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Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
23 March 2006 (Germany) moreTagline:
Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's Secret Police Listened to Your SecretsPlot:
In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won Oscar. Another 59 wins & 21 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: March 8, 2009 (From Screen Rant. 8 March 2009, 11:01 AM, PDT)
Director Von Donnersmarck Ends Hiatus With Cruise Film
(From WENN. 5 March 2009, 8:15 AM, PST)
User Comments:
A wonderful film that deserves a wide audience moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Martina Gedeck | ... | Christa-Maria Sieland | |
| Ulrich Mühe | ... | Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler | |
| Sebastian Koch | ... | Georg Dreyman | |
| Ulrich Tukur | ... | Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz | |
| Thomas Thieme | ... | Minister Bruno Hempf | |
| Hans-Uwe Bauer | ... | Paul Hauser | |
| Volkmar Kleinert | ... | Albert Jerska | |
| Matthias Brenner | ... | Karl Wallner | |
| Charly Hübner | ... | Udo | |
| Herbert Knaup | ... | Gregor Hessenstein | |
| Bastian Trost | ... | Häftling 227 | |
| Marie Gruber | ... | Frau Meineke | |
| Volker Michalowski | ... | Schriftexperte (as Zack Volker Michalowski) | |
| Werner Daehn | ... | Einsatzleiter in Uniform | |
| Martin Brambach | ... | Einsatzleiter Meyer |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
The Lives of Others (UK) (USA)Das Leben der Anderen - Die Sonate vom guten Menschen (Germany) (working title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
137 minCountry:
GermanyLanguage:
GermanColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Dolby DigitalCertification:
Germany:12 | Czech Republic:12 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Singapore:M18 | Hong Kong:IIB | France:Unrated | Australia:MA | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Italy:T | South Korea:15 | Malaysia:U | Spain:7 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:M | India:A | Norway:11Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The German DVD of this film was recalled due to some statements director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck made in his audio commentary about the alleged activities of politician Gregor Gysi and actress Jenny Gröllmann as in-official agents (IM) for the "Staatssicherheit" (secret police of former East Germany). New and old revisions of the DVD can be distinguished by a marking on the back spine (old retail/rental: Z4/Z4R, new retail/rental: Z4A/Z4S). moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Dreyman is playing the sonata that Jerska gave him, he looks only at his fingers, and never at the music that's on the stand, even though he's playing it for the first time. moreQuotes:
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: An innocent prisoner will become more angry by the hour due to the injustice suffered. He will shout and rage. A guilty prisoner becomes more calm and quiet. Or he cries. He knows he's there for a reason. The best way to establish guilt or innocence is non-stop interrogation. moreMovie Connections:
Referenced in "Yperoha plasmata: Tis Aristeras kai tis Proodou... (#1.18)" (2008) moreFAQ
I do not understand the "telephone joke" that Grubitz tells in the MfS cafeteriaIs this movie based on a novel?
How does Dreyman know when he sees the red thumb print on his file that Wiesler saved him?
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I saw this film in its North American premiere in a packed theater at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival this past week and was pleased to be part of a standing ovation at the end for the director and star, who were both on hand.
"The Lives of Others," set in East Germany not long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, tells the moving story of a police investigator forced to confront himself and the work he does. In a society poisoned by secrecy, fear and the abuse of power, a number of the movie's characters -- artists, actors, writers -- must look deep inside and decide what they are made of; none more so than the investigator.
This is a movie that took me to a place and time that felt very authentic, for a tale that was very satisfying.
Ulrich Muhe, who plays the investigator, is mesmerizing, and the young director is to be applauded for this, his first full-length film. Some have compared "The Lives of Others" to Coppola's "The Conversation" but the two have completely different story arcs and are only superficially similar.
Both my companion and I felt this was our favorite of the six films we had a chance to see at the festival.