Anatomie (2000)

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 models used in the film were inspired by Dr. Gunther von Hagens popular exhibition "Body Works" in which real cadavers are plasticized after being dissected. One character even mentions this process when we see the hall for the first time at the beginning of the film, but no real cadavers were used as the director thought it "too macabre". The models were created by a team headed by Joachim Grüninger and Birger Laube. The models were so accurate and detailed that the film's medical advisers thought they could be used as actual teaching specimens.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Paula goes to the police to report the AAA, she cannot provide David's last name. Right in the previous scene with Hein at the library, he mentions that "she should stop investigating the death of her friend, David Rolof".

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 Style Wars (1983)

Soundtrack:

A Go Go

Gruesome shocker exploits audience's worst medical fears

ANATOMY (Anatomie)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / SDDS

A brilliant med student (Franka Potente) is pitched into a conspiracy at Heidelberg University, where a secret fraternity of medical deviates practice dissection on living subjects...

Stefan Ruzowitzky's superior thriller - the debut feature of Columbia Pictures' European production arm - derives inspiration from similarly-styled US shockers of the period (SCREAM, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, etc.), and exploits the audience's worst fears about invasive medical procedures. Beautifully photographed by STALINGRAD's Peter von Haller, the film contrasts picture-postcard Heidelberg with the silver-grey starkness of the anatomy rooms where German superstar Potente struggles to disentangle herself from an ancient conspiracy of horror. Second-billed Benno Fürmann (THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR) - the film's 'token' beefcake - emerges as a key player around the movie's halfway mark, beginning with a nerve-shredding set-piece recalling the potato truck sequence in Hitchcock's FRENZY (1972). In a happy turnabout from standard practice, all the nudity in the film is male-oriented, including what Ruzowitzky has described as Fürmann's "famous butt shot"!! Who says modern horror movies aren't camp? Great fun, and followed by ANATOMY 2 (2003).

(German dialogue)