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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
Joseph Kanon (novel)
Release Date:
14 February 2007 (France) more
Tagline:
If war is hell then what comes after? more
Plot:
While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(47 articles)
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User Comments:
Not-so-good German more (149 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Jack Thompson | ... | Congressman Breimer | |
| John Roeder | ... | General | |
| George Clooney | ... | Jake Geismer | |
| Tobey Maguire | ... | Tully | |
| Cate Blanchett | ... | Lena Brandt | |
| Dominic Comperatore | ... | Levi | |
| Dave Power | ... | Lieutenant Schaeffer | |
| Tony Curran | ... | Danny | |
| Ravil Isyanov | ... | General Sikorsky | |
| J. Paul Boehmer | ... | British Press Aide | |
| Igor Korosec | ... | Russian Soldier | |
| Boris Kievsky | ... | Russian Soldier | |
| Vladimir Kulikov | ... | Russian Soldier | |
| Yevgeniy Narovlyanskiy | ... | Russian Soldier | |
| Aleksandr Sountsov | ... | Russian Soldier |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for language, violence and some sexual content.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
105 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital
Certification:
Australia:MA | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Brazil:16 | USA:R (No. 42615) | South Korea:18 | Norway:15 | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating)
Filming Locations:
Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA more
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Steven Soderbergh, wishing to shoot this film the old Hollywood way, banned the use of sophisticated zoom lenses used by today's cinematographers, returning to the fixed focal-length lenses used in the past. Furthermore, only incandescent lights were used which provided harsh, unnatural lighting. There were also no wireless body microphones, which would allow the faintest whispers to be heard, on set. Sound was recorded the old-fashioned way, with a hand-operated boom mike held above the actors head, which consequently forced the actors to speak in loud, crisp English. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: The newsreel speaker says the Potsdam conference takes place in "Emperor William's former palace". This is not correct. The Cecilienhof palace was built for the last crown prince of Germany, who lived there from 1917-19 and from 1926-45. more
Quotes:
Patrick Tully: You can say what you want about the war... but, the war was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because when you have money, then, for the first time in your life, you underSTAND it, what money does for you. Where before all you understood was NOT having it? Money allows you to be who you truly are. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Best! Movies! Ever!: Airports (#1.7)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Somebody Else Is Taking My Place more
FAQ
Is this movie based on a true story?more
more (149 total)
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A clever look: imitation vintage B-movie in black and white; Steven Soderbergh's appropriate, artful gimmick for this film set in Berlin in the immediate aftermath of WWII.
Cate Blanchett turns in an apt theatrical performance given "The Bad German's" archly retro conceit. As the film's mother/whore femme fatale, Cate is sphinx-like, world-weary and made up like a drag queen at Mardi Gras. George Clooney, meanwhile, turns in his routine performance that is altogether too modern and casual. Put him in scrubs and he's ready again for the ER. Together, they create no chemistry nor any other natural science. Toby McGuire, as a sleazy, black-marketing GI, is so painfully hammy you'll find yourself begging for him to stop.
The storyline is awkwardly developed and unnecessarily opaque, its characters cold and remote. There's really nobody to cheer for or identify with; no emotions to hook us into this world. When was the last time that international intrigue, on-screen, was so unintriguing? It's too bad we've been served such an exciting cinematic look -- an overly lit, noir-like one -- only as window dressing on a story as bleak and dreary as the blitzkrieged landscapes on view.