City of Lost Souls [Stadt der Verlorenen Seelen] *** (1983, Angie Stardust, Jayne County, Lorraine Muthke, Wolfgang Schumacher) – Classic Movie Review 13,813

Rosa von Praunheim’s 1983 German queer-punk musical film City of Lost Souls [Stadt der Verlorenen Seelen] is performed by drag queens, travesty artists and transgender people, and features Angie Stardust and Jayne County.

Writer/ producer/ director Rosa von Praunheim’s 1983 German queer-punk musical film City of Lost Souls [Stadt der Verlorenen Seelen] is performed by drag queens, travesty artists and transgender people, and features Angie Stardust and Jayne County.

In divided Berlin, various drag artists, prostitutes and would-be stars live a bohemian lifestyle. US cabaret performers and other immigrants struggle for recognition and work, bringing their life stories into the mainly fictional plot.

A pioneer of Queer Cinema and early gay activist, director Von Praunheim has consistently raised the ire of audiences worldwide for his outspoken gay movies, and this is no exception. An improvised plot that makes John Waters seem tasteful combines brilliantly with a trashy punk soundtrack by transsexual star Jayne/ Wayne County. Surprisingly, below the surface lurk some pertinent comments on the right wing state of Germany in 1983. The mad energy of everyone involved more than makes up for the technical ineptitude of the film.

Also in the cast: Lorraine Muthke, Wolfgang Schumacher, Manfred Finger, Judith Flex, Helga Goetze, Gerhard Helle, Rolf Holzhütter, Joachin La Habana, Lotti Huber, Gary Miller, Tara O’Hara, Rainer-Götz Otto, Tron von Hollywood and Rosa von Praunheim.

Rosa von Praunheim

German film director, author, producer Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942 – 17 December 2025), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, was one of the most influential and famous queer activists in the German-speaking world. He was a key co-founder of the modern lesbian and gay movement in West Germany and Switzerland, an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex, and one of the most important names of the New German Cinema.

In 1971, he caused a stir with his film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives, which led to the founding of many gay rights groups.

He adopted the female stage name Rosa von Praunheim after the pink triangle (Rosa Winkel) that homosexuals were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps, and the Frankfurt neighbourhood of Praunheim where he grew up.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,813

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