The Counterfeiters (2007)

The story of the Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history, carried out by Germany during WWII.

Director:

Stefan Ruzowitzky

Writers:

Adolf Burger (book), Stefan Ruzowitzky (screenplay)

Stars:

Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow

Won 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karl Markovics	...	Solomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch
August Diehl	...	Burger
Devid Striesow	...	Sturmbannführer Friedrich Herzog
Martin Brambach	...	Hauptscharführer Holst
August Zirner	...	Dr. Klinger
Veit Stübner	...	Atze
Sebastian Urzendowsky	...	Kolya
Andreas Schmidt	...	Zilinski
Tilo Prückner	...	Hahn
Lenn Kudrjawizki	...	Loszek
Marian Kalus	...	Plappler
Norman Stoffregen	...	Abramovic
Bernd Raucamp	...	KZ-Insasse Dusche
Gode Benedix	...	1. KZ-Insasse
Oliver Kanter	...	2. KZ-Insasse

Storyline

The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog. Immediately thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, Salomon exhibits exceptional skills there and is soon transferred to the upgraded camp of Sachsenhausen. Upon his arrival, he once again comes face to face with Herzog, who is there on a secret mission. Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Bernhard. The team, which also includes detainee Adolf Burger, is given luxury barracks for their assistance. But while Salomon attempts to weaken the economy of Germany's allied opponents, Adolf refuses to use his skills for Nazi profit and would like to...

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Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | male pubic hair | pubic hair | inmate | nudity | 

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Taglines:

It takes a clever man to make money, it takes a genius to stay alive

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Austria's The Counterfeiters (2007) was the winner in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category at the 80th Academy Awards in 2008. The film was much criticized as conventional and artistically inferior to Cristian Mungiu's acclaimed Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), which wasn't even nominated. This spectacular snub resulted in intense scrutiny by the international press and ridicule of the Academy Awards by the film community. Eventually this inspired reforms to the 'Best Foreign Language Film' selection process.

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Goofs

When Solly and Burger are arguing in their sleeping quarters, Burger pulls down a bunk bed. In the next shot the bed is standing up.

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Quotes

Salomon 'Sally' Sorowitsch: Only by surviving, we can defeat them.

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Connections

Featured in Willkommen Österreich: Die 32. Sendung: Stefan Ruzowitzky & Bruce Darnell (2008)

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Soundtracks

Down By The Riverside
(uncredited)

User Reviews

Seeing this created my own moral dilemma

I came away with a moral dilemma of my own: though "The Counterfeiters" is excellent in places in others it is not.

The true story of Operation Bernhard and the printing of millions of pounds is a fascinating story. The direction, acting, and script are excellent. But my problem was one that for me was a real shock: I was not as moved by the film as I had hoped or wanted to be.

Dealing with the most singular piece of evil devised by man - genocide, especially in the concentration camps is never an easy subject, and perhaps the fact that it is not overplayed is a bonus - however, I came away admiring the film and its performances but left curiously unmoved by the overall tone of the piece.

Perhaps that's the point of the moral dichotomy (Make money, help the Nazis, don't make money, lose your lives but shorten the war) that is does not scream but rather affects us quietly.

Overall, definitely watchable. But misses greatness.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Austria]

Country:

Austria Germany

Language:

German Russian English Hebrew

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Counterfeiters

Filming Locations:

Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,200,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$87,514, 24 February 2008

Gross USA:

$5,488,570

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,814,713

Company Credits

Production Co:

Magnolia Filmproduktion, Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Beta Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1