IMDb > Die Blechtrommel (1979)
Die Blechtrommel
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Die Blechtrommel (1979) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   7,353 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)
Günter Grass (additional dialogue)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Tin Drum on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 April 1980 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | History | War more
Tagline:
Academy Award Winner Best Foreign Language Film 1979 more
Plot:
Danzig in the 1920s/1930s. Oskar Matzerath, son of a local dealer, is a most unusual boy. Equipped with... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Prolific Film Composer Jarre Dead At 84
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 30 March 2009, 2:34 AM, PDT)

Potente is the 'Pope'
 (From ioncinema. 6 October 2006)

User Comments:
Beautifully disturbing more (61 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Mario Adorf ... Alfred Matzerath
Angela Winkler ... Agnes Matzerath
David Bennent ... Oskar Matzerath
Katharina Thalbach ... Maria Matzerath
Daniel Olbrychski ... Jan Bronski
Tina Engel ... Anna Koljaiczek (jung)
Berta Drews ... Anna Koljaiczek
Roland Teubner ... Joseph Koljaiczek
Tadeusz Kunikowski ... Onkel Vinzenz
Andréa Ferréol ... Lina Greff (as Andréa Ferreol)
Heinz Bennent ... Greff
Ilse Pagé ... Gretchen Scheffler
Werner Rehm ... Scheffler
Käte Jaenicke ... Mutter Truczinski
Helmut Brasch ... Der Alte Heilandt (as Helmuth Brasch)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Tin Drum (UK) (USA)
Blaszany bebenek (Poland)
Le tambour (France)
Limeni dobos (Yugoslavia: Serbian title)
more
Runtime:
142 min
Color:
Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Singapore:R21 | Australia:R | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating: 2007) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (re-rating) (1994) (cut) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2003) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | West Germany:16 (bw)
Company:
Argos Films more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Acclaimed Polish-British actress Beata Pozniak made her movie debut as an extra when scenes were shot right outside her home. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Oskar breaks the teacher's glasses, the pattern of spots on his face change. more
Quotes:
Agnes Matzerath: Don't expect me to touch your eels.
Alfred Matzerath: Don't put on airs.
Agnes Matzerath: I'll never eat fish again. Certainly not eels.
Alfred Matzerath: You've always eaten them, and you knew where they came from!
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Zomergasten: (#10.3)" (1997) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Beautifully disturbing, 15 July 2006
8/10
Author: ARossMartin from Palm Springs

It's been a while since I've seen this German film but I am still struck by key images in the film and the overall tone set forth casually against a backdrop of the chaos of Nazi Germany's rise and fall.

I do wonder how much of my love for this film is owed to the Gunter Grass novel on which it's based It's a quirky slab of magic realism to be sure, like the film, but I have no idea how closely it hews to the original.

The performances are nuanced and striking in places. The cinematography is appropriately dreary and the editing crisp and unadorned. The centerpiece though, is the performance by the child actor at the core of the film. How much is owed to his voice-over narrative, I don't know, but the man growing inside of the still-grown little boy was handled just beautifully.

It's a disturbing and strangely uplifting movie at once. I recommend it -- especially for those who have seen only black and white view of World War II and the typically American view of our adversaries in German.

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