The Airship (Das Luftschiff) 41 years old

Franz Xavier Stannebein, a young boy at the turn of the 20th century, wants to do nothing more than fly. He carries this dream through his years at an orphanage and into adulthood as a merchant in Spain. He eventually invests everything he has into building his own version of an airship. He later meets some industrialists in Germany who want to support his idea, and they ask him to build an airfield in Spain. When he sees the Nazis use the field during the Spanish Civil War, however, he feels betrayed and goes to Germany to protest. There he is thrown into an insane asylum in Leipzig. After WWII, his grandson and other survivors of the family searches for him, only to find the empty asylum... Based on the novel Das Luft-Schiff. Biografische Nachlasse zu den Fantasien meines Grossvaters (1974) by Fritz Rudolf Fries. The non-camera animation in the film was created by internationally known director Lutz Dammbeck.

Credits

Arno Wyzniewski as

Hermann Beyer as Kießling

Elisa Montés as

Gudrun Ritter as Polonia

Jürgen Holtz as

Jörg Gudzuhn as Stannebein

The Airship Cast

Name	Character
Arno Wyzniewski He was 44, 58 years old when he died
Hermann Beyer He was 39, now 80 years old	as Kießling
Elisa Montés She was 48, now 89 years old
Gudrun Ritter She was 46, now 87 years old	as Polonia
Jürgen Holtz He was 50, now 91 years old
Jörg Gudzuhn He was 37, now 79 years old	as Stannebein
Ute Lubosch She was 30, now 71 years old
Kurt Böwe He was 53, 71 years old when he died	as Psychologe
Friedo Solter He was 50, now 91 years old

The Airship Crew

Name	Department
Helga Gentz as Editor.	Editing
Rainer Simon as Director. He was 42 (now 83) years old	Directing
Rainer Simon as Writer. He was 42 (now 83) years old	Writing
Roland Dressel as Cinematography. He was 50 (now 92) years old	Crew

The Airship (41 years)

Release day: Thursday, March 17, 1983
Runtime: 117 minutes