German director Wim Wenders has withdrawn his 1975 film Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung) from circulation due to a controversial nude scene involving actress Nastassja Kinski, who was 13 at the time of filming.
Kinski has sought the removal of a scene where she is depicted lying on a bed in panties with her older co-star, Rüdiger Vogler, who then gets into bed with her. In a recent interview, Kinski stated, “Although I didn’t know much at the age of 13, I could already tell that it wasn’t right.”
On Wednesday, The Wim Wenders Foundation announced that streaming services and television broadcasters would cease public access to the film. The foundation holds the rights to Wrong Move.
Wenders has not specified if he intends to edit the film further but acknowledged the ongoing pain that the scene causes Kinski. At the recent German Film Awards, where he received a lifetime achievement award, Wenders remarked that he would not shoot the scene today and expressed his admiration for Kinski.
Wenders refrained from committing to removing the scene, questioning his authority to alter film history. He reflected, “I can’t blame the 29-year-old young man I was then, 50 years ago, who made a film of his time.” He encouraged discussion among members of the German Film Academy regarding the issue.
He cited a past decision by Steven Spielberg to digitally alter a scene in ET: The Extra Terrestrial and later revert to the original version due to regrets about the change.
Kinski’s lawyer, Christian Schertz, criticized Wenders’ comments, stating they seemed to evade personal responsibility and indicated a potential legal action if the scene is not removed. An editorial in Süddeutsche Zeitung commented on the implications of Wenders’ framing of Kinski’s request, expressing concern over the artist’s freedom in relation to the situation. Another piece in Welt supported that it would be “symbolically right to remove the scene.”
Source: www.hollywoodreporter.com via Google News.
