The Experiment

Before Downfall, there was Das Experiment, Oliver Hirschbiegel's 2001 study of claustrophobia and the misuse of the power.

Based on a true story, the notorious Standford Prison Experiment in 1971, the film tells the story of 20 men who volunteer to be placed into a makeshift prison for 12 days. Once inside, some are chosen to be guards whilst the others will act the role of prisoners, a process that involves abandoning their names, their clothing and their civil rights for the duration of the experiment.

The job of the guards is simple, maintain peace and order at all times without using physical violence.

At the heart of the film is Tarek, prisoner 77, an undercover journalist who is secretly filming from inside the prison, hoping to sell his exclusive once it's over. Tarek underestimates his own role in the experiment, though. He starts in irreverent mood, thinking it's just a game until he sparks a conflict with one of the guards, Berus. The two adversaries drive each other on relentlessly forcing the experiment to become darker, more grotesque, as each man fights for their own idea of power and identity.

Das Experiment asks what happens when good people are put in an evil place. Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph ? Also, it examines the role of memory when faced with extreme stress and deprivation. Whilst the film is based on a true story, it's cinematic influences can be traced back to Samuel Fuller's masterpiece "Shock Corridor" and, to a lesser extent, Chris Marker's "La Jetee". The comparisons to "Shock Corridor" are there for all to see but it's also worth noting that in all three films, the protagonists are obsessed with the memory of a girl, often using that memory as an anchor to cling on to a more idealised past, a potential escape route from the situation they find themselves in. For Tarek, as the situation becomes more extreme, the memories become stronger and stronger as he attempts to block out the present and focus on the past and a possible future with the girl.

Das Experiment is more than simple homage and pop psychology, though, largely due to it's director. In his first film, Hirschbiegel manages to create an entirely dark world, both inside and outside of the prison. Only in the final frames of the film do we see any natural daylight at all which offers stark contrast to everything we've seen before. The sense of claustrophobia, the complete lack of space, carefully manipulates the viewer throughout the film and, at times, it's genuinely unnerving. Consequently, it's difficult to find any real distance between yourself and the film as you become more and more absorbed. Like the characters within the prison there appears to be escape route for the viewer. A sparse script and real sensitivity from the actors, none of them overplaying their role, only adds further to the film's power. Moritz Bleibtreu (Run Lola Run) is particularly strong as Tarek whilst Justus Von Dohnanyi is positively menacing in the role of the sadistic guard Berus.

Hirschbiegel would, of course, develop these themes further in Downfall a few years later and in many senses, Das Experiment can be seen as a companion piece to the latter. As a debut work it's nothing short of astonishing, a director completely in control of the film and the viewer. Cinema not for the faint hearted, where you have to go the dark places first before you can see the light.

I saw this film recently on the Sundance Channel. I could not stop watching. After seeing the prison pictures from Iraq, the film fully explored the reasons for the abuse of prisoners. When I read some of the reviews posted, I noticed how many dismissed the film as contrived and not plausible. I wonder if any of those reviewers would like to modify their dismissal of Das Experiment. Human behavior under stress often declines to the lowest common instinct. It reminded me of an adult Lord of the Flies. Degradation and humiliation seems to exactly follow what happened in Iraq. As a veteran who spent most of time working on Military Mental wards, I witnessed a number of abuses, as force had to be used patients were acting out or lost control, but all those memories seem pale compared to the horrors of the Iraq prison camps. Since life imitates art, this makes the film even more profound.

I was initially a bit dubious about 'Das Experiment', thinking it looked like it was going to be lame, but within half an hour I was hooked. It isn't the greatest movie ever made, the most technically dazzling, or the most insightful into the human condition, but as a thriller it is first class, and far better than any I've seen come out of Hollywood for years. The movie in inspired by an experiment conducted in America in the early 1970s. 'Das Experiment' isn't a documentary it is after all but a thriller, so the outcome is more sensational than in real life. But I think people may be shocked when they read about the real experiment, as they will see that the basic pattern of what happens in the movie happened in reality. And if people are still skeptical I just suggest they look into their heart and ask themselves honestly what they would do in a similar situation... The cast are all terrific. The only actor I recognized was the star Moritz Bleibtreu, from 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' and 'Run Lola Run', but it really is an ensemble piece and all the actors were well cast and convincing. I highly recommend this movie and just hope that Hollywood doesn't decide to remake it because I'm sure it'll be another 'Insomnia' farce all over again...

Without fancy tricks and clichés, this movie tells us why riots occurs, why hatred spreads, and how to solve it.

In the beginning of this movie, the main character (prisoner no.77), an ex-journalist who hopes to take his job back, participates in a experiment in a mock prison for 2 weeks in order to record down this story, and publish it on the newspaper. Furthermore, he taunts and insults mock prison guards who are also the participants in this experiment so that he can make this story more interesting. However, things become worse and worse...

I am really surprised that this movie doesn't either glorify main characters, nor malign bad guys. Everyone has their characteristics, and their interaction is cruel but practical. We can see how the whole thing becomes worse. Don't stereotype this German story as a reflection of Nazism, because this movie is a warning for every culture which the power is overused. I am really glad that German dares to make this movie without too much clichés and fancy tricks. If you are tired of clichés in Hollywood films, this is a great movie for you.

Based on a real psychological experiment at Stanford University in 1971, using a group of male students, the mood of this film captures the sense of disorientation and loss of reality that was experienced by the original volunteers. Acts of humiliation present a violent and effective method for stripping individuality and asserting power over prisoners. The psychological transformations into masochistic and submissive roles are fascinating when you consider that that the only real distinguishable difference between the characters, is that by a random selection process, some are labeled 'wardens' and others are labeled 'prisoners'. The levels of violence, brutality and humiliation in the film seem extreme but in the original experiment, humiliation tactics were also extreme – prisoners were also made to wear chains round their ankles and stockings on their heads at all times! The film's conclusion is carefully constructed and appears to bear an implicit reference to the real prison riot of San Quentin (which occurred the day after the Stanford experiment was prematurely halted), in which guards and informant prisoners were tortured and murdered during the prisoners' escape attempt. This film is a sensitive study into power relationships within an altered reality and is masterfully crafted to build tension and invite the viewer to question the character's morality and ethical codes. Far more relevant and interesting than the bland reality TV shows we are plagued by these days…highly recommended!