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Der Schuh des Manitu

Der Schuh des Manitu

Movie · 2001 · 15 people

Michael Herbig took the Winnetou sketches from his television show Bullyparade to the big screen in Der Schuh des Manitu, a 2001 German Western parody that he directed. The result is an absurd comedy about a treasure hunt, a blood-brother friendship and Wild West cliches. Released on 13 July 2001, it drew about 11.7 million cinema-goers and earned roughly 65 million euros, one of the most successful German films since the Second World War.

At the centre are the Apache chief Abahachi and his cowboy blood brother Ranger. To open the saloon they dream of, they seek help from the Shoshone chief, but the betrayal of Santa Maria, the man they buy it from, drags them into a large conspiracy. The Shoshone want revenge, and the pair try to put things right despite comic mishaps. Herbig plays Abahachi and Christian Tramitz plays Ranger, with Sky du Mont as Santa Maria, Marie Bäumer as Uschi, and Rick Kavanian and Hilmi Sözer in the cast.

Herbig directed and produced the film and wrote it with Rick Kavanian and Alfons Biedermann. It spoofs the Karl May adaptations of the 1960s, notably the Winnetou films with Pierre Brice and Lex Barker. The running time is 82 minutes. A sequel, Das Kanu des Manitu, opened on 14 August 2025.

DirectorMichael Herbig
Production companyConstantin Film

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Cast

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Hilmi Sözer Hilmi Sözer Actor · 56 years old Michael Herbig Christian Tramitz Sky du Mont Marie Bäumer Rick Kavanian Irshad Panjatan Tim Wilde Robinson Reichel Natalia Avelon Friedrich Schoenfelder Alexander Held Siegfried Terpoorten Oliver Wnuk Diana Herold

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Michael Herbig shows both the advantages and the traps of turning a TV sketch into a feature at once. The advantage is that the target of the parody, the Karl May adaptations of the 1960s, is clearly chosen. The trap is that sketch logic starts repeating itself over a longer narrative: the jokes often work scene by scene, but the story linking them, a treasure hunt and a conspiracy, stays more of a vehicle for the gags. Humour that pushes Western clichés into the absurd gives more to those who know the genre. Reaching about 11.7 million cinema-goers shows how strongly this local humour landed at home; an outside viewer may not get the same mileage from it.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

The comic mishaps of an Apache chief and his cowboy blood brother are played with absurd humour. Teenagers and adults may well laugh. But the jokes come from a TV sketch show, and some may not suit small children. Have the grown-ups take a look first, then decide whether to watch it with the kids. Older family members who know the old Winnetou films will be the ones who best get what is being spoofed.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film looks at the Karl May adaptations of the 1960s, especially the Winnetou films with Pierre Brice and Lex Barker, through parody. It is an interesting case of a society laughing at its own pop-culture heritage: the Wild West romanticism of the sixties becomes absurd comedy in 2001. That it ranks among the most successful German films since the war suggests the shared memory it targets is still alive; people can only laugh together this widely at something they know well. Even so, building its Native American characters out of a string of clichés invites a more critical reading today.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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