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The Lives of Others

Original title: Das Leben der Anderen
  • 2006
  • R
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
397K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,068
14
Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, and Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (2006)
DramaMysteryThriller

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.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.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.

  • Director
    • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
  • Writer
    • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
  • Stars
    • Ulrich Mühe
    • Martina Gedeck
    • Sebastian Koch
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.4/10
    397K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,068
    14
    • Director
      • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
    • Writer
      • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
    • Stars
      • Ulrich Mühe
      • Martina Gedeck
      • Sebastian Koch
    • 581User reviews
    • 228Critic reviews
    • 89Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #58
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 80 wins & 38 nominations total

    Photos70

    Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Martina Gedeck in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Thomas Arnold, Thomas Thieme, and Ulrich Tukur in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Martina Gedeck and Sebastian Koch in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Ulrich Mühe and Ulrich Tukur in The Lives of Others (2006)
    Ulrich Mühe and Ulrich Tukur in The Lives of Others (2006)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ulrich Mühe
    Ulrich Mühe
    • Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler
    Martina Gedeck
    Martina Gedeck
    • Christa-Maria Sieland
    Sebastian Koch
    Sebastian Koch
    • Georg Dreyman
    Ulrich Tukur
    Ulrich Tukur
    • Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz
    Thomas Thieme
    • Minister Bruno Hempf
    Hans-Uwe Bauer
    • Paul Hauser
    Volkmar Kleinert
    Volkmar Kleinert
    • Albert Jerska
    Matthias Brenner
    Matthias Brenner
    • Karl Wallner
    Charly Hübner
    Charly Hübner
    • Udo
    Herbert Knaup
    Herbert Knaup
    • Gregor Hessenstein
    Bastian Trost
    • Häftling 227
    Marie Gruber
    Marie Gruber
    • Frau Meineke
    Volker Zack
    Volker Zack
    • Schriftexperte
    • (as Zack Volker Michalowski)
    Werner Daehn
    Werner Daehn
    • Einsatzleiter in Uniform
    Martin Brambach
    Martin Brambach
    • Einsatzleiter Meyer
    Hubertus Hartmann
    • Egon Schwalber
    Thomas Arnold
    Thomas Arnold
    • Nowack
    Hinnerk Schönemann
    Hinnerk Schönemann
    • Unterleutnant Axel Stigler
    • Director
      • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
    • Writer
      • Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      All the listening/recording props in the film are actual Stasi equipment on loan from museums and collectors. The props master had spent two years in a Stasi prison, and insisted upon absolute authenticity, down to the machine used to steam-open up to 600 letters per hour.
    • Goofs
      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.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Buchverkäufer: 29.80. Would you like it gift wrapped?

      Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler: No. It's for me.

    • Alternate versions
      The US version features a written prologue in English, explaining the historical context of the film.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 2006 (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Ich Wurde Wenn Ich Wusste, Dass Ich Konnte
      Performed by 4PS

      Lyrics By Kurt Demmler

      Music By Joachim-Franz Bartzsch

      Published By Edition Air Franz

      (P) 2007 Colosseum Music Entertainment GmbH, Licensed From Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Germany) GmbH

    User reviews581

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Outstandingly great movie
    I wonder why there has been so little written and publicized about this movie. This should be seen in every country and its merits trumpeted from the skies.

    It starts off slowly and the locale is the former East Germany, inhabited by 16 million people who are being spied upon relentlessly by their secret police. In this very real world of the Berlin Wall, there are many Stasi, 90,000, overseeing the populace, aided and abetted by hundreds of thousands of informants. Many of these snitches were blackmailed or other pressures exerted (threats to children and loved ones) and a few obliged voluntarily.

    What is truly amazing is that this is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's directorial debut, and he maintains a masterful hand throughout and keeps the story and the tension rolling from the first scene of interrogation which is filmed back and forth between a tape educating new Stasi as to interview techniques and to the actual cell itself where it was recorded.

    The movie circles around three main characters and there is a wider circle of the powerful who pull the puppet strings for a variety of reasons which become clear as the movie unfolds.

    First is Georg Dreyman, a playwright on the verge of celebrating his 40th birthday. Sebastian Koch, a tall,handsome actor dressed in writerly rumple, shares an apartment with his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), and exists within the strictures of the state-sponsored theatre. He is a decent man, and tries to win support for his blacklisted friends.

    For reasons that become quite clear, Dreyman falls under suspicion and the whole sophisticated Stasi spying system comes into play in the era of 1984. His whole apartment is bugged and every sound is monitored.

    The man in charge of all this is Captain Gerd Wiesler,(Ulrich Mühe). Ulrich's performance is nothing short of stunning. He starts as an almost robotic presence, dressed in gray, he almost disappears into every scene he's in. But one detects a clear intelligence in his bright eyes, the only part of him that's alive. Captain Wiesler lives in a non-descript arborited apartment, much like himself. He squeezes his food onto a plate from a tube.

    But the captain starts to awaken slowly as he listens surreptitiously on the state of the art equipment secreted in the attic of Dreyman's building. He starts to fall in love with the couple and then pressure from above is brought to bear on him to dig for the dirt in Dreyman's life.

    And he is in a dilemma now, as he is drawn further and further into the life of Dreman and his girlfriend.

    I won't throw spoilers down. Suffice to say is that the story is enthralling right down to the very last frame. The acting is superb, the direction impeccable and the world of East Germany meticulously drawn with the viewer respected enough to find his or her own emotional path through the plot.

    The ending is truly one of a kind. So right and true that I was left nodding, it was the only one possible.

    A must see, I will sing the praises of this film to all I know. 10 out of 10 from me. Right up there in my top 50 of all time. I find it so disappointing that these movies don't get wider release AND compete for an Oscar in the best picture of the year and not just for best foreign film. Now there's a heretical thought!
    helpful•417
    37
    • wisewebwoman
    • Mar 8, 2007

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    FAQ7

    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • I do not understand the "telephone joke" that Grubitz tells in the MfS cafeteria
    • How does Dreyman know when he sees the red thumb print on his file that Wiesler saved him?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 30, 2007 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Germany
      • France
    • Official site
      • Official site (United States)
    • Language
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Khoảnh Khắc Cuộc Đời
    • Filming locations
      • Gedenkstätte Hohenschönhausen, Hohenschönhausen, Berlin, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion
      • Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)
      • ARTE
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $11,286,112
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $223,000
      • Feb 11, 2007
    • Gross worldwide
      • $77,356,942
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 17 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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