Until the End of the World

Until the End of the World
Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	1991
Founder	Wim Wenders
Products	Science fiction drama film

Until the End of the World (; ) is a 1991 grand-scale science fiction drama helmed by director Wim Wenders. Set against the backdrop of an impending global crisis near the turn of the millennium, it chronicles the journey of a man and woman, portrayed by William Hurt and Solveig Dommartin, who find themselves pursued across the globe in connection with a device capable of recording visual experiences and projecting dreams.

The screenplay was crafted by Wenders and Peter Carey, originating from a story developed by Wenders and Dommartin, with an initial draft contributed by Michael Almereyda. Renowned for his work in road movies, Wenders envisioned this film as his definitive statement within that genre.

The movie was distributed in several versions, with runtimes varying between 158 and 287 minutes.

Act 1

In the year 1999, widespread alarm erupts when an Indian nuclear satellite begins an uncontrolled descent toward Earth. Claire Tourneur, journeying through Europe to cope with her boyfriend Eugene’s infidelity, remains largely unaffected by the impending disaster despite experiencing persistent nightmares. Caught in a traffic jam near Southern France—an anticipated impact site—she diverts her route and encounters two bank robbers who enlist her help in transporting stolen money to Paris in exchange for a share.

During her escape, Claire meets Trevor McPhee and permits him to accompany her as they flee from an armed pursuer named Burt. After separating in Paris, Claire discovers that Trevor has taken some of the cash. When Burt chases her to Berlin, Claire hires detective Phillip Winter to track down Trevor, uncovering that Trevor is actually Sam Farber, wanted for stealing an opal from an Australian mining operation and implicated in industrial espionage related to a stolen camera developed in Palo Alto.

Winter handcuffs Sam to Claire, but Sam manages to escape after seducing Claire and overpowering Winter. Following them relentlessly, Winter brings Claire to Moscow where Eugene joins their group. A local bounty hunter reveals Sam’s real identity and the substantial reward on his head. Disillusioned, Winter withdraws; Eugene purchases a tracking device for Claire. Encountering Burt again, Claire learns more about Sam’s theft involving the camera.

Sam boards the Trans-Siberian Railway headed toward Beijing; Claire follows but loses him during months spent traveling through China. She contacts Eugene, who urges her to meet him in Tokyo. There, they discover Winter imprisoned during an ambush orchestrated by bounty hunters tipped off by Moscow informants. Claire escapes captivity and reunites with Sam, whose vision is deteriorating, at a pachinko parlor.

They proceed to a mountain lodge where local herbs restore Sam’s eyesight. He reveals that the stolen prototype camera was invented by his father Henry; it records brain signals enabling blind individuals—including his mother Edith—to perceive images. Although taxing on his eyes, Sam has been capturing recordings of significant locations worldwide for his blind mother.

Their next stop is San Francisco. After being robbed there, Claire contacts Chico, one of the French bank robbers, for financial support. Sam struggles while recording footage of his sister and niece; Claire takes over and succeeds. With their recordings complete, they board a ship bound for Australia to visit Sam’s parents.

Act 2

Eugene and Winter travel to Coober Pedy, Australia, searching for Claire and Sam after losing track of them in Tokyo. Winter deduces Sam’s path based on his alias Trevor McPhee, connected to opal theft in that region. Claire’s use of a credit card triggers a nearby video call alerting Eugene to Sam’s presence. Following a brief confrontation and arrest, Winter arranges their release on bail. Burt arrives seeking Sam and the camera but is subdued by Chico. The following day, Sam escapes with Claire to a secluded compound where his father has established a hidden laboratory; the others follow using a tracker concealed in Claire’s belongings.

Mid-flight, the U.S. government destroys the satellite, generating a nuclear electromagnetic pulse that disables unprotected electronics and wipes memory devices. The plane’s engine fails forcing an emergency landing in the desert. They are rescued by David, a friend of Sam’s, who brings Eugene, Winter, and Chico to the cave-hidden lab. Burt arrives later; the group awaits restoration of communications. Eugene begins rewriting his erased novel about Claire on an antique typewriter.

Henry’s technology requires that recorded images be viewed under laboratory conditions before being transmitted directly into another person’s brain. Initially fatigued, Sam fails at this process causing tension with Henry. Claire successfully transmits her recording of Sam’s sister; subsequently, Sam achieves success as well. Edith initially rejoices at "seeing" again but falls into despair due to distorted images and quietly passes away on New Year's Eve after intercepting a reassuring radio broadcast confirming civilization's survival.

Following Edith's funeral, Winter, Chico, and Burt depart. Henry continues pursuing dream-recording technology despite opposition from assisting Aboriginal Australians, who eventually abandon him. Experiments involving himself, Sam, and Claire lead to dependency on portable dream viewers. Eugene rescues a catatonic Claire by enforcing withdrawal through withholding screen batteries. He completes his novel portraying her recovery; its "truth" helps cure her "image sickness." After wandering off, Sam is healed through an Aboriginal ritual while Henry is apprehended by the CIA during dream experiments.

Eugene and Claire end their romantic relationship but maintain friendship. Henry dies in 2001; Sam visits his grave site. In San Francisco, Sam catches sight of his estranged wife and son, accepting their permanent separation. On Claire's 30th birthday, Eugene’s published book prompts calls from him, Winter, and the French bank robbers while Claire serves as an ecological observer aboard a space station.

Cast

Solveig Dommartin portrays Claire Tourneur
Chick Ortega appears as Chico Rémy
Eddy Mitchell plays Raymond Monnet
William Hurt is Sam Farber, also known as Trevor McPhee
Adelle Lutz takes on the role of Makiko
Ernie Dingo acts as Burt
Sam Neill features as Eugene Fitzpatrick
Rüdiger Vogler embodies Philip Winter
Elena Smirnova appears as Krasikova
Kuniko Miyake plays Mrs. Mori
Chishū Ryū is cast as Mr. Mori
Allen Garfield portrays a Used-Car Dealer
Lois Chiles appears as Elsa Farber
David Gulpilil acts as David
Jeanne Moreau takes the role of Edith Farber
Jimmy Little plays Peter
Max von Sydow appears as Henry Farber

Production

The inception of the film began in late 1977 when Wenders visited Australia for the first time, captivated by the region’s suitability for a science fiction narrative. Following the commercial triumphs of Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire, he was able to secure financing for this ambitious endeavor.

With a budget totaling $22 million—more than six times his earlier projects—$3.7 million came from the Australian Film Finance Corporation. Principal filming extended over 22 weeks across 11 nations, with substantial portions shot in and around Alice Springs, Northern Territory, highlighting Wenders’ enduring fascination with the Australian Outback.

Dream sequences incorporated pioneering use of high-definition video, developed through collaboration with engineers at NHK. These technicians dedicated six weeks to creating deliberately altered visual effects by manipulating playback speeds.

The musical score and theme were composed by Graeme Revell, while Wenders commissioned original songs from preferred musicians, instructing them to craft music that envisioned sounds a decade into the future, complementing the film’s futuristic ambiance. This comprehensive soundtrack contributed to the movie’s extended length.

Reception

The theatrical release of Until the End of the World—significantly shortened—was met with critical and financial disappointment. Warner Bros. launched it in December 1991 across only four U.S. screens, earning less than $830,000. In January 1992, Roger Ebert rated it 2 out of 4 stars, criticizing its absence of "narrative urgency" and describing it as a film "photographed before it was written, and edited before it was completed." He suggested that a documentary about its making might have been more compelling.

Subsequent reviews, particularly following Wenders’ director’s cut release, were notably more positive. The film currently holds an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 18 reviews.

Versions

The original edit reportedly spanned 20 hours. Contractual obligations required Wenders to deliver a conventional feature-length version, resulting in American and European cuts lasting 158 and 179 minutes respectively—versions he referred to as the "Reader's Digest" editions. Concurrently, Wenders and editor Peter Przygodda covertly produced a full negative copy at their own cost and assembled a five-hour version that was shown intermittently over the next decade. This was later issued as a 280-minute trilogy.

Other editions include a 239-minute letterboxed Japanese laserdisc and several unauthorized fan edits that combine various cuts.

In 2014, the Wim Wenders Foundation commissioned a 4K digital restoration of the 287-minute director’s cut from the original Super 35mm negative. Under the supervision of Wenders and his wife Donata, ARRI Film & TV Services Berlin carried out the restoration with CNC support. This restored edition premiered in U.S. art house cinemas during fall 2015 as part of a retrospective tour by Janus Films. Presented in two segments with an intermission at two hours and eleven minutes, it made its U.S. television debut on Turner Classic Movies in July 2017.

In September 2019, The Criterion Collection announced a special-edition Blu-ray and DVD release of this restored director’s cut, which became available on December 10, 2019.

Soundtrack

The album Until The End of the World: Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack was issued on 10 December 1991, showcasing songs by notable musicians including Talking Heads, Lou Reed, R.E.M., Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Depeche Mode, and U2. This collection features compositions by Graeme Revell alongside performances from artists such as Patti Smith and the collaboration between Jane Siberry and k.d. lang.

Several other tracks featured within the film, yet absent from the official soundtrack release, include pieces by Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, the Australian group Gondwanaland (Australian band), and Chubby Checker. A distinctive version of Peter Gabriel's "Blood of Eden" is presented exclusively in the movie.

German filmmaker Uli M Schueppel created a documentary focusing on the recording process of "(I'll Love You) Till The End of the World" by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. Originally titled The Song and released in 1990, this documentary was reissued in 2004.

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