Released in 1991, “At the End of the World” is considered by Wim Wenders to be his most ambitious film. A few years after a very mixed reception in theaters, it was re-released in a 4h40 version!
“This film is probably the most ambitious film I’ve ever made, and probably also the most expensive independent arthouse film of all time, at least at the time. It was an epic adventure story , and we toured for a year.”
In 2015, it was in these terms that the German director Wim Wenders – notably famous for having signed Paris, Texas or Buena Vista Social Club – described on the microphone of Vulture his science fiction film Until the End of the World, released in theaters 32 years ago.
Carried by Solveig Dommartin (who was the filmmaker’s partner), Sam Neill, William Hurt and Max von Sydow, this (very) feature film followed the journey of Claire Tourneur, traveling the world in search of Trevor McPhee with whom she was in love, when the Earth was threatened by an atomic satellite out of control, at the dawn of the 21st century.
Indeed very ambitious, Until the End of the World unfortunately did not make much of a splash when it was released in theaters.
“The ideal film, the one I wanted to make, was just under 5 hours long. I tried in vain to convince my co-producers and distributors to agree on a two-part release. They all agreed. insisted on their contracts”said Wenders, still at the microphone of Vulture.
Village Roadshow Pictures
Shortened to a duration of 158 minutes (around three hours) in the United States (compared to 179 minutes in Europe), the feature film did not really meet its audience when it was released in the cinema, despite its substantial resources and its exceptional soundtrack, to which artists such as U2, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Depeche Mode and Nick Cave contributed.
For his part, Wim Wenders nevertheless edited a 289-minute version according to his wishes, in order to screen his film in the best conditions during special events. Several years later, At World’s End was finally restored in 4K, and its extended version is therefore available on physical media.
(Re)discover the trailer for the film…