The first image to appear in the film is an approximately 150-year-old cedar at the entry to Paris airport. It is this image that Wenders considered to be prophetic: “I’ve been here since the beginnings of photography, have lived through the entire history of cinema — and will outlive it, too.” With this in mind, Wenders travelled to Cannes where, without holding conventional interviews, colleagues were supposed to respond to his concerns about the future of cinema in the face of television’s superiority. By repeatedly quoting from Wenders’ sheet, Godard gives an idea of the extensive catalogue of questions. Most notably, Godard’s answers are politically explosive: “Television is produced in the name of power,” and “Hollywood dreams of making just one single film that will then be shown the world over.” Wenders wants to know if the language of film is going to die out. Godard: “There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m going to die, why shouldn’t my art die, too?” American Paul Morrissey is also sceptical: “It’s obvious that film as a language is nearly done with.” Television, it seems, is meanwhile showing more vital signs than cinema. Mike de Leon from Manila has other concerns and finds it absurd to be questioned about the future of cinema, which he claims amounts to being asked about the future of the Philippines. Monte Hellman, who did much to reinvent Westerns in the Sixties, rarely even goes to the cinema any more: he videotapes films – and then doesn’t watch them. Romain Goupil (who at the time received a prize in Cannes for Half Life) also foresees the end of classical cinema, yet considers the new technical aspects and electronic capabilities to be fantastic. Susan Seidelman claims that that cinema simply needs passion if it is to survive. It’s not cinema as such, but rather filmmakers, that will die out, Noël Simsolo explains, either because they produce rubbish or because they can’t make the films they want. Fassbinder emphasizes the difference between bombastic sensational cinema and the distinctive national cinemas of individual filmmakers. Fassbinder died only a few weeks later, presumably before Room 666 had been edited. As if to honour his deceased colleague with a visual digression and reference, Wenders cuts from Fassbinder to the cedar from the beginning of the film, then back to a focused shot of Fassbinder’s face.
Herzog is one of the few optimists here: the impact of television is not so significant and film aesthetics are still distinct, while television is just a jukebox: “Cinema is wherever life penetrates us most directly” – and for that reason, it will survive. Robert Kramer used to feel that cinema meant freedom – as opposed to the feeling of being trapped by tradition which he experienced when writing novels – but today’s “cinema art” is just like the books on the shelf. Brazilian filmmaker Ana Carolina regrets the death of auteur cinema, and Lebanese director Maroun Bagdadi makes a surprising critique: “I think that filmmakers don’t take time to live.” Steven Spielberg speaks mostly about money, complaining about backers’ greed and increased production costs. Antonioni’s statements are more exciting. Almost 70 years old at the time, he insists that cinema must accept new technical developments. ”Videotape will replace film”, he says, which serves as confirmation of when Room 666 was made: the chip has long since replaced magnetic tape as the medium for image and sound. Yilmaz Güney was forced to lie low in France at that time due to the Turkish government’s demands for extradition. He doesn’t appear before the camera but gets a chance to speak on tape. He talks most notably about the contradiction between art and capital and makes the case for a young cinema which must free itself from the rulers’ repression, yet which is sure to be punished again and again just for existing. Wenders cuts back to the cedar again: night has fallen.
Towards the end of Godard’s statement, music sounding like a modern requiem sets in and augments his melancholy. Goupil has to get rid of an unknown caller; Simsolo turns off the lights as he leaves; at the end of his statement, Fassbinder waves to the camera. Herzog is the only one to turn off the television that had played continuously in the background, then he removes his shoes and socks before giving his first response. Antonioni doesn’t sit for long in the armchair: he wanders around the room and looks out the window at the houses next door.
Room 666 is now a rarity. Many of the filmmakers in it, like Fassbinder, Antonioni, Bagdadi and Yilmaz Güney, have died. Film credits found online indicate that Wenders also questioned a range of other filmmakers, including Chantal Akerman, Paulo Rocha and Werner Schroeter. At the time, it was said that Wenders wanted to compile excerpts from his documentary film diaries to make a 90-minute piece entitled Gegenschuss (Reverse Shot).
