The Good German (2006)

While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation which involves his former mistress and his driver.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Paul Attanasio (screenplay), Joseph Kanon (novel)

Stars:

George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Clooney	...	Jake Geismer
Cate Blanchett	...	Lena Brandt
Tobey Maguire	...	Tully
Beau Bridges	...	Colonel Muller
Tony Curran	...	Danny
Leland Orser	...	Bernie
Jack Thompson	...	Congressman Breimer
Robin Weigert	...	Hannelore
Ravil Isyanov	...	General Sikorsky
Christian Oliver	...	Emil Brandt
Dave Power	...	Lieutenant Schaeffer
Don Pugsley	...	Gunther
Dominic Comperatore	...	Levi
John Roeder	...	General
J. Paul Boehmer	...	British Press Aide

Storyline

Berlin, July, 1945. Journalist Jake Geismer arrives to cover the Potsdam conference, issued a captain's uniform for easier passage. He also wants to find Lena, an old flame who's now a prostitute desperate to get out of Berlin. He discovers that the driver he's assigned, a cheerful down-home sadist named Corporal Tully, is Lena's keeper. When the body of a murdered man washes up in Potsdam (within the Russian sector), Jake may be the only person who wants to solve the crime: U.S. personnel are busy finding Nazis to bring to trial, the Russians and the Americans are looking for German rocket scientists, and Lena has her own secrets.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | prostitute | head held underwater | sex shop | striptease | 

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Taglines:

Every heart has its secrets, some more dangerous than others.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

19 January 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

El buen alemán

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$76,817, 17 December 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,308,696, 12 April 2007

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,914,908, 12 April 2007

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sunset Gower Studios, Warner Bros., Section Eight

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

DTS SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Soderbergh, wishing to shoot this film the old Hollywood way, banned the use of sophisticated zoom lenses used by today's cinematographers, returning to the fixed focal-length lenses used in the past. Furthermore, only incandescent lights were used which provided harsh, unnatural lighting. There were also no wireless body microphones, which would allow the faintest whispers to be heard, on set. Sound was recorded the old-fashioned way, with a hand-operated boom mike held above the actors head, which consequently forced the actors to speak in loud, crisp English.

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Goofs

Camera shadow on the prosecutors' uniform at 57:59 into the film.

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Quotes

Patrick Tully: [threatening a Jewish double amputee] Don't you jew me over the price!

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Crazy Credits

All the logos appear in black and white, while the Warner Brothers logo appears in the forties old style

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Connections

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriter Paul Attanasio (2007)

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Soundtracks

Somebody Else Is Taking My Place
Written by Bob Ellsworth, Dick Howard and Russ Morgan
Performed by William Marsh, Chris Ross, Johnny Britt and Gary Stockdale

User Reviews

Third Men Don't Wear Plaid on a Night in Casablanca

Unforgivable pastiche of some infinitely better movies. George Clooney is a journalist sent to cover the 1945 Potsdam conference and in typical movie journalist fashion somehow manages to do no work whatsoever while being drawn into a web of mystery and intrigue. He's possibly the least effectual thriller hero of all time, more Holly Golightly than Holly Martins, and one of the few pleasures the film offers is wondering who will be the next character to jump him from behind and beat him senseless. Will it be the double amputee? The little boy with the bicycle? Absurdities abound, there's unforgivable misuse of narration and all the moody black-and-white photography in the world couldn't make up for a plot more full of holes than the buildings of post-War Berlin. All this could have been redeemed by a bit of chemistry between the leads or some lively pacing but everybody involved seems to be half asleep, possibly numbed into submission by the dreary sub-Elgarian score. The only good thing about this movie is that you leave with a greatly enhanced respect for the skill and sophistication of the bygone filmmakers whose work it so singularly fails to emulate.