The Lives of Others
by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
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DVD details
Actor: Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Thieme, Ulrich M?he, Ulrich TukurDirector: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: German (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-08-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of The Lives of Others
DVD Review: Still thinking about it 4 weeks later
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband and I watch The Lives of Others and liked it so much, I bought it on Amazon. Even this morning, I found myself thinking about it. There are times when parts of the movie replays, unbidden, in my mind. The movie played on my belief in basic human goodness and in the never-ending capacity of each of us to grow, even in the bleaker times. Even when fear, hatred, horror, arrogance, boredom, and sheer pettiness just seeps through out. This is a keeper.DVD Review: Great film apart from lead actress and finale
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought the lead actress was terrible, almost sleep walking compared to the rest of the cast, which might have been because she was supposed to be on drugs, but she was certainly not the fascinating actress that everyone was supposed to adore.
And the last part of the film-if they had just finished at the Berlin Wall falling, that would have been enough. The convoluted search for the truth in the end was a bit silly. Could he not have just told him when they were at the scene of the car accident that he had done it and to watch his back and who had betrayed him?
Otherwise, super performances, very clever film.
DVD Review: A serious drama not afraid to deliver "popcorn movie" moments of excitement
Summary: 5 Stars
Involving, beautifully shot drama set in 1984 East Germany centers around Wiesler, a member of the secret police who routinely undertakes surveillance of outspoken artistic and political types. Played by the excellent Ulrich Muhe, Wiesler is initially a hardline socialist ideologue, but- through his constant eavesdropping- begins to sympathize with his subjects, to the point where he alters his reports to his superiors in order to protect them. Wiesler's change of heart is further helped along by the frequent corruption he witnesses among his colleagues, as they use their political power not to further the socialist cause but to advance their careers and even remove romantic rivals.
Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck keeps things moving along and involving, and is thankfully not one of those directors who thinks he has to mirror the drab lives of Cold War-era Eastern Europe with drab visuals. Here the colors are deep, resonant, and quite beautiful, yet still somehow keeping with the melancholy nature of the film. I was pleased to see him mention this very aim- his desire to avoid the dull look of past films with a similar setting- during an interview in the DVD's special features section. But I shouldn't have been surprised, as good work doesn't happen by accident. I also liked that the engaging von Donnersmarck is quite unpretentious. He enthusiastically talks, for example, about how the Indiana Jones movies have a unique color palette to underscore their flavor and how he wanted to use their example to create his own color palette to underscore his own themes.
"The Lives of Others" is the serious, worthy film I expected it to be. But I was surprised at how involving and entertaining it was on top of that. It certainly deserved all the attention it garnered a year or two back when it was making the rounds in this country. You can't go wrong spending an evening with this thoughtful, moving, and often exciting drama.
DVD Review: Nearly perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
As a professional in the "biz," I'm pretty picky when I watch a movie. More often than not, I notice problems in the screenplay, the direction seems clunky, or something else just doesn't work. The price of doing it for a living. THE LIVES OF OTHERS is one of a handful films that I've seen in the least ten years (as in counted on one hand) that seem nearly perfect. A beautiful screenplay, terrific direction, true and mesmerizing acting, incredible cinematography where the light is a character in the movie, outstanding set decoration with vivid, dream-like scenes through a limited color palette, amazingly well researched (my mom grew up in East Berlin - I know), and a beautifully moving story about the tug of war between art and the forces of political repression - a story that resonates far beyond the world of the Stasi, the East German secret police.DVD Review: Riveting Account Of Socialist East Europe In The Mid-1980s
Summary: 5 Stars
What a great movie in the best tradition of filmmaking. I can't think of a single flaw. Pitch perfect is the pacing, acting, writing and score. This is a real life, genuine thriller wholly devoid of any action scenes. It makes you think. It helps you see the freedom you take for granted. It shows you what happens when you let the ends (socialist utopia) justify the means (gestapo, statism). Don't be so naive as to think it couldn't happen here--and know that the threat is from the left, not the right.
Description of The Lives of Others
This critically-acclaimed, Oscar?-winning film (Best Foreign Language Film, 2006) is the erotic, emotionally-charged experience Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly) calls "a nail-biter of a thriller!" Before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, East Germany's population was closely monitored by the State Secret Police (Stasi). Only a few citizens above suspicion, like renowned pro-Socialist playwright Georg Dreyman, were permitted to lead private lives. But when a corrupt government official falls for Georg's stunning actress-girlfriend, Christa, an ambitious Stasi policeman is ordered to bug the writer's apartment to gain incriminating evidence against the rival. Now, what the officer discovers is about to dramatically change their lives - as well as his - in this seductive political thriller Peter Travers (Rolling Stone) proclaims is "the best kind of movie: one you can't get out of your head."
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Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this is a first-rate thriller that, like Bertolucci's The Conformist and Coppola's The Conversation, opts for character development over car chases. The place is East Berlin, the year is 1984, and it all begins with a simple surveillance assignment: Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich M?he in a restrained, yet deeply felt performance), a Stasi officer and a specialist in this kind of thing, has been assigned to keep an eye on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch, Black Book), a respected playwright, and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck, Mostly Martha). Though Dreyman is known to associate with the occasional dissident, like blacklisted director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert), his record is spotless. Everything changes when Wiesler discovers that Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) has an ulterior motive in spying on this seemingly upright citizen. In other words, it's personal, and Wiesler's sympathies shift from the government to its people--or at least to this one particular person. That would be risky enough, but then Wiesler uses his privileged position to affect a change in Dreyman's life. The God-like move he makes may be minor and untraceable, but it will have major consequences for all concerned, including Wiesler himself. Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starts with a simple premise that becomes more complicated and emotionally involving as his assured debut unfolds. Though three epilogues is, arguably, two too many, The Lives of Others is always elegant, never confusing. It's class with feeling. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Beyond The Lives of Others
 Films from Germany |  Other Cold War Films |  More Arthouse Selections from Sony Pictures Classics |
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