User reviews

This wacky as well as raunchy spoof is packed with a lot of silly laughs and great entertainment and fun . Demystified parody based on Karl May's ¨Winnitou¨ , as well as amiable Western that changed the concept of this particular genre each bent on disproving a popular myth , yet tinged with humor , spoof and combining with anti-heroes , crazy Indians and many other things . Amusing take off on Indian movies in which a rambunctious temperance leader called Abahachi (Michael Herbig) , Chief of the Apache Indians , and his blood brother called Ranger (Christian Tramitz) maintain law and order in the Wild West . These two main characters "Abahachi" and "Ranger" who deliver their peculiar peace and justice were referred to as "Winnetou/Pierre Brice" and "Old Shatterhand/Lex Barker" in the skits of the Bullyparade . One day , Abahachi needs to take up a credit from the Shoshone Indians to finance his tribe's new Saloon . But Santa Maria (Sky Du Mont) , who sold the Saloon , doublé-crosses Abahachi , takes the money and leaves . Soon after , the Shoshones are on the warpath to get their money back , and Abahachi is forced to organize it quickly , then chaos and wreak havoc ensue . Luckily , Abahachi and Ranger go Winnetouch's home , his twin brother . There Winnetouch shows Ranger the picture of his father, (he actually shows Pierre Brice playing the title character in "The Desperado Trail" , 1965). He tells Ranger that his father could speak French fluently and nobody knows why (in fact , deceased Pierre Brice was born in France) . Then , Abahachi, his twin brother Winnetouch (Michael Herbig) , gorgeous dancer Uschi (Marie Bäumer) and the Greek Dimitri each own a quarter of a valuable map . But at a hidden cave , Santa Maria already awaits them to take their new treasure away as well . Unfortunately , he did not think about the determination of Abahachi's bunch formed by Ranger , Dimitri (Rick Kavanian) , Hombre (Hilmi Sözer whose role bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Going South's James Belushi¨) , all of them join forces to find a treasure map that leads them to 'the shoe of Manitu' .

It's an entertaining story and very amusing tale with the Farceur Michael Herbig as director and at double role . This bemusing movie is packed with tongue-in-cheek , slapdash and slapstick , a steady stream of gags , lively situations abound , sheer belly laughs , crazy humor , too much fun and to be perfect for the kiddies and adolescents . It contains simple and raunchy humor and lots of entertainment and funny scenes . The spoof is surrealist , extreme and gross-out with the ordinary bunch of loonies and loopies , but is also bold and intelligent with a myriad of imaginative sketches with no sense , many of them unabashedly tasteless . This movie basically is a big spoof of the "Winnetou" films/novels by Karl May , such as ¨The treasure of the silver lagoon¨ which are very popular in Germany , in fact the character Karl May in the tavern is a reference to him . The picture contains an unstopped string of gags each thirty seconds and silly jokes from the start to the ending with some lively touches . The comedy and humor are interminable for that reason the viewers will laugh uncontrollably with the habitual quirky and lunatic characters . The sympathetic Michael Herbig steals the show , the puts paces, grimaces , and overacting by means of excessive mimic gesticulation especially in his hilarious scenes as the Indian gay . Furthermore , it provides a sprinkling of self-parodyc situations with laughers and amusement from start to finish . The screenplay besides having more than its fair scraps of funny lines , throws up rich as well as amusing characters and it shows in the confused melange of styles and some bad taste . Lively musical score by Ralf Wengenmayr with catching songs and enjoyable musical numbers . Colorful and shimmer cinematography shot in Almeria , where in the sixties shot lots of of Spaghetti/Paella Westerns ; however , the Winnetou/Pierre Brice movies had been filmed in Yugoslavia .

This motion picture titled ¨Manitou's shoes (2001)¨, was well and originally directed by Michael Bully Herbig . It is generally considered as being the most successful German movie ever with 12 million viewers and the broadcast television premiere of this film earned German broadcaster highest rating in its history . Herbig is an expert on parody based on known characters , such as ¨Sissi¨ in ¨Lissi and ¨The Wild Emperor¨ and , of course , ¨Vickie the Viking¨ . This second feature movie he directed , became the most successful movie in Germany and Austria ever . The film will appeal to absurd , unruly , wacky comedy fans . This raucous Western spoof is a Michael Herbig vehicle , if you like his crazy, maniac performances , you'll enjoy this one . Rating : 6,5 . Acceptable comical Western film appointed for children and adolescents and , of course , for vintage series fonds . Well worth seeing .

If you are not fluent in German my summary line might not make much sense to you. It is actually a riff on something that is being said in the movie (with a twist since they say the exact opposite - "ich bin mit der Gesamtsituation unzufrieden")! But that aside and as you can tell, I really did enjoy myself rewatching this. And I remember why we were into the whole Bully making movies thing. He seems like a good guy in general, but I had some issues with some of his other movies, that didn't seem to glue as good as this one did. But that is always a personal and subjective thing - you may like everything he did and if that is the case, I sincerely can say: good for you.

But back to this and while I have bookmarked to rewatch the movies this is based on (Winnetou movies, the original trilogy that was made in Germany) and it is a nice throwback. Not all jokes are actually hitting their marks, but more than enough to make this as enteraining a spoof movie as I have seen from the best ones coming from America ... the love for the original movies is real .. and you can tell. I don't think you have to know them to enjoy this, but it doesn't hurt. You also shouldn't be too concerned about political correctness ... you may have issues while watching if you care about that.

There were some laughs, and there were a few annoying parts. I like simple humor, but if it comes in the 20kg family pack it sometimes gets boring. I cannot comprehend why this film has been such a huge success. Though, I don't regret too much having seen it. It's a 6/10.

I think this movie is great, one of the very rare funny German movies that made me laugh really hard. the accents are funny, it probably isn't that interesting in English. the gay jokes are good, but not mean, rather nice and funny!! the actors are great, the roles are too funny. even if some jokes might be a bit low, they still make you laugh like hell. simple, but great jokes make the movie so great to watch. I remember one scene, where Ranger talks to Uschi, who stands behind a mirror and you see Uschi's head and Rangers body :D great!! the names are all very fitting, you already know how the person is when you hear his name, things like "Listiger Lurch" get lost through the translation :( probably only interesting for a German speaking audience 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Like the previous reviewer, I'm vacationing on Cozumel, Mexico and caught about 3/4's of the movie on TV. We were getting ready to head out the door and ended up staying in to finish watching the movie. We thought it was hilarious. Even though it was originally filmed in German, dubbed in English, and subtitled in Spanish, the plot was quite funny and the diaglouge was translated well. This is very much in the Mel Brooks zany style of comedy. If you can find it, it's definitely worth a watch. I'd also like to see more of Michael Bully Herbig's comedies. If they are as funny as this one, I'm sure I'll enjoy them also.

It's a bizarre (and somehow sad) fact that the movie special of a German TV comedy show managed to become the most successful movie ever in Austria. All right Bully's film has a quite high budget compared to other parodies like for instance `Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and there are beautiful landscape shots. Still, `Der Schuh des Manitu' mocks cinema rather than making it.

So, I would have preferred finding this film on TV. But okay, everybody watched it in Austria, and when I finally decided to see it too, it was hard to find someone to come with me, because almost all my friends had already seen it.

Now, what is my opinion on the movie itself? I think, there is of course a lot of nonsense inside, too many gags to laugh about them all, and too much reference to the TV `Bullyparade'. But on the whole I found it very funny, really. I liked it. It was acted as usually by the well-known cast Bully, Rick Kavanian and Christian Tramitz, and I was even a little impressed by the performance of Sky Dumont who is one of those actors that everyone has seen the other day in an episode of a TV series, but little people know his name. Seeing him in a comical performance, is a great experience.

And then, of course, I could add many of the lines to my collection of (stupid) quotes that are impossible to translate, like: `Ich könnte dich zu meiner Frau nehmen.' `Was soll ich denn bei deiner Frau?' Sorry, users, as I said: it's impossible to translate

I like movies that make me feel good and surprise me.

I am a non German language savvy viewer and as such relied heavily on the sub titles. It was clear to me that the translations or humour misses the point for English speakers in some instances.

Not withstanding that, I still laughed out loud in a room full of people who were looking at me strangely.

I appreciated the humour (and who cares if I missed any of it, I will never know). I was asked by a friend to describe it and I called it a "Flying High in the desert, in the style of sauerkraut western" They understood immediately and sat down to watch the rest of it with me, laughing just as hard.

Simple comedy, good angles for the humour. I enjoyed... 9/10 for something just out there and surprising.

This was for me a warm experience overall, made me laugh at some points, but due to questionable translation and subtitle confusion(English subtitles, over them Slovenian subtitles), most word and 'punchline' jokes didn't get through to me. I got some fun out of situational comedy (like a spot where Winnetouch is giving out a scary scream seeing a skeleton and the light goes out, and he is thankful for that), the character comedy (Winnetouch/the black cowboy), and the many references to past cinematography, of which I liked most references to Sergio Leone / Clint Eastwood in a commercial-inside-a-film like fashion.

I was disappointed with the story which is neither non-existent, neither interesting, some weak 'Hotshots'-like comedy and the fact I knew I could have more fun if I'd only had paid more attention at those German classes in my school... ah well.

6/10

To appreciate the full nuances of this movie a very good grasp of German and particularly Bavarian slang is a must. Without it it's simply an average slapstick comedy and any review of it is destined to miss the mark. The movie simply lives from the German dialogue, especially the slang. I'd say watch it in English or subtitles, by all means, but don't write a review since you probably missed 50% of the real funny stuff. It'd be the same as writing a review about the German dubbed version of Romeo and Juliet. Why bother?

A wonderful comedy about Abahachi and Ranger who upon escaping from the hostile Schoschone tribe embark on a quest to find buried treasure of the Apache people. Little do they know that they are followed by the notorious Santa Maria gang but everything changes most unexpectedly when Abahachi's twin brother Winnetouch emerges. Yes, I know, this film was not just a hit, it was a smash in the German speaking part of the world. They should definitely have done it in English, only this way could it achieve a wider release and, I hope, recognition it really deserves. Down here in Russia Manitu's shoe came out in a single ( can you imagine it ) movie theatre in Moscow! No wonder, it went unnoticed. It was not until two years later that the film hit TV and we realized how much we missed. The movie became the top selling DVD overnight. I remember dropping at some video store and asking if they had Manitu's shoe, the salesman told me that this DVD was unavailable then because of an overwhelming demand. He said: Whenever we get this film, it is sold out within a couple of hours. Personally I love this film immensely. Very entertaining, with snappy writing, it pokes fun at an all too familiar genre. The cast is excellent, I enjoyed every moment of this movie and I want to see it again and again.

"Der Schuh des Manitu" may not be the best movie ever made, but it is certainly the best one to keep me sane in times like these (September 2001). It is such a feelgood movie, that no matter how foul my mood is that day, after I've seen it, I'm really uplifted. It is very easy to get addicted to this movie because the characters are so lovable, and it pays sort of hommage to one of my childhood heroes - Winnetou. The dialogues are made of phrases that we in Munich use in daily life, and Abahachi, Winnetouch and Ranger speak the same dialect as my friends and I do, so it is more like following our neighbours lives, than watching a movie, except maybe for the locations and the costumes. The camera work is splendid and the musical score is very touching. Michael Herbig has done great in writing and directing, and his unforgettable performances as the Indian twin brothers are way too good for words. A highly recommended movie if you are in need of a laugh. And stay till after the end credits, you won't regret it!

This was the worst movie I have seen in a long time and I´m watching like 200 movies a year at the local cinemas and attend various film festivals. The humor is below any level, the acting (the only exception is Sky Dumont ("Eyes Wide Shut") comparable to a local school theatre group. It´s unbelievable that 8 million Germans have seen this movie (and paid for it). Don´t see it.

The production values are OK, the cinematography, SFx, costumes, set design etc. are remarkably good (for a comedy) and the acting is OK, but personally I would rather not dwell on the fact that this was the commercially most successful German movie ever. In fact, the good visuals expose the script as rather lame -- jokes that work well in the "trashier" environment of Michael Herbig's TV show ("Bully Parade") come across as a bit lackluster (viz, not all that funny) in this feature-length movie (most of the characters and jokes have essentially been copied-and-pasted from the TV show, in case you haven't had a chance to see it).

So what about the tremendous box office success? I have a theory which sadly exposes the cinema audience as a rather unadventurous lot: the movie reaped its accolades not on account of the movie being so insanely great, but because it dependably serves the jokes from the TV show in a larger format; plus it has a low common denominator, meaning that you can take your mates, your girl friend or your nephews to see it, and at least none of them will be terribly disappointed. It's a bit like going to McDonalds, no-one would claim that the food is so exceptionally tasty there, but at least you know what you are going to get.

Overall the movie is bearable time waster if you get to see it for free on TV, nothing more -- it's like watching a Bud Spencer movie, good for a few chuckles. Foreigners: for the love of God, please don't mistake this for the "crème de la crème" of German comedy!

Bully (the director) tried very hard to make a very funny film. Sometimes with success, sometimes in vain. He did not realize to keep the quality, the amount and the frequency of the jokes on the same high level. However the film is good enough to be seen. I voted 7.

this film was fun. there was no thought required to enjoy the jokes or "hidden" jabs at people and stereotypes. a few places maybe tried a little too hard to be funny and didn't quite make it, but overall it was a good laugh and worth seeing.

Well, you shouldn't expect a good story-line or high-drama. But if you expect laughs and some movie-parodies your at home. You will notice a lot of scenes are spoofed from classics. The cast definitely had a lot of fun making the movie. The shots are great.

So to sum up the story: Abahachi borrows money from the apache. Unfortunately the son of the apache chief gets killed by Santa Maria (the villain), who also steels the money. So Ranger and Abahachi go look for a treasure map, to find a diamond, Abahachi once hid a long time ago.

The story is secondary, the emphasis on this movie is on FUN. I gave it a 9. Go see it, and wait till the end. After the credits Winnetouch has a little scene.

This is by far the best German film I have ever seen, and it is most definitely one of the funniest I've ever seen in my entire life. The comedic timing with Abahachi and Ranger were perfect, and Winnietouch added even more of a twist and even more laughs - being a gay Indian. This movie was meant to bash a German writer back in (I'm not sure) the late 1800's who wrote about the American Wild West, even though he had never been there. So of course, his stories were ridiculous and often hard to believe. "Der Schuh des Manitu" embodies everything a spoof should be, with love affairs, gay Indians, misunderstandings, random happenings, and, of course, a truly spectacular cast! I hope this encourages everyone who reads this to definitely check out this movie, because it's definitely worth it!!

Michale Bully Herbig, the director of this movie, founded a comedy show called "Bully Parade" (just for the non Germans who don't know this :-) I liked the Bully Parade...but this movie is garbage. It is filled with stupid gay jokes which would be funny for me if I would be 10 years old. I can not understand why so much people think that this is a good movie. It is absolutely cheap produced and NOT funny in any way. Sorry for my bad English but believe me that I would find better words to describe the waste of time while watching this b-movie if I would write in German. If you are from another country and you have seen this movie, please believe me: Germany has more interesting and funnier people than Michael Bully Herbig.

The main characters known from german TV (Bully Parade, SAT1) play a very funny comedy western parody. If you understand german, please watch it in our language, because in translations you wouldn't know that the Indians and Cow-Boys speak Bavarian dialect! (But understandable - don't worry!) This movie is really worth to watch and as far as I know THE best visited german made movie in cinemas!

Sorry, this is nothing but complete and utter crap. I have checked the imdb just to see if it contains this movie and now i feel embarrased that it actually does. Hopefully, no one outside Germany will ever see it. Why on earth did so many Germans find infantile jokes amusing enough to make this third rate flick one of the best-loved movies in German film history? And why didn't producer/director/actor Bully Herbig stay with what he does really well - a TV comedy series?

This movie is not meant to be intellectually stimulating or life-changing. It is meant to be quotable and overall hilarious. The story is simple: Apache and Friend in trouble, Apache has quarter of treasure map to get out of trouble, bad guy follows Apache around trying to find treasure.

Having said that, the movie is filled with little gems of comedy (see Superperforator or ice cream). It also redefines the use of a pen.

The acting in this movie is also quite good. Dimitri, Ranger, and Abahachi are a well known comedy trio who are excellent sketch comedians. As the movie is in a way a 90 minute collection of sketches with the same characters, the performances seem very natural.

I'd say it's probably the best full-out comedy to come out of Germany in some time.

I'm on vacation in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and I just happened to see about 3/4ths of this German movie "Manitou's Shoe" on the TV cable channel Platino Plus.

I've been a movie reviewer since 1971 for various radio and TV stations in the U.S. This is one of the funniest, craziest comedies EVER! If the film had been shown on the German channel in the original language, I would not have watched it. I know only about 300 words in German.

As it was shown in dubbed English, with Spanish subtitles, I was able to understand almost everything. The dubbing was accurate, animated and much better than others I've seen. I didn't even care what the original language was until I saw the credits. Regrettably, the credit crawl with some funny bloopers was in German, but by then it was time for dinner.

If you have a chance to see this film "Der Schuh des Manitu" from 2001, just forget about what the Germans know or do. This is truly "lowbrow" comedy. You'll be reminded of Mel Brooks' best comedies.

I agree that some dubbed films lose something in translation, but this one did not. Some of the Bavarian dialect was lost and ironically, this American Western parody film was actually shot in Spain.

I give this an A on Ellen's Entertainment Report card. (10/10) Ellen Kimball KGW.com, Portland, Oregon

This movie is absolutely awful. I listened to the German edition and the English edition and I can't decide which is worse. The real problem with this movie and German comedy is that they treat it too serious. As I can understand German I find German comedians to be in general quite horrible when contrasted to American, or British humor.

I guess what I dislike about this humor is that it is very cliché and predictable. For example the play on homosexuality is completely cliché and already done way too many times.

In the end I could not watch either language of the movie to the end, and that is rare for me because I like watching movies.