After he gets out of jail, Hoffi is looking for a fresh start. He wants to find Urban, a role model of sorts that he met during a brief hospital stay. Along the way, Hoffi meets a young woman, Gila, who is willing to overlook his past. Despite her family's disapproval, Gila decides to build a life with Hoffi, but initially he balks at the responsibility. Thanks to the encouragement of his brigade members, Hoffi realizes his mistake and decides to give his relationship with Gila a chance. Director Ingrid Reschke, one of very few female directors working at the DEFA Studio for Feature Film, and author Ulrich Plenzdorf based the script on 1960s news reports, as a way to address social problems including hooliganism, housing shortages and issues faced by children of single parents. This impressive portrait of young workers on large GDR construction sites was shot mainly on location and in Totalvision-East Germany's version of CinemaScope. The black-and-white film follows in the tradition of DEFA "Berlin films" of the 1950s and 1960s, depicting Berlin as a tolerant, cosmopolitan city.

Deadpan rich boy Harold (Bud Cort) stages elaborate suicide tableaux to get the attention of his mother, but she keeps planning his brilliant future for him instead. Obsessed with the trappings of death, Harold freaks out his blind dates, modifies his new sports car to look like a mini-hearse, and attends funerals, where he meets the spirited Maude (Ruth Gordon). An eccentric to the core, Maude lives exactly as she pleases, with avid collecting and nude modeling among her many pursuits. To the disgust of Harold's relatives and the befuddlement of his shrink, Harold falls in love with her. As lilting Cat Stevens tunes play on the soundtrack, Maude teaches Harold a valuable lesson about making the most of his time on earth. Nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Ruth Gordon) and Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Bud Cort) at the **Golden Globes**. Nominated for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles (Bud Cort) at the **BAFTA Awards**. *"A philosophical black comedy for grandparents and grandchildren, or what Walt Disney and Lucille Ball might have thought up if they'd taken courses in the Absurd at UCLA." - Robert Mazzocco, **The New York Review of Books***

Bruce Pritchard (Malcolm McDowell) is a young, active man - until he finds himself struck down by a crippling disease and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He is taken to a home for the disabled, but his bitterness and his dislike of rules and regulations only serve to make him angry and withdrawn. But he finds meaning in life once more when he falls in love with Jill (Nanette Newman), a polio victim. Happy, halcyon days follow for them both - but tragedy hasn't finished with their lives yet... Nominated for Best English-Language Foreign Film and Best Original Song at the **Golden Globes.** Nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the **BAFTA Awards.** *"...a subdued but authentically moving view of unusual but real people and a real love story." - A.H. Weiler, **The New York Times***