany

"(T)Raumschiff Surprise" is sometimes funny, sometimes hilarious but it is also embarrassingly stupid at times. It has some new jokes but what I found shocking is that some of the jokes were "borrowed" (from Austin Powers; Loriot,...). So really you have creative ideas and funny and original jokes but in the same scene you have old or plagiarized jokes and gags that are complete misses.

I like Bully and I think he is funny, loved "Der Schuh des Manitu". There was a huge hype around this movie and when I finally saw it I was disappointed as the movie did not deliver. About a year after watching it the first time, I watched it again and I laughed about 5 times and smiled maybe another 10 times. I remember laughing quite a bit the first time I watched it but even back then I found it disappointing.

This movie is not quite as bad as the IMDb-rating (5.4) suggests but way worse than the hype around it makes you believe it is. (Most of the time my ratings for a movie are below the IMDb-average so me rating it the same as the average voter while saying it deserves a higher score is not a contradiction. Hope you can follow.)

** 5.5/10 **

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Hilarious nonsense with a spicy gay flavor, just enjoy the ride !!, 2 January 2007

Author: johannes2000-1 from Netherlands

I absolutely loved this movie. I didn't know exactly what to expect, probably some very under-the-waist gay-jokes (the fact that I still bought this DVD proofs that I'm not really above THAT). But this turned out to be much better and different! In fact there's hardly any actual sexual connotation (okay, the outer form of the spaceship DID remind me of something familiar and at one point there's some sexual innuendo concerning a gravely mistaken shadow!). But otherwise the gay premise is not exploited in nudity, or in provocative gay variations on tits-and-ass jokes, it's mostly limited to the being gay of the three protagonists, which colors their attitude, their actions and their conversation, in a very tongue-in-cheek way. This gives this parody of Star Wars and Star Trek (and probably Back to the Future) an extra dimension that's very original, to say the least, and to me it worked completely.

There were more surprises: the FX of this non-American movie is absolutely stunning, as was the sound on this DVD, which at times blew me out of my chair! The whole story develops in a very high pace, we get time-traveling, space trekking, medieval jousting, everything in a hilarious way yet enough believable to get yourself involved into the story and with the characters. The actors do a great job and are all very funny, especially of course the two bickering and ad-libbing male leads Michael Herbig (also the director) and Christian Tramitz. And Till Schweiger, although past forty, is still a treat for the eyes, I remember him from "Der Bewegte Mann", another German gay classic some ten years ago that's among my favorites: equally entertaining but with a bit more of a serious message underneath the very comical surface.

I guess that many hard-boiled gay-rightists will find that a movie like this is stereotyping gays, but not I (and being one myself I think I have a right to speak). On the contrary, I actually find it a treat to witness (albeit in a movie) a world in which gay characters (even such "extreme" ones) are considered by everyone around them as just an exotic variation of the human species and in every other aspect as valuable and worthwhile as anyone else. Notice for instance that no-one in the movie makes fun of the gay characters just for being gay or ridicules their all too obvious homosexuality. Alas: up until now such a world still is a fantasy!

All in all, I rank this movie 9 out of 10.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Simply fond of it (ich mag's einfach)!, 27 July 2004
Author: DerWixxer

After having read all postings and comments about the movie in this place up to now I simply want to tell that I love it! Surely the movie cannot be to everyone's taste especially not to the taste of those who run into cinema with a checklist about "will it be better than 'Schuh des Manitu'", "how many gay-jokes will be cracked", "does German comedy still exist" and so on. I myself was skeptical, too, whether Periode 1 will reach Schuh des Manitu but I was disappointed positively. Tonight I watched Periode 1 the second time and, like in Schuh des Manitu, I discovered gags I haven't perceived the first time because there are enough of it in there! Why do most of the commentators put emphasis on the gay-factor? Surely that was the original attention of "Unser Traumschiff" in Bullyparade but in the movie there surely is more! You remember "Men In Tights" (Helden in Strumpfhosen) by Mel Brooks, the Robin Hood-spoof? O.k., there was no gay-topic in it but it was very smug! Enjoy the details! The counselor of "William der Letzte", the rented spy, the taxi and so on - there's so much in it you can laugh about! Michael Bully Herbig surely accepts the inheritance of Monthy Pythons and Mel Brooks, in my eyes!

Simply enjoy it like me!

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10 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
A German "Spaceballs" and more..., 15 March 2006

Author: Chris Nash (spam-1203) from United Kingdom

Yeah, so, I'm not German (though I do speak it)...

The humour is not inherently German (i.e. there is some!), but it is funny. Very, very funny. Bully started with "Der Schuh des Manitu", and that was a poor German ape of Blazing Saddles... but this is different. For a start the special effects make you wonder how Star Wars I-III managed to spend their significantly larger budget. They're good. There's something almost British about the comedic understatement and dead-pan delivery. A knowledge of colloquial German is useful though.

The "icon" of the movie, the gay trio of Kirk (Kork), Spock (Spuck) and the other one (it isn't clear which Star Trek character he's meant to be), is the weakest point of the flick, but fortunately it is a minor intrusion. There is plenty of wit, spoofing and entertainment besides. Til Schweiger is excellent - a German Bruce Willis, maybe? Perhaps, as an Auslander, I find this movie more endearing than I should, but I highly recommend it.

Mopsgeschwindigkeit!

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
I support Spucky!, 5 January 2006

Author: AnimationPhoenix from United States

I am an American, but speak German fluently due to my mother being from Germany. I recently saw the film with family friends while in Germany for Christmas. I can't tell you how hard I was laughing the whole time I watched the film. I think the film was very well put together. The dialog is funny, the little hints here and there about Der Shuh Des Manitu was also very witty.

I can see why Herr Herbig laughs at night in his sleep from all the gags. I have to say though, the best part of the whole film has to be the sound track. I throughly enjoyed the music from the film. Especially the Miss Waikiki song...that just plan cracked me up.

All in all I give this movie a 10 out of 10 for wittiness, music, fantastic special effects, good plot and well thought out story, and for being something different from American films. Yes. It was very Mel Brooksish, though, and very very funny! I'd say it's a must have for all comedy lovers (I bought my copy already!)

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
More than one surprise., 22 January 2007

Author: oneshallstand-1 from United Kingdom

I picked up a copy of this film based on a friend's recommendation. And whilst what I watched was a Chinese translation, with English subtitles over a German film I still found it funnier than Either of the well-noted American spoofs, Spaceballs or Galaxy Quest.

Set in a Sci-Fi Universe that's visually a lot like Star Wars, but structurally much like Star Trek the plot sees the (Emporer Plapatine-like) Martian Regulator blockading the Earth with aspirations of conquest.

Earth's only hope? The crew of the Dreamship Surprise - most notably it's camp command crew, Captain Kork, Spucky and Schotty. As they travel to Earth to make a journey back in time to save the future they acquire the assistance of Earth's beautiful young queen and a Taxi Driver.

The plot manages to skewer both Star Wars and Star Trek quite effectively, whilst somehow maintaining the looks of both (The sets on the Surprise are very sixties-Trek, most everything else seems Star Wars inspired). The journey in the past takes detours through Medieval Europe (Allowing a few Knight's Tale style moments) and the Wild West before ending up at Area 51 (which is foreshadowed in the opening).

I'd seen a brief clip of the film before watching but was surprised at how consistently amusing it was. Yes, there's a few cheap gags, and more gonad jokes than I'd expect from it's American counterparts but it's still darn funny. Some nifty sight gags lurk in the background and some of the puns are meticulously set up and had me groaning out loud (in the manner of someone who appreciates a bad pun).

If you like or hate sci-fi, there's many a reason to track this down. Some of the 'gay' gags may not be up everyone's street (and may cause a little offence to some - but it's hard to say) but that's par for the course with any parody.

The soundtrack echoes it's inspirations very effectively, and a few times I thought it was actually going to take the plunge and rise dramatically into a John Williams soundtrack. Not only that, but there are actually a handful of brief musical numbers thrown in as well (Most often from the crew of the Surprise).

The performances are pretty over-the-top for the most part, this is not a film that requires much in the way of subtle acting, but again isn't that another shot at it's targets? And before I sign out, Kudos must go to the special effects team, who managed to succeed in making a film that looks worthy of the huge effects budgets on the Star Wars prequels, presumably for a fraction of the price. The film is visually stunning in that regard, The Surprise, The Battleships, The Taxi and even the time-travel sequence (Which takes place on a sofa - surely a nod to Douglas Adams there) all look incredible and the film's one big action scene looks every bit as good as the Pod Race or space battle from the Star Wars prequels.

My opinion, it may not be perfect, but there's no way I'll regret buying it. There were enough laughs to keep me occupied through it's entire run-time even though the pacing could have done with a minor trim.

As a fan of Science Fiction in general I enjoyed it a great deal and would recommend it to most.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
A Nutshell Review: Dreamship Surprise, 22 October 2005

Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore

This movie is so insanely gay! And I mean it in both sense of the word. No wonder this comedy broke the German box office with its madcap, low-brow, at times, crass humour. But it's all in good fun.

If you're looking for a plot, be reminded that a spoof-fest only has an outline of what resembles a story. The story's not award winning material to begin with, and it was never the intention of doing so.

In the future, Earth has colonized Mars, and some aliens aren't happy with it, so war is declared on the Earthlings. Somehow, Earth's last hope lies in the hands of Dreamship Surprise and its crew of merry men, led by the gayish Captain Kork, and equally feminine-like officers Mr Spuck and Schrotty. Needless to say, the crew of Dreamship Surprise is a complete spoof of Star Trek's Starship Enterprise crew, right down to the uniform, the multi-racial crew, and the technology available on board. Serious Trekkies might not take this too kindly though, to see their beloved franchise taken to "new" heights.

To save Earth from the aliens, the team has to travel back in time to prevent the discovery of alien lifeforms in Area 51. But it's made more difficult when Kork and crew are more interested in their rehearsals for an upcoming Miss Waikiki competition (don't ask). Which is crazy I tell you. If you think that the Chicken Little ad now showing in theatres is cute, you haven't seen nothing yet! Spoofing obvious movies like Star Wars - pod-racing, battleships hovering in orbit, the Jedi Council, Coruscant, Queen Amidala, Han Solo, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, the list goes on, and Star Trek - the main leads, there are also numerous references to movies like Austin Powers (the phallic-shaped starship), Back to the Future (time travel), Minority Report and even A Knight's Tale. Spoofing and combining key characters from Star Wars and Star Trek have been attempted before in Hollywood comedies, but definitely not in the manner that Dreamship Enterprise had.

Stay tuned during the credits, where some blooper scenes are shown, and if you stay until the end of the credits, you'll be rewarded with yet another short hilarious scene.

Definitely recommended for an evening after a hard day's work.

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13 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Worth the money!, 9 August 2004

Author: Dany

Okay, it´s not as funny as "Der Schuh des Manitu" but since i have neither seen "Der Schuh..." or "Die Bully parade" before i saw this movie, i was somewhat "free to enjoy" the jokes (so many complain about being recycled) as new and fresh. I admit, some jokes were a little low but overall an entertaining movie. Bully was great as Mr.Spuck and so was Rick Kavanian as Schrotty (and especially Jens Maul!) The tricks (FX) in this movie were great and don´t have to hide behind Hollywood, because they couldn´t do it better!! Only flaw: To much Til Schweiger! The (T)Raumschiff-crew should have been more used and the time in the Wild West was a little to long. No complain about the middle-age though, simply because of Sky du Mont and his "kings assistent". They were great. ;)

Overall 9/10

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my favourites 2 (Michael Herbig Superstar), 22 December 2005

Author: (petrovaz@mail.ru) from Russian Federation

A year and a half after its premiere in Germany (T)Ramschiff Surprise finally came out on DVD in Russia. I have waited for this movie to be shown down here since I read the first review on it about a year ago. Yes, it happened at last, two days ago I bought the film and this is what my commentary says: The year is 2304, a long and exhausting war between Earth and Mars is nearly over. The Martians are ready to strike the Eath the final blow than will bring the history of the humankind to its untimely end unless.. Unless we use the time machine, travel 300 years back and prevent the people's first encounter with beings from the space.With human resources on the verge of depleting two gorgeous gays are chosen to fulfil the mission (if the first 10 minutes of the movie do not make you laugh, this is definitely not your movie). The film chronicles the fabulous journey of these innocents through time and space during which everything that can go wrong, goes wrong. (T)Rauschiff Surprise is not another stupid parody, when you sit and count on your fingers: this scene is taken from the Star Wars, and that one is from Shrek, etc. etc. Herbig's movie offers you much more: the plot is complicated, the characters are interesting and the dialogues are witty. Unfortunately Herbig could not refrain from poking fun at himself and the film does have some references to his masterpiece Manitu's shoe- if you have not seen it, you won't be able to appreciate it- Santa Maria makes a short appearance and we have a glimpse of Vinnehuch (I dare say the first and so far the only gay Indian ever shown in a movie). These scenes seem to be out of place and could have been left on the cutting room floor. Anyway, it is the only problem I saw in the film. All in all, to my taste, (T)Raumschiff Surprise is awesome, light hearted, the film has everything to leave its viewers in a good mood and with warm memories that will last for a long time. The cast is brilliant: Michael Herbig is a superstar, to see Christian Tramitz playing gay was such an experience!! Til Schweiger is not known in Russia, I have never seen him before but he is a great actor! Recommended

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
(T)raumschiff Surprise from an American view, 18 February 2005

Author: moexlester from United States

While I was visiting Erlangen, Germany in the summer of 2004, I had the opportunity to see (T)raumschiff Surprise. I was able to experience all of the "hype" over the movie before release, and I was very anxious to see it. When I saw it, I suppose I was a bit disappointed, but I thought it was still a great movie. I did have trouble understanding a good bit of the movie, because I have only studied three years of German, but the implied comedy was enough to understand the joke. While many of the jokes were overused, I did think that there was a unique comedy to it. I did think it was funny in the beginning when the FBI, CIA, and US generals are talking... in German. I guess I just thought it was funny, but I supposed Germans say the same thing when Germans speak English in American movies.

My suggestion: If you haven't seen the movie, see it. It is good for American/English speaking students to learn German because its a funny movie, but it gives you the opportunity to learn stupid, unnecessary phrases that everyone loves. Because of this, I rate this movie 9/10.

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