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Poster for Hell on Wheels

Hell on Wheels

2004 · 123 min

An intimate, grueling ride alongside cyclists, blending stunning landscapes with raw exhaustion and camaraderie.

Directed by
Werner Swiss Schweizer, Pepe Danquart
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Andreas Klöden
Overview
Year after year hundreds of thousands of fans line the route of the Tour de France, cheering on their heroes and willing them to victory, while millions of viewers worldwide tune in on their televisions. Academy Award-winning director Pepe Danquart, fascinated by the spectacle of the three week race, chose to focus on the courage, the pain and the fear of the riders of the Tour. Training his lens on German superstar sprinter Eric Zabel and his loyal domestique Rolf Aldag, Danquart captures the thrill of the race and the teamwork behind the stars of the peleton. He also shines light on the Tour's supporting cast - the director sportifs, masseurs, and, of course, the wildly enthusiastic fans. Reveling in the stunning landscape - from the Alps to the Pyrenees to the Massif Central to Paris - and with a nice dollop of Le Tour's history, HELL ON WHEELS transcends the sport it celebrates to reveal an astonishing human endeavor.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Werner Swiss Schweizer, Pepe Danquart
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Andreas Klöden
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • earneststrength 3 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • sport
  • friendship
  • survival
  • work
  • media
Places
  • countryside
  • road trip
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
  • documentary
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action5
Horror0
Humour3
Realism10
Romance0
Tension6
Darkness3
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
documentary
Directed by
Werner Swiss Schweizer, Pepe Danquart
Written by
Pepe Danquart
Starring
Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag, Andreas Klöden, Steve Zampieri, Dieter Ruthenberg, Mario Kummer, Serge Laget
Music
Josef Bach, Till Brönner
Cinematography
Wolfgang Thaler, Michael Hammon
Runtime
123 min
Country
Germany, France, Switzerland
Languages
English, French, German

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