The Tin Drum (1979)

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.

Director:

Volker Schlöndorff

Writers:

Günter Grass (novel), Jean-Claude Carrière

Stars:

David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler

Won 1 Oscar. Another 16 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mario Adorf	...	Alfred Matzerath
Angela Winkler	...	Agnes Matzerath
David Bennent	...	Oskar Matzerath
Katharina Thalbach	...	Maria Matzerath
Daniel Olbrychski	...	Jan Bronski
Tina Engel	...	Anna Koljaiczek (jung)
Berta Drews	...	Anna Koljaiczek
Roland Teubner	...	Joseph Koljaiczek
Tadeusz Kunikowski	...	Onkel Vinzenz
Andréa Ferréol	...	Lina Greff (as Andréa Ferreol)
Heinz Bennent	...	Greff
Ilse Pagé	...	Gretchen Scheffler
Werner Rehm	...	Scheffler
Käte Jaenicke	...	Mutter Truczinski
Helmut Brasch	...	Der Alte Heilandt (as Helmuth Brasch)

Storyline

Danzig in the 1920s/1930s. Oskar Matzerath, son of a local dealer, is a most unusual boy. Equipped with full intellect right from his birth he decides at his third birthday not to grow up as he sees the crazy world around him at the eve of World War II. So he refuses the society and his tin drum symbolizes his protest against the middle-class mentality of his family and neighborhood, which stand for all passive people in Nazi Germany at that time. However, (almost) nobody listens to him, so the catastrophe goes on...

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | boy | nazi uniform | subjective camera | surrogate uncle | 

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Taglines:

Academy Award Winner Best Foreign Language Film 1979

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany France Poland Yugoslavia

Language:

German Italian Hebrew Polish Russian Latin

Release Date:

11 April 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Tin Drum

Filming Locations:

Wedding, Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franz Seitz Filmproduktion,Bioskop Film,Artemis Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min 162 min (director's cut) 132 min (1980 cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Acclaimed Polish-British actress Beata Poźniak made her movie debut as an extra when scenes were shot right outside her home.

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Goofs

When Oskar and Maria are at the beach, a modern day cargo ship is clearly visible in the background, although this movie is set around 1937.

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Quotes

Vendor: Look, if you please, at this extraordinary potato... this swelling, luxuriant flesh, forever conceiving new shapes... and yet so chaste. I love a potato, because it speaks to me.

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Alternate Versions

Although 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.

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #10.3 (1997)

User Reviews

Grotesque yet beautiful

Having read the greater-than-life novel by Günther Grass, this film is an interesting viewing for many reasons. Reason number 1: the most important reason is of course, how on earth did they manage to get anyone to play Oskar? The director has shown us a stroke of geniosity by casting a 12-year old boy as Oskar, who besides is a brilliant actor (I wonder whatever became of him). Reason number two: how could anyone ever visualize the grotesque and chaotic scenes in the book? Once again the director comes up with something brilliant, he makes the scenes as graphic as possible, he doesn't care about the MPAA, he doesn't care about movie-watchers with heart problems, and he's not afraid of overdoing anything. He puts as much force and effort in the scenes as possible, and they come out brilliantly. Reason number 3: How does he capture the moods of the multi-layered book? He simply stays very faithful to the books text and uses camera angles, lighting effects and music perfectly to accompany the visions of Günther Grass. Those are the most apparent reasons and because of those, the film is brilliant. The only flaw is leaving the story unfinished (although, the ones who never read the book, won't notice that). Altogether, an interesting, stylish and rewarding film experience.