Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: German
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
In the former East Germany, no-one was above suspicion. Like George Orwell's vision of the future come to life, art and people and relationships were monitored obsessively; The Lives of Others captures not only the paranoia and danger inherent in such a world, but also expresses hope that even in the most desperate situations, people can make a difference.

The story of The Lives of Others unfolds mostly through the eyes of a secret service agent who's been given the task of spying on an artistic couple who've attracted the attention of the Minister of Culture. Little by little, he's drawn into their lives even as we're drawn into his; and as he loses his faith in the government, he must decide whether or not to try to hide the transgressions of those he's watching. As the physical danger and emotional cost mounts, it's impossible not to become utterly engrossed; intelligent and well-written, The Lives Of Others is also deeply moving.

It's rare to find a film that really deserves its rave reviews, and considering The Lives of Others won a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, it's got a lot to live up to. Happily, it's more than just up to scratch--it's absolutely brilliant. --Sarah Dobbs

Synopsis
In East Berlin in 1984, the secret police, known as the Stasi, are gaining more and more control, spying on German citizens, and recruiting thousands of them to spy on each other. Captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe) has been ordered to find something on playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), so he sets up a surveillance room and listens closely as Dreyman, his actress girlfriend, Christa-Marie Sieland (Martina Gedeck), and various suspected radical friends gather in their apartment. But when Wiesler discovers that culture minister Bruno Hempf (Thomas Thieme) cast suspicion on Dreyman only so he can have his way with Sieland, the master interrogator and torture teacher starts taking a long look at just what it all is about. THE LIVES OF OTHERS, co-written and directed by first-timer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is a tense, compelling thriller about a critical time in German history. Muhe is mesmerising as the complicated Wiesler, a loyal soldier until he learns too much. The wildly talented Koch is outstanding as Dreyman, a man with a lot to say but desperate to avoid the same fate as his mentor, theatre director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert). Inspired by actual events and real characters, THE LIVES OF OTHERS was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007. Interestingly, during and after the filming of the movie, several of the actors (including Muhe) found out that they or their families had been victims of the Stasi--and in one case, the father of an actor (Charly Hubner) was revealed to have been a member of the Stasi himself.

Customer Reviews

Dull
I usually enjoy foreign and independent films but found this way too slow. It was a nice idea but unfortunately not enough to base a 2 hour film on.

The ultimate redemption movie: Sonata for a Good Man
A simple tale, simply told without sentimentality. Completely compelling, beautifully acted. All redemption stories have an element of the fairy tale, but the context of this one is so well portrayed that it is utterly credible. And this film has the best last line possible. I bought the DVD when it first came out, but could not face a German subtitled movie and did not watch it for some months. What a mistake- I then played it three times in a week. One of the best movies ever, and certainly one of my top five of the last 25 years. (All this and the divine Sebastian Koch!) I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

A no star rating was(unfortunately) not an option!
I do not know what some of the other reviewers are on????FIVE STARS!!!! PUH-LEEAASSSE!!!This is a deeply uninteresting, tedious film in every respect.I promised my fellow viewers and my family, who were also the unfortunate viewers of this interminable piece of tedium, that I would be succinct and not engage in some kind of rant/review. I will attempt to keep my promise. This film is PANTS!!!! It is unengaging to the nth degree, the acting is mediocre and if I had to be in hell watching an endless loop of "Dumb and Dumber" or this meandering waste of an evening, it would have to be "Dumb and Dumber" every time. In fact, wait a minute, watching this overly earnest, self-consciously arty tripe, I actually was in hell for the two hours and eight minutes. This film was at the very least two hours too long. This is a film in search of a coherent, emotionally engaging narrative ( the history is already well-documented and therefore there is no real insight to the subject matter), the characters are as engaging as a week in Gateshead on a wet weekend. This is a barely competent exercise in turgidity; a certain cure for insomnia. Watch "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" or "Atonement" or "The Pianist" if you want finely tuned miserabilism. Then you'll be satisfied. This is, sorry to say ...NO STARS!!!!!