Dorfer & Düringer to be seen once more as Weber & Breitfuß on ORF

The two new episodes "In the Forest" (8:15 PM) and "In Politics" (9:00 PM) are part of a package that Dorfer and Düringer proposed. "The idea was to take two characters and let them experience different adventures. It was the same with Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer: you saw them as policemen, in the Wild West, as criminals, and so on. Our basic idea was: two characters who always play the same - but in totally different films, in a fantasy film, in a fairy tale, a political thriller, as a vampire and zombie. We developed around 12 setups back then," says Düringer in a joint interview with APA. "The original aim was: each episode should have its own face, its own technique, its own implementation. That's why the concept of changing directors," Dorfer recalls.

Dorfer & Düringer: "We Never Wanted to Be Cabaret Artists"

Among the compromises in the implementation is that after Harald Sicheritz, Peter Payer has now taken over as the second director for films three and four, or that "Weber & Breitfuß" do not come to the house on four special days of the year as once planned, but now two episodes are broadcast back-to-back on October 26. "In my opinion, two different broadcast days would have been better," says Dorfer. "But the slot on National Day is great."

Dorfer & Düringer - that has long been a dream team. "We met when we were practically kids, 40 years ago," says Dorfer. "It was at the acting school with Herwig Seeböck, where we always improvised - also the play 'Mahlzeit', which we developed at the Linz Posthof and then played on stage for two years, and from which 'MA 2412' later emerged," adds Düringer. Dorfer: "It's important that we never wanted to be cabaret artists and didn't want to be called that. We saw ourselves as a comedic theater group that focused on socio-political themes. It was sometime in the early 1980s that we were suddenly labeled as cabaret artists. But it was also a brand that only emerged later."

"It's Like in Football"

Four seasons of the TV series were filmed between 1998 and 2002, and over the years, the interplay between the two has intensified. "I think it's like in football," Alfred Dorfer draws a sporting comparison. "When people play together in a team for a very long time, there are certain automatisms. In the book by Prohaska and Krankl, the two claim that Prohaska already anticipated Krankl's running paths. It's similar with us." The two very different types, who can't stand each other but "immediately go into cooperation mode" when a common enemy appears, have for Dorfer "something to do with Stan & Ollie. They are two clowns, somewhat exaggerated characters, that you could probably put in any situation."

In the two new films, they venture into the forest and politics. "I like filming in the forest. It was also beautiful during the shoot in Gaaden," enthuses Düringer. In the forest, where the mushroom hunter Breitfuß and the mountain biker Weber meet, there are not robbers waiting, but plenty of characters from Grimm's fairy tales, which in a turbulent story between dream and reality provide goosebump moments. "What is told in the fairy tales is always the same: to be afraid, in this case of the big bad wolf. That sits very deep within us." - "But there is also a kind of processing involved," adds Dorfer. "You are not only told a shock story, but also a form of solution, a glimmer of hope. To withhold that from children is dramatic."

Political Corruption and Cronyism: Everyday Life in Austria

In the former broadcasting house, a political thriller was staged where Weber and Breitfuß are supposed to find and destroy evidence in old files of a past bribery attempt by the environmental city councilor running for mayor - an insider job closely monitored by eavesdroppers from several sides. Political corruption and cronyism are everyday occurrences in Austria and have accompanied them throughout their careers, the two believe. At the time of the interview, the eagerly awaited trial against ÖVP club chairman August Wöginger for favoring a party friend in a job appointment was avoided with a diversion. Dorfer: "The outcome of the Wöginger story is madness, but I believe that the population has become immune to such things."

Further Episodes of "Weber & Breitfuß"?

Dorfer & Düringer have submitted scripts for two more episodes of "Weber & Breitfuß," but do not expect them to be realized - the pressure to save money at ORF is omnipresent. "At the last meeting, the only topic was: Where can we save?", recalls Düringer. "The lack of money is something others experience with ORF as well, it's not personal, but essentially the plan has been cut down," Dorfer agrees.

Whether the two will be seen in further films at a surprise party, where their wives, who have met each other, invite their unsuspecting husbands, or as municipal building inspectors who land in the 1980s through a time travel, remains to be seen. And the prospects are bleak, believes Roland Düringer. His prognosis: "That's it."

"Weber & Breitfuß": "In the Forest" and "In Politics". Sunday, October 26, 8:15 PM and 9:00 PM, ORF 1, and each 24 hours in advance on ORF ON.

(APA/Red.)

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