Although he spent a relatively short period of his life in Austria, Canadian-born John Cook (1935–2001) remained, in his own words, "Viennese by choice.” Having worked as a commercial photographer in Paris, Cook’s […] first “regular” production was Schwitzkasten, based on a novel by the leftist writer Helmut Zenker. Today, the film is considered one of the few undisputed masterpieces of the New Austrian Cinema: a freewheeling, tender, and strangely humorous portrait of working-class (and out-of-work) lives.
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Cast
8 people
John Cook Director · Helmut Zenker Author Helmut Pirnat Cinematographer
First release October 11, 1978 · Produced in Austria · Original title Schwitzkasten
Production
ebf-Film
Production
Austria
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Schwitzkasten
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
German
Release dates
Austria · October 11, 1978
Premiere
Germany · January 1, 1979
Limited theatrical · West-Berlin
No release date listed for United States.
Austria
November 30, 1979 · Theatrical
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