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.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 80 wins & 38 nominations total
Volker Zack
- Schriftexperte
- (as Zack Volker Michalowski)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAll 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.
- GoofsSecretary 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 versionsThe US version features a written prologue in English, explaining the historical context of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: The Best Films of 2006 (2006)
- SoundtracksIch 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
Featured review
I've been taking German lessons for about 2 months now, and since movies were great in helping me learn English language I'm always looking for German films to watch (as well as German music to listen to) in order to educate my ears.
Anyway, I went to this place where I get all sort of rare movies and this one caught my attention... and I had no idea it got the Oscar for foreign language film this year! So I watched it without prejudice and... what did I find? A MASTERPIECE! This is the kind of movie that gets your attention from the first moment, and makes you interested in understanding the characters' psyche, which is very varied: you have the idealistic good guys, the idealistic bad guys, the people that broad their minds understanding that no political dogma is better than individual freedom, etc. And even though the movie has very tough moments it is all so well done and presented with such a good taste that in the end you feel some sort of relieved.
In this present day, when the ghost of authoritarian regimes still fly over our heads (in my country we're getting closer and closer to that reality), this movie will make you think about how important love, life and freedom are.
A must see!
Anyway, I went to this place where I get all sort of rare movies and this one caught my attention... and I had no idea it got the Oscar for foreign language film this year! So I watched it without prejudice and... what did I find? A MASTERPIECE! This is the kind of movie that gets your attention from the first moment, and makes you interested in understanding the characters' psyche, which is very varied: you have the idealistic good guys, the idealistic bad guys, the people that broad their minds understanding that no political dogma is better than individual freedom, etc. And even though the movie has very tough moments it is all so well done and presented with such a good taste that in the end you feel some sort of relieved.
In this present day, when the ghost of authoritarian regimes still fly over our heads (in my country we're getting closer and closer to that reality), this movie will make you think about how important love, life and freedom are.
A must see!
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- La vida de los otros
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $11,286,112
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $223,000
- Feb 11, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $77,672,685
- Runtime2 hours 17 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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