Das Wunder von Bern (2003)

Director:

Sönke Wortmann

Writers:

Rochus Hahn (writer)
Sönke Wortmann (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Plot:

The movie deals with the championship-winning German soccer team of 1954. Its story is linked with two...

Plot Keywords:

German Soccer | Young Boy | Soccer | House Arrest | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Louis Klamroth	...	Matthias Lubanski
Peter Lohmeyer	...	Richard Lubanski
Johanna Gastdorf	...	Christa Lubanski
Mirko Lang	...	Bruno Lubanski
Birthe Wolter	...	Ingrid Lubanski
Katharina Wackernagel	...	Annette Ackermann
Lukas Gregorowicz	...	Paul Ackermann (as Lucas Gregorowicz)
Péter Franke	...	Sepp Herberger (as Peter Franke)
Sascha Göpel	...	Helmut Rahn
Knut Hartwig	...	Fritz Walter
Holger Dexne	...	Horst Eckel
Simon Verhoeven	...	Ottmar Walter
Jo Stock	...	Toni Turek
Martin Bretschneider	...	Hans Schäfer
Christian Broos	...	Werner Kohlmeyer (Im Endspiel)

Also Known As:

The Miracle of Bern (International: English title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Swiss German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Spain:7 | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:All | UK:PG | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Beek, Duisburg, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Little Shark Entertainment GmbH

Trivia:

While the Lubanski family part of the story is completely fictional, many historic details related to soccer (letters, game results, three players stealing away from training camp, on-the-spot-reports, Adi Dassler etc.) are historical accurate.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: One of the first scenes shows the team of Rahn on a small football ground. In the background you see two cooling towers, a big funnel with the word "SHELL" in white letters and a huge white-painted crude oil tank. Apparently, the film set was in Köln-Godorf with the refinery of "Shell Deutschland GmbH" in the background. Shell Refinery was put on stream in 1960 with one cooling tower (the second was build some years later). Tank No. 7 was build in 1965. In the early-50s, crude oil tanks with more than 100,000 m3 capacity and a diameter of nearly 100m were not technical standard in Germany.

Movie Connections:

References Gladiator (2000)

Soundtrack:

Ja, so fängt es immer an

Can 120 minutes about football be interesting? Surprisingly, they really are!

Even though or rather because it has more of a family drama than of a thrilling sports movie, it achieves to entertain as well as touch the spectators for two solid hours. Actually, the family story is perfectly integrated in the circumstances of 1954's football world-cup and shows in a very sensitive way the changes that this game, especially the finals with their victory over Hungary, have on the focused family in special and on whole Germany - which is still depressed by the misery caused by the second world war - in general. Becoming - for the very first time - football's world champion gives the country back its hopes for the future and people's joy in life. Matthis' father, and with him the whole family finally finds back to themselves. This movie perfectly holds the balance between sad and joyful scenes which, together with a decent sense of humor, never lets the story drift to one side. The spectators can truly feel with the well played characters of the family members and their progress throughout the events. Finally, the movie leads into a satisfying end without getting trashy.