German film journos are threatening to boycott what is arguably the year's most anticipated local release, Constantin's terrorist drama "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex," which chronicles the rise and fall of West Germany's notorious Red Army Faction.

The saber-, or rather, pen-rattling began with a special Aug. 14 press screening of the uncompleted film for influential daily newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Constantin says an early screening was organized at the request of the Sueddeutsche, which was working on a feature story about star Martina Gedeck.

But the arrangement came with what many journos deemed Draconian conditions, including punitive fines of up to $150,000 for breaking a review embargo of Sept. 17 and of film-related interviews until Sept. 12. The pic hits theaters Sept. 25.

Constantin says the screening was a courtesy and the terms far from onerous. "The contract ensures adherence to the mutually agreed publication date," spokeswoman Bettina Bartl says. "Anything else would be unfair to other journalists and media who have to wait to see the film after completion."

But the Sueddeutsche rejected what it deemed a "gag order," and says it will now neither review nor write about the Bernd Eichinger production, directed by Uli Edel. The German Assn. of Journalists (DJV) also advised its members to boycott the pic.

Bartl plays down the DJV's call for a boycott : "That may sound noble, but it misses the point."

Such conditions, she adds, "are not out of the ordinary. ... To describe it as a restriction of press freedom is absurd."