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Kings of the Road - In the Course of Time (Im Lauf der Zeit) | 
| Director: Wim Wenders
Actors: Rudiger Vogler, Hanns Zischler, Lisa Kreuzer, Marquard Bohm, Dieter Traier
Studio: Pacific Arts
Buy Collectible: $24.99
Used (5) Collectible (1) from $24.99
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 48094
Format: Ntsc, Subtitled, Black & White
Languages: German (Unknown), German (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 175 Minutes
UPC: 098272059000
EAN: 0098272059000
ASIN: B000BY49AW
Theatrical Release Date: 1976
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Minor general wear to the original clamshell case. The tapes look sharp and play just fine. Not ex-rental or ex-library. Ships promptly & securely.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A traveling projection-equipment mechanic travels in Western Germany along the East-German border, visiting worn-out film-theatres. meets up with a depressed young man whose marriage has just broken up, and the two decide to travel together.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A potential masterpiece that shifts gears at the halfway point. April 16, 2007
Martin Lanctot (LOS ANGELES, CA USA)
Wim Wenders, along with Werner Herzog, Fritz Lang and of course Fassbinder, are my favorite German directors. This film is considered to be Wenders first epic masterpiece. Shot in black and white and nearly three hours long, this had all of the elements to be a great road movie. The first half was brilliantly directed, had excellent rock/soul music, some terrific action sequences and some heartfelt scenes mixed in. Truly a great viewing experience.
However, the second half was a different movie. The two buddies go there separate ways, briefly experience their childhood villages and one even has a fling with a movie theatre ticket taker. The soulful music stops and the pace of the film grinds to a screeching halt.
Still, the viewing experience is a positive one. You'll also see something in this movie you've never seen in another; not something I would recommend, but still one of a kind: you will actually see a man defecate, literally pull his trousers down, squat and wipe. Why would the director show this? Truly disgusting and one of the key scenes I'll remember from this potential masterpiece.
I'd write more about the plot but it's just the story of a film projectionist who picks up a recently separated man after he crashes into a river. The two travel across Germany, open up to each other and meet some interesting characters as they go from village to village.
First half is worth seeing, but the film as a whole is not up to par with my personal Wenders favorite, "Wings of Desire".
 One of Wenders's undisputed masterpieces.... August 17, 2008
Grigory's Girl (NYC)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is one of Wim Wenders's masterpieces, one of the best examples of New German Cinema and a brilliant conclusion to Wenders's "road trilogy" (the first two films are Alice in the Cities and Wrong Move). Kings of the Road (aka In the Course of Time, which was the original German title) is simply about one man who travels around West Germany (this was made in 1976 when Germany was two countries) repairing movie projectors for small town cinemas. He picks up another man who tried to kill himself, but just ended up making a fool of himself and losing his car in the process. He decides to drive along with the "film" guy. The film is brilliantly shot in black and white and filmed in mostly long shots, all wonderfully composed. It's a very leisurely film (it runs 3 hours), and it's very slowly paced. The first time I saw it, a friend of mine wondered openly what the hell was I thinking. I rented it again when he wasn't around, and I loved the film. It's hypnotic when you finally adjust to its rhythm, and this film is the culmination of Wenders's early German work.
Wenders is the third of the "New German Cinema" movement that included Fassbinder and Herzog. He was the first one to be "discovered" by America, and Francis Ford Coppola invited him to America to make films. Needless to say, when Wenders made it across the pond, his artistry deserted him slowly. He made a few great films in Hollywood (most notably Paris, Texas), but his best films are German (Wings of Desire was arguably his last great movie). Wenders's recent work is stodgy, extremely preachy, dogmatic, and pretentious beyond belief. Fassbinder and Herzog were the more talented of the three men.
This film is still not out on DVD, and I'm not sure why. Wrong Move made it to DVD a while ago, but most of Wenders's early work isn't on DVD. This is the best of Wenders's early work, and needs to be on DVD now.
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