The Tin Drum (1979) Die Blechtrommel (original title)

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers:

Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)
Günter Grass (additional dialogue)
(more)

Release Date:

11 April 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Academy Award Winner Best Foreign Language Film 1979

Plot:

Danzig in the 1920s/1930s. Oskar Matzerath, son of a local dealer, is a most unusual boy. Equipped with...

Plot Keywords:

Danzig | Drum | Birthday | Nazi | Boy

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 14 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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)
Otto Sander	...	Musiker Meyn
Wigand Witting	...	Herbert Truczinski
Mariella Oliveri	...	Roswitha
Fritz Hakl	...	Bebra
Emil Feist	...	1.Clown
Herbert Behrendt	...	2.Clown
Karl Heinz Tittelbach	...	Felix
Charles Aznavour	...	Sigismund Markus
Marek Walczewski	...	Schugger-Leo
Ernst Jacobi	...	Löbsack
Wojciech Pszoniak	...	Fajngold
Gerda Blisse	...	Frl. Spollenhauer
Joachim Hackethal	...	Hochwürden Wiehnke
Henning Schlüter	...	Dr. Hollatz
Zygmunt Hubner	...	Dr. Michon (as Zygmunt Huebner)
Mieczyslaw Czechowicz	...	Kobyella
Bruno Thost	...	Obergefreiter Lankes
Alexander von Richthofen	...	Pvt. Herzog
Lech Grzmocinski	...	Stauer (as L. Grzmocinski)
Stanislaw Michalski	...	1.Gendarme (as S. Michalski)
J. Kapinski	...	2.Gendarme
Dietrich Frauboes	...	Oberartz - Medical Chief
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Horst Gentzen	...	Felix (voice) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Reinhard Kolldehoff	...	Eel Catcher (voice) (uncredited)
Günter Meisner	...	Gesundheitspolizist (uncredited)
Beata Pozniak	...	Extra (uncredited)
Lutz Riedel	...	Soldier (voice) (uncredited)
Raphaël Vogt	...	Peter (uncredited)
Herbert Weissbach	...	Fajngold (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Volker Schlöndorff

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean-Claude Carrière		writer
Günter Grass		additional dialogue
Günter Grass		novel
Volker Schlöndorff		writer
Franz Seitz		writer

Produced by
Eberhard Junkersdorf	....	executive producer
Hans Prescher	....	producer: HR
Franz Seitz	....	producer
Anatole Dauman	....	producer (uncredited)
Volker Schlöndorff	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Maurice Jarre

Cinematography by
Igor Luther

Film Editing by
Suzanne Baron

Production Design by
Piotr Dudzinski
Zeljko Senecic

Art Direction by
Nicos Perakis

Set Decoration by
Marijan Marcius		(as Marijan Marcijus)
Edouard Pezzoli
Paul Weber

Costume Design by
Inge Heer
Dagmar Niefind
Yoshio Yabara		(as Yoshy Yabara)

Makeup Department
Rino Carboni	....	makeup artist
Albina Mackic	....	makeup artist
Vitaliana Patacca	....	hair stylist (as Vitaliana Potacka)
Ingeborg Thiess	....	hair stylist
Alfredo Tiberi	....	makeup artist
Teresa Tomaszewska	....	makeup artist
Ruzica Vidmar	....	key makeup artist (as Ruza Vidmar)

Production Management
Dominik Baltic	....	unit manager
Donko Buljan	....	production manager
Emir Cejvan	....	production manager
André Heinrich	....	production manager
Siegfried Hofbauer	....	production manager
Herbert Kerz	....	production manager
Czeslaw Klak	....	unit manager
Urszula Orczykowska	....	production manager
Marko Vrdoljak	....	production manager
Emir Vrodoljak	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolfgang Krake	....	assistant director
Branko Lustig	....	assistant director
Richard Malbequi	....	assistant director
Andrzej Reiter	....	assistant director
Alexander von Richthofen	....	assistant director

Art Department
Dominique Antony	....	set constructor
Pierre Audouard	....	props
Ivo Baltic	....	props
Franz Bauer	....	props
Ewa Kowalska	....	set constructor
Tadeusz Kunikowski	....	props
Christian Lenz	....	props
Bernd Lepel	....	set designer
Boleslaw Miziolek	....	props
Barbara Nowak	....	set designer
Stanislaw Nowak	....	painter
Tihomir Piletic	....	set designer
Thomas Schulz	....	props
Bogdan Serwa	....	painter
Ivo Stjejan	....	props

Sound Department
Peter Beil	....	sound
Walter Grundauer	....	sound
Peter Kellerhals	....	sound (as Walter Kellerhals)
Hans-Dieter Schwarz	....	sound mixer (as Hans Dieter Schwarz)

Special Effects by
Georges Iaconelli	....	pyrotechnician (as Georges Jaconelli)
Josif Karovski	....	weapons
Krzysztof Szwed	....	pyrotechnician
Nikola Vujasinovic	....	pyrotechnician

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Arnold	....	assistant camera
Slawomir Baranski	....	gaffer
Pero Bernakovic	....	electrician
Andrzej Biskupski	....	still photographer
Zvonko Blaskovic	....	gaffer
Karl Dillitzer	....	lighting technician
Antun Gorisek	....	grip
Ulla Hübner	....	still photographer
Stanislav Jesih	....	lighting technician
Eugeniusz Kapelak	....	electrician
Vlado Loncaric	....	gaffer
Stanislaw Piech	....	lighting technician
Drago Poldrugac	....	gaffer
Karl Reiter	....	still photographer
Peter Seitz	....	still photographer
Nikolaus Starkmeth	....	assistant camera
Paul Weber	....	lighting technician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Krystyna Bartosik	....	wardrobe
Anica Cerovac	....	wardrobe
Marko Cerovac	....	costumer
Zofia Jedrzejczak	....	wardrobe
Renée Miquel	....	wardrobe
Elzbieta Radke	....	costumer
Franjo Simek	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Helga Kusterka	....	assistant editor
Agape von Dorstewitz	....	assistant editor (as Agape Dorstewitz)
Barbara von Weitershausen	....	assistant editor (as Barbara v. Weitershausen)

Music Department
Lothar Brühne	....	composer: song "Kann Denn Liebe Sünde Sein?" (uncredited)
Maurice Jarre	....	conductor (uncredited)
Jan Latham-Koenig	....	musician: piano (uncredited)
Carl Loubé	....	orchestra (uncredited)
Sidney Sax	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Eric Tomlinson	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Other crew
Andrzej Dojnik	....	production assistant
Ute Ehmke	....	location manager
Paulette Hufnagel	....	production administrator
Ingrid Höller	....	production secretary
Louis Mayr	....	location manager
Jean Claude Mouliére	....	location manager
Franjo Proscan	....	production secretary
Lilo Schick	....	script supervisor
Gabriele Seitz	....	press relations
Amelia Statkiewicz	....	production administrator
Ivan Steiger	....	toys provided by
Günther M. Stocklöv	....	location manager (as Günter Stocklöv)
Zygmunt Wójcik	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Argos Films
• Artémis Productions
• Bioskop Film
• Film Polski Film Agency
• Franz Seitz Filmproduktion
• GGB-14
• Hallelujah Films
• Jadran Film

Distributors

• Argos Films (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1979) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1979) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (198?) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Atlantic Film (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2013) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2001) (Germany) (DVD) ('Arthaus' label)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2007) (Germany) (DVD) ('Arthaus Collection' label)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• New World Pictures (1980) (USA) (subtitled)
• Solopan (2010) (Poland) (all media)
• Spectra Nova (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• National Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra

Also Known As:

"Die Blechtrommel" - West Germany (original title)

Runtime:

142 min | Germany:162 min (director's cut)

Country:

West Germany | France | Poland | Yugoslavia

Language:

Hebrew | Italian | German | Polish | Russian

Color:

Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

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) | Singapore:R21 | Australia:R | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating: 2007) | Canada:(Banned) (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

CCC-Atelier, Spandau, Berlin, Germany

Company:

Argos Films

Trivia:

Acclaimed Polish-British actress Beata Pozniak made her movie debut as an extra when scenes were shot right outside her home.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Agnes eats eels, a brown bottle is not visible in one cut, even though other nearby objects on the table can be seen. In the same series of cuts, the position of her empty glass and Alfred's beer glass also change.

Quotes:

Vendor:Look, if you please, at this extraordinary potato... this swelling, luxuriant flesh, forever conceiving new shapes... and yet so chaste. I love a potato, because it speaks to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Banned in Oklahoma (2004) (V)

Strangely Beautiful

"That day, thinking about the grown-up world and my own future, I decided to call a halt. To stop growing then and there and remain a three-year-old, a gnome, once and for all"

Goodness, what a marvel this film is! It is certainly the greatest film from Germany that I have seen yet. Winner of the 1979 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, "The Tin Drum" follows the life of a boy named Oskar. After seeing how ludicrous adults act, Oskar decides to stop his growth, and stay three years old forever by falling down the stairs. He succeeds, and the fall has stopped his growth. Aside from the hault of growth, the fall eqips him with two special powers that he regularly manifests. The lesser of these two powers, is repeatedly pounding his tin drum, which he absolutely refuses to let go of. Oskar's undeniable power is to let out a high pitched shriek that will shatter any glass he directs it at. Does it sound strange? Well, the film is much stranger, but also much more beautiful than my description.

The film follows our little Oscar over a period of around two decades, through World War II in Germany. We follow Oskar through his many sexual, emotional, tragic, funny, and beautiful exploits. An absolutely important credit must be given to actor David Bennett, who plays young Oskar. He portrays Oskar as an infant, as a three year-old, as a six year-old, as a twelve year-old, as a 16 year-old, as a 21 year-old...well, you get the picture. Bennett was only 11 at the time, and his performance is very impressive.

I haven't seen very many German films from the last thirty years, but most of the ones I have seen (the excellent "Vanishing," and the immensely mediocre "White Rose") haven't had very good scores. "The Tin Drum" has a very slight, but very servicable, score by the famous Maurice Jarre. The score has an emotional theme played in only a few scenes (notably, the ending), it also has an innocent little music box theme, and surprisingly a cool waltz for scenes involving members of the circus (a big part of the second-half of the film). A very good score. To my knowledge, it was released on LP when the film was released, and on a CD pressed in Japan sometime in the 90's. I read that the (sadly out of print) Kino DVD includes the isolated score as an extra.

It's an excellent film that I strongly connected with, but I can see many people not liking it, it is VERY strange, but I am somebody who has always found VERY strange things extremely beautiful, and "The Tin Drum" is no exception. Over-all, I consider this film a classic, and I'll once again state that it is certainly the greatest film from Germany that I have seen yet.