Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-03-09
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on the book by John Boyne, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas didn’t really get the box office recognition it deserves on its theatrical release, struggling to find a foothold amidst a stampede of blockbusters. But this is a film that, surely, is ripe for discovery on DVD.

Directed with care and diligence by Mark Herman, whose CV includes the excellent Brassed Off! and Little Voice, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is set during the Second World War, in and around a Nazi concentration camp. It tells its tale through the eyes of two young boys. One is the son of the camp’s commandant, while the other is wearing the striped pyjamas of the title.

The two boys meet and ultimately befriend one another, and The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas tells the difficult story of their companionship. It does it extremely well, too, careful to understate proceedings and demonstrate a restraint that serves the subject matter well. It’s also quite a lean film, and one boasting excellent performances, including David Thewlis as the aforementioned commandant.

If The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas has a problem or two, they pale in comparison to its strengths. For this is a tightly directed, moving film, that does real justice to the terrific book it’s derived from. It’s not always an easy watch, but it's very memorable.--Jon Foster

DVD Description
Berlin, 1942. Eight-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that his father was promoted and he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Then he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pajamas. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation, as their secret meetings result in a friendship that has startling and devastating consequences.

Synopsis
Based upon the novel by John Boyne, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a heart-wrenching tale of an unlikely friendship that forms between the son of a concentration camp commander and a young Jewish boy during World War II. Directed by renowned British filmmaker Mark Hermon (Little Voice, Brassed Off) the film features a cast that includes Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Breaking and Entering) and David Thewlis (Mike Leigh's Naked, The Big Lebowski).

The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas	The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas	The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas

Customer Reviews

A look into the 'other side'
After watching 15 minutes of this film I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. My genre is usually horror, I do also enjoy war movie's from any 20st century war, and this didn't seem to be fitting in too well.

However, the further into the movie I got, the more interested I became.

The movie tells a story of an 8 year old son of a Nazi Concentration Camp Commandant. It shows the war through his young eyes, whilst reminding the viewer of the true atrocities of WW2.

The boy, Bruno, befriends another 8 year old boy in a concentration camp, and the story shows their relationship develop.

There are numerous scenes in this movie which will upset the viewer, scenes of violence towards the Jewish prisoners etc Another interesting side of the movie is that it of course shows how the German families felt about the war, it shows that not all of them, including some soldiers, agreed with the Nazi regime yet had no choice.

All in all this movie gets 5 stars due to a clever storyline, and an ending that you will never forget, an ending that will leave the theater in silence, and make others cry, it certainly did when I saw it in the movie theater.

Definitely worth going to see, I shall be buying it as soon as it is released.

Watch this film
I never saw this film at the Cinema, but watched it on an early DVD release last week. The lady in the Video shop said it was heavy viewing, but I found the film touchingly simplistic in how it was filmed and acted - and this style did not detract at all, from the serious historical genre it depicted. Infact, it made it all the more poignant and sad. The other reviewers have detailed what the story was based around, so I wont repeat that. All I will say, is that although the ending was expected it was still shocking and upsetting. The beautiful part of this film was that it showed all too clearly, how innocent children are - before they become too privvy to their parents views, prejudices and expectations. It also showed that good people can do bad things, that they dont necessarily agree with for much the same reasons. A minority of people in power, can so control the mind set and actions of the greater majority. This film made me think, made me cry and made me reevaluate what being a parent should be about. Even though it showed the bad side of some people - it showed that most people do have good and hopeful hearts and children, inparticular are innocent souls who should be cherished and nurtured.

Tragic brilliance
I really enjoy war films as I find history very interesting but I find many are too flowery and don't show the true horrors of war, particularly WWII. This film made me sob my heart out in the middle of the cinema for everyone to hear, and I still hadn't stopped when we came out of the cinema, but it was definitely worth seeing. It shows the Holacaust through a child's eyes as well as a German family and Nazi soldier's eyes and shows you that not all Germans were necessarily for Hitler's atrocious actions. I like the fact that right up until the very last moment, you still don't know how the film is really going to end.

Be warned, it's not for the easily upset, but everyone should see this film. Tragic, but brilliant.