Abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus

Abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus
Genre
Based onSimplicius Simplicissimus
by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen
Screenplay byLeopold Ahlsen
Directed byFritz Umgelter
StarringMatthias Habich
ComposerRolf Unkel
Country of origin
    • West Germany
    • Austria
Original languageGerman
No. of episodes4
Production
Producer
    • Florian Kalbeck
    • Wolfgang Patzschke
CinematographyKurt Junek
EditorDorothee Maass
Running time384 minutes
Production company
Original release
NetworkZDF
Release19 November (1975-11-19) –
30 November 1975 (1975-11-30)

Abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus[1] (lit.'Adventurous Simplicissimus') is a 1975 West German-Austrian drama television serial written by Leopold Ahlsen and directed by Fritz Umgelter. It follows the tumultuous adventures of a dimwitted man during the Thirty Years' War. It stars Matthias Habich in the title role along with Christian Quadflieg, Günter Stack, Herbert Stass, Friedrich von Thun and Herbert Fux.[2]

The serial is based on Simplicius Simplicissimus, a 17th-century picaresque novel by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen. It was co-produced by ZDF and ORF.[3]

Episodes

The original version has four episodes and a total running time of 384 minutes.[2]

  1. Das Hanauer Kalb
  2. Der Jäger von Soest
  3. Der Schatz
  4. Adieu Welt

In France, Antenne 2 produced a version edited into 6 episodes of 55 minutes each.[4]

Release

The serial debuted on ZDF on 19 November 1975.[5] Antenne 2's French version aired in 1976.[4] The serial was released on DVD in Germany in May 2008.[2]

It was Umgelter's third historical television series in the 1970s, after Die merkwürdige Lebensgeschichte des Friedrich Freiherrn von der Trenck (1973) and Die unfreiwilligen Reisen des Moritz August Benjowski (1975). The three programmes have been called a trilogy.[4]

References

  1. ^ Also known as Des Christoffel von Grimmelshausen abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus
  2. ^ a b c Heßelmann, Peter (2009). "ZDF/ORF-Film 'Abenteuerlicher Simplizissimus' auf DVD erhältlich". Simpliciana. Schriften der Grimmelshausen-Gesellschaft (in German). Vol. 30. Peter Lang. p. 274. ISBN 9783039117741.
  3. ^ Schanze, Helmut (2001). "Grimmelshausen im Großen Fernsehen. Anmerkungen zum Simplicissimus in vier Teilen von Leopold Ahlsen und Fritz Umgelter (ZDF/ORF 1975)". Simpliciana. Schriften der Grimmelshausen-Gesellschaft (in German). Vol. 23. Peter Lang. pp. 235–245. ISBN 9783906768779.
  4. ^ a b c Fau, Benjamin (2016). "Simplicius Simplicissimus". Dictionnaire des séries télévisées - Nouvelle édition (in French). Philippe Rey. ISBN 9782848765570.
  5. ^ "Diese Woche im Fernsehen". Der Spiegel (in German). 16 November 1975. Retrieved 9 January 2026.