In my quest to document the history of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks, I love finding things I’ve never seen. Recently, I picked up an advertising guide for Lynch’s 1992 film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me from Germany where it was known as Twin Peaks – Der Film (or Twin Peaks – The Film). Released on August 20, the film was distributed by Jugendfilm Verleih GmbH who created this guide to help media cover the film.
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE COVER
The cover of this advertising guide contains the German film poster for Lynch’s masterpiece.
I previously discussed a German press kit for the film which offered a brief history of Jugendfilm Verleih GmbH. Founded in Berlin in 1934, Jürgen Wohlrabe took over the company in 1979. Films such as Dressed to Kill (1981), Once upon a Time in America (1984) and True Lies (1994) made Jugendfilm one of the most important distribution companies in Germany.
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | FILM CREDITS – PAGE 1
The first page contains the film’s credits including key actors with the actors who provided the dubbed German voices.
- Laura Palmer voiced by Sabine Falkenberg
- Agent Dale Cooper voiced by Torsten Sense
- Leland Palmer voiced by Dieter Laser
- Chet Desmond voiced by Kurt Goldstein
- Donna Hayward voiced by Maud Ackermann
- Philipp [sic] Jeffries voiced by Frank Glaubrecht
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | CONTENTS – PAGE 2
The second page contains an extensive summary of Lynch’s film which I translated below using Google Translate. It’s a rough translation but provides a general idea of the film was described in Germany.
“‘Twin Peaks – The Movie’ is the chronological reappraisal of the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer.
The prequel begins with a horrific scene that foreshadows the tragedy that will soon befall the seemingly idyllic town of Twin Peaks. We see the dead body of Teresa Banks floating along the Wind River in Washington State. FBI chief Gordon Cole calls in his best agent, Chester Desmond, to deal with this strange case.
From the moment Desmond leaves the plane in the neighboring state of Oregon – where he is greeted by Cole and his deviant cousin Lili – solutions to solving the mysterious case present themselves in mostly surprising forms and always in unexpected moments.
Desmond concludes that the evil current that wiped out Teresa Banks’ life will seek out and find more victims.
After inspecting a run-down trailer park, Teresa’s home, Desmond stumbles upon a meaningful solution that goes beyond mere tragedy. This is when Agent Dale Cooper steps in, whose intuitive skills are much needed in this matter. He senses that the case is fraught with unusual puzzles dealing with the nature of time, space and consciousness.
While these brilliant minds fight against the tide of evil, which is already seeking a new victim, we follow the activities of Laura Palmer as she nears her redemption from the demons. Already branded, Laura experiences physical and emotional extremes that make it impossible for her to ever lead a normal, orderly life again. We witness the private excesses of Laura’s friends and relatives in Twin Peaks, and as time goes on it becomes apparent that many of the residents live on the edge of the abyss – and that the beautiful Laura is almost over it.
The ‘visit’ of an FBI agent believed to be dead, sheds further light on the conspiracy that threatens Laura’s life. He too has suffered at the hands of Laura’s persecutors, but is helpless in the face of what is happening and cannot save her. The promise of a great disaster becomes more and more obvious.
Laura realizes that the threads of a destructive web are tightening around her, and that the true source of her torture will soon be revealed.
Her nightmares become more real, her drug abuse and her sexual excesses increase. The downward spiral of her life seems to be drawing ever tighter circles, and so it happens that Laura and her friend Donna end up in the notorious, wild nightclub ‘The Power and the Glory’ on the American-Canadian border. There the hellish journey continues, and her friend Donna finally realizes the extent of Laura’s obsession. Suddenly she has to face the horrific truth that her friend is living.
Laura, on the other hand, knows that the party is coming to an end. She cannot continue to live as the bearer of evil that has taken possession of her heart and soul. There is only one way to escape.
In the end, it is clear that the ravenous, black power has not yet settled accounts with Twin Peaks and that Laura will continue her fight from another place….”
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | FILM ADS – PAGES 3-4
Pages 3-4 contain sample ads for Twin Peaks – Der Film presented in different sizes. The word “Anzeige” translates to “Advertisement” while the word “Spaltig” means column. There are different 1,2 and 3-column ads that could be printed in newspapers.
More 1 and 2-column ads are found on page 4. The tagline for the German release was, “Die letzten 7 Tage im Leben der Laura Palmer” which roughly translates to “The last 7 days in the life of Laura Palmer.” This is different than the North American release which used the tagline, “In a town like Twin Peaks, no one is innocent.”
The shot of Laura Palmer sitting on the bed is from the scene in Room 6 at the Red Diamond City Motel. The North American poster featured a cropped version of this image in a flaming half-heart gold necklace, the German poster included the full image of Laura on the bed.
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | ORDER FORM – PAGES 5-6
Page 5 contains an order form for additional press materials including posters, film trailer and more.
Number 3 on the list mentions a “Rental Set of DIN A 4 16 Motifs” which could be lobby cards like the one pictured above. I discussed those cards in this Twin Peaks Blog article. I only have 13 cards from this set which means there could be three more I need (that is if the “A4 Motifs” are the lobby cards).
Number 8 contains “The Secret of Twin Peaks” by Heyne Taschenbüchverlag is most likely the German version of Jennifer Lynch’s “The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer.” You’ll notice this cover has the phrase “Das Buch Zum Film Von David Lynch” which roughly translates to “The Book of the Film By David Lynch.” According to Goodreads.com, the German edition was released on Jan. 1, 1992. It’s not a film adaptation novel but the company was trying to capitalize on the film’s release to sell more books.
I would love to see the German trailer … heck, I want everything on this list.
The back of the order form contains a section to place an address. Basically, you could remove the form and mail it to the distribution company to place an order. Oh, the things we did before online shopping.
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | SYNOPSIS & HEADLINES PAGE 7
Page 7 contained a short film synopsis along with four suggested headlines, which I decoded using Google Translate.
Short text for your advertising
The idyllic little town of Twin Peaks is struck by a terrible tragedy. After the hugely successful television series that deals with the solution to the murder of Laura Palmer (probably the most famous corpse in America), cult director David Lynch now reveals all of the secrets of young Laura (Sheryl Lee). We learn the truth about Twin Peaks and about the last seven days in Laura Palmer’s life.
She experiences physical and emotional extremes that make it impossible for her to ever lead an orderly life again. Special Agent Dale B. Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), whose intuitive skills are urgently needed in this matter, intervenes but is helpless in the face of it all. Laura Palmer will fall victim to evil.
Headlines
- A nightmare of obsession, sex and violence
- The last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer
- Come with me through the fire
- Fire desires me
TWIN PEAKS – DER FILM – GERMAN ADVERTISING GUIDE | CONTACTS PAGE 8
The last page of this advertising guide contained contact information for different divisions and rental offices for Jugendfilm Verleih GmbH. I’m assuming you could address the order form to one of these offices to place an order for the marketing materials.
This is certainly a unique item in my Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me collection. I would love to see a similar advertising guide for New Line Cinema. They were quite creative when it came to marketing the film, including debuting it at the 1992 Twin Peaks Fan Fest in Snoqualmie Valley, Washington or holding Twin Peaks Happy Hours at Manhattan Coolers in Southern California. Maybe a guide will turn up one day.
DOWNLOAD high-resolution images from this German advertising guide on my Flickr account.
