Comedian Harmonists (1997)

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writers:

Jürgen Büscher (story)
Klaus Richter (writer)

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Music

Tagline:

Eine Legende kehrt zurück.

Plot:

Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists"...

Plot Keywords:

Piano | Germany | Nazi | German | Jewish

Awards:

11 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ben Becker	...	Robert Biberti
Heino Ferch	...	Roman Cycowski
Ulrich Noethen	...	Harry Frommermann
Heinrich Schafmeister	...	Erich A. Collin
Max Tidof	...	Ari Leschnikoff
Kai Wiesinger	...	Erwin Bootz
Meret Becker	...	Erna Eggstein
Katja Riemann	...	Mary Cycowski
Noemi Fischer	...	Chantal, Collin's Girlfriend
Dana Vávrová	...	Ursula Bootz
Otto Sander	...	Bruno Levy
Michaela Rosen	...	Ramona, the Madame
Günter Lamprecht	...	Eric Charell
Gérard Semaan	...	Roman's Father
Rolf Hoppe	...	Gauleiter Streicher

Also Known As:

The Harmonists (Canada: English title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for some nudity.

Runtime:

Germany:126 min | USA:115 min

Country:

Germany | Austria

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-8 | France:U | Germany:6 (f) (bw) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bad Fischau, Lower Austria, Austria

Company:

Bavaria Film

Trivia:

In this film, Heino Ferch and Ulrich Noethen play Jews who are persecuted by the Nazi Regime. In Der Untergang (2004), Ferch played Albert Speer and Noethen played Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The USS Saratoga is actually the USS Intrepid.

Quotes:

[the group has just been informed that, effective after that night's show, they are banned from performing in Germany. Roman undoes his collar, refusing to go on]
Roman Cycowski: No power on Earth can force me to sing in this country again.
Harry Frommermann: Roman, please.
[the audience begins clapping for the group to come out on stage]
Harry Frommermann: Don't you hear that? Those are our fans. At least for tonight. Do you guys understand? Our fans.

Movie Connections:

References Der blaue Engel (1930)

movie review

Comedian Harmonists

The Comedian Harmonists was a wonderful film that I would recommend to anyone who doesn't mind watching a foreign film. This is a true story about a German musical group of six men. They are a comical group that based their style on a popular American group, the Revelers. The Comedian Harmonists gained their fame and popularity during the time when Hitler came into power. These men were loved by all even the Nazi soldiers, but ironically three of the six men happened to be Jewish. And just like the rest of the Jewish of people during Hitler's rule, they were not able to continue to lead their normal lives, celebrities or not. You see spectacular scenes in this film were the group performs and you get good examples of the harsh treatment of the Jews by the Nazi. There is a love triangle with in the group that brings out a steady stream of character development. This with the racial segregation makes all of the character come to term with their futures. There was a wonderful performance by the entire cast; I could not imagine any other actors or actress for the roles. The lighting and sound of the movie was good, with great shots to go with them. Overall this is a wonderful film.