Anatomie (2000)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writers:

Peter Engelmann (dramaturge)
Stefan Ruzowitzky (writer)

Release Date:

3 February 2000 (Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

They can't wait to get their hands on you. Your end is only the beginning.

Plot:

Medical student Paula Henning wins a place at an exclusive Heidelberg medical school. When the body...

Plot Keywords:

Dissection | Secret Society | Medical Student | Train | Medical School

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Franka Potente	...	Paula Henning
Benno Fürmann	...	Hein
Anna Loos	...	Gretchen
Sebastian Blomberg	...	Caspar
Holger Speckhahn	...	Phil
Traugott Buhre	...	Prof. Grombek
Oliver Wnuk	...	Ludwig (as Oliver K. Wnuk)
Arndt Schwering-Sohnrey	...	David
Andreas Günther	...	Franz
Antonia Cäcilia Holfelder	...	Gabi
Rüdiger Vogler	...	Dr. Henning
Barbara M. Ahren	...	Frau Henning (as Barbara-Magdalena Ahren)
Werner Dissel	...	Paulas Großvater
Gennadi Vengerov	...	Präparator
Thomas Meinhardt	...	Professor in München

Also Known As:

Anatomy (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for terror violence/gore, some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Portugal:M/18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (nf) | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Company:

Deutsche Columbia TriStar Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The door that leads to the stainless steel morgue room in the movie actually leads to the cafeteria of Technische Universität München. The movie was screened in the big wooden lecture auditorium seen in the movie, leading to a "picture-in-picture"-effect for the audience.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paula and Gretchen see the corpse in the anatomy hall move, Gretchen suddenly disappears.

Quotes:

Prof. Grombek: [first words - as med student works over cadaver bare-handed] Gloves Kaminski, gloves. The lady's a study aid, not Sharon Stone.
student hecklers: Yeah, Kaminski instincts are very basic... They're more fun when they're alive.
Prof. Grombek: Alright, pipe down. That's enough for this group. Ever seen a drowning victim? Tomorrow's putrefaction day.
Paula Henning: Uh, professor? There seems to be some kind of anomaly in the pelvic region.
Prof. Grombek: A penis per chance? It's not an anomaly, it's that little boys are created differently than little girls. Can you tell me what it is?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Godzilla (1998)

Soundtrack:

Praise You

An entertaining, but unfulfilling, German take on the Scream/'teenhorror' genre.

Anatomie (Anatomy) is an entertaining and engaging film that falls short of delivering the discomfort that should be connected with the films subject matter. The idea of ethical ignorance in the medical science world is one that pushes the viewer towards discomfort, and the realism of the institutions ('Heidelberg') and the special effects make it a not-entirely easy film to watch.

However, the characters, the script, and the gloss of the film all seem too familiar with the Scream movies that repopularised this sort of genre. Sadly, then, whilst the subject is one to care about, the viewer is presented with another movie full of college student characters that we don't really get a chance to care about, unresolved subplots, and hammy stage-killings that have been reinventing themselves since the memorable Drew Barrymore opening scene in Scream several years back.

Steven Ruzowillzky makes a fair effort of the script and the direction, but pushes no boundaries other than the general theme. Whilst we are presented with an entertaining film with some reasonable performances, we are unfortunately left with the old feeling: nothing is wrong with this film, but nothing is extraordinary either.

An entertaining film, and an interesting chance to see how foreign filmmakers have been influenced by the post-scream 'horror' culture. 6 out of 10