IMDb >
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsDas Leben der Anderen (2006) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 25 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 13) |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (written by)
Release Date:
23 March 2006 (Germany)
more
Tagline:
Before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's Secret Police Listened to Your Secrets
Plot:
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 synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Actress
|
East Germany
|
Surveillance
|
Party
|
Germany
more
Awards:
Won Oscar.
Another 60 wins
&
21 nominations
more
NewsDesk:
(59 articles)
Tao Ruspoli's Top Ten Films of All Time
(From ioncinema. 12 December 2009, 6:25 PM, PST)
The Best Films of the Decade (aka "The Naughties")
(From The Hollywood Interview. 8 December 2009, 10:25 PM, PST)
(From ioncinema. 12 December 2009, 6:25 PM, PST)
The Best Films of the Decade (aka "The Naughties")
(From The Hollywood Interview. 8 December 2009, 10:25 PM, PST)
User Comments:
best German dramatic movie in years
more (300 total)
Cast
(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)
more
Das Leben der Anderen - Die Sonate vom guten Menschen (Germany) (working title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for some sexuality/nudity.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
137 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
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 Vaud) |
Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) |
Italy:T |
South Korea:15 |
Malaysia:U |
Spain:7 |
Brazil:12 |
New Zealand:M |
India:A |
Norway:11
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Four actors from the film: Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Mühe, Ulrich Tukur and Hinnerk Schönemann appeared in Amen. (2002).
more
Goofs:
Continuity: Secretary Hempf's car is a 1980s stretch version of a Volvo 264. But all the interior scenes are shot using a Mercedes Benz S-Class Pullmann from the time of the film production. In a short clip the Mercedes is also used for an exterior shot, when Grubitz enters the car outside the ministry building.
more
Quotes:
[Wiesler enters the elevator at his apartment building. A young boy with a ball joins him]
Junge mit Ball: Are you really with the Stasi?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: Do you even know what the Stasi is?
Junge mit Ball: Yes. They're bad men who put people in prison, says my dad.
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: I see. What is the name of your...
[pauses]
Junge mit Ball: My what?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: [thinks for a few more seconds] Ball. What's the name of your ball?
Junge mit Ball: You're funny. Balls don't have names.
more
Junge mit Ball: Are you really with the Stasi?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: Do you even know what the Stasi is?
Junge mit Ball: Yes. They're bad men who put people in prison, says my dad.
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: I see. What is the name of your...
[pauses]
Junge mit Ball: My what?
Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: [thinks for a few more seconds] Ball. What's the name of your ball?
Junge mit Ball: You're funny. Balls don't have names.
more
FAQ
I do not understand the "telephone joke" that Grubitz tells in the MfS cafeteriaHow does Dreyman know when he sees the red thumb print on his file that Wiesler saved him?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
more
more (300 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Das Leben der Anderen (2006) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| El diputado | Die Stille nach dem Schuß | Die Blechtrommel | Edvard Munch | Boy A |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb top 250 movies | IMDb Drama section |
| IMDb Germany section | Add this title to MyMovies |













having had the joy - while not living in the old gdr itself - to have some "accidental" run ins with the good old stasi then, i found it awkward that a German director from the "west" would have the guts to take on the subject of this "ministry of greyness".
writer/director florian henkell von donnersmarck (nice name for a teutonic director, me thinks, very fancy - makes you bang your heels) not only survived this bout of pretension which could have let him drowned in a swamp of reproaches and allegations about executing the "justice of the winners", but he transformed the tale into a story that can and will be understood anywhere in the world: a tale about power, treason and the almost anarchistic potency of emotions.
while at the same time not falling into the trap of moralizing with a waving finger but showing us "the system" as an bureaucratic nightmare powered by - eventually - once even good intentioned human robots of socialist self-righteousness who actually destroy all real positive socialist impulses in the ones they plague, this film is - even if one disagrees with it's premises - probably the most important political drama coming out of Germany for years.