In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 18 wins & 6 nominations total
Videos1
- Lina Greffas Lina Greff
- (as Andréa Ferreol)
- Der Alte Heilandtas Der Alte Heilandt
- (as Helmuth Brasch)
- Director
- Writers
- Günter Grass(novel) (additional dialogue)
- Jean-Claude Carrière
- Volker Schlöndorff
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
- Taglines
- Academy Award Winner Best Foreign Language Film 1979
- Genres
- Certificate
- R
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaIn June 1997, at the urging of a Christian fundamentalist group, and after viewing a few isolated scenes, an Oklahoma County District Court judge ruled that the film contained child pornography, as defined by Oklahoma's obscenity laws, and was therefore illegal. Oklahoma City police confiscated all copies of the film from libraries and rental outlets, without obtaining the necessary search warrants or court orders. They intimidated video store managers into giving them the addresses of customers with rental copies, went to those homes, and confiscated the movies. The local District Attorney announced that anyone possessing a copy of the movie would be arrested. The D.A. was forced to back down within weeks, and most of the seized videos had been returned by December. By October 1998, after several related lawsuits, U.S. federal courts ruled that the movie did not violate Oklahoma obscenity laws, and the seizure of the videotapes had been unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals closed the final case in May 2001, and the movie is once again available in Oklahoma County.
- GoofsWhile the German soldiers attack the Polish post office, one fires an MG42 machine gun from his shoulder. The German army didn't use that weapon before 1942. It's also not supposed to be fired while standing.
- Quotes
Bebra: You must join us, you must!
Oskar Matzerath: You know, Mr. Bebra... to tell the truth, I prefer to be a member of the audience, and let my little art flower in secret.
Bebra: My dear Oskar, trust an experienced colleague. Our kind must never sit in the audience. Our kind must perform and run the show, or the others will run *us*. The others are coming. They will occupy the fairgrounds, they will stage torchlight parades, build rostrums, fill the rostrums, and from those rostrums preach our destruction.
- Alternate versionsAlthough reluctant to do so the BBFC were forced to remove 19 secs from UK cinema and video versions under the Protection of Children Act to remove a scene showing Oskar pressing his face against Maria's pubic region. The cuts were waived in 2003 when it was decided that the scene did not constitute an indecent image.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Pieces of Silver (1989)
- Oliver1984
- Jan 21, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Limeni dobos
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $6,881
- Runtime2 hours 22 minutes
- Color
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