Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1608 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-24
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: German
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Synopsis
Set in Munich in 1943. Brother and sister, Sophie and Hans Scholl are members of student resistance group 'White Rose' against the Nazi regime and are arrested for distributing fliers around the University. The two students are interrogated and Hans finally breaks down and confesses. Sophie has no choice but to defend her beliefs and protect her brother and her friends. Based on the real activities of the 'White Rose' resistance group, recovered interrogation papers and witness interviews.

Customer Reviews

Extremely Thought Provoking
I thought that this DVD was extremely thought provoking and made me think 'what if'. The acting in the DVD was extremely good, but I would recommend that if you are going to buy it read the book first as it gives an understanding which is beneficial in appreciating the events that lead to the arrests and trial.

Sophie Scholl - Powerful insight into Germany 1943.
This film was not what I was expecting. It spends its whole 115 minute running time concerned generally with the arrest, interrogation and aftermath of Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans. I went into it expecting more information on the background of the group, more on their rise but this doesn't happen (subsequently found out there is another film on this in German called The White Rose). I'm not saying this makes the film any worse - it probably makes it better.

Sophie is brilliantly portrayed; the second hour is most definitely more gripping and suspenseful. Once the proper interrogation occurs and Sophie stands to her morals you see the horrors of the Nazi belief and those who fell so deeply into the Hitler way of belief. The way Sophie stands up to her interrogators shows the true power of the movie and that even in the most darkest times there were people who stood up for Freedom at all costs.
I certainly believe the end and aftermath raise the movie and how it makes you feel about it, from a good movie to a very powerful, visionary one.

I've only recently discovered my interest in WWII based film and Sophie Scholl added a different angle to the viewing, from the German perspective about normal German youth's anti-Hitler beliefs and what happened to them. This film certainly makes good viewing for people interested in WWII but I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone looking for a more conventional movie. People with a legal or history background will find this movie well worth watching. If you arrive here directly after watching Downfall, enjoy but be prepared that this is a different experience.

Elegiac and moving true story
This powerful, lyrical film truly manages to shine a light in the most dismal of settings. A whole-hearted recommendation from me to anyone who appreciates a true story of courage and devotion.

I was instantly struck by the similarities in mood, construction, and symbolism to such French classics as Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc" and Sandrine Bonnaire's turn as Joan in "Jeanne la Pucelle: Les Prisons." But this movie strikes a much more defiant tone. Julia Jentsch gives a bravura evocation of the remarkable Sophie Scholl. Her character is forthright, steadfast, and hopeful in the face of the Gestapo and the Nazi kangaroo court to which she is condemned. Director Rothemund wisely respects his material enough to allow it to stand on its own merits, without grandstanding or exaggeration. Much of the film takes place in the form of dialogue between Sophie and the other imprisoned resistance leaders and their accusers. It's a spare but effective presentation, given depth by the nuanced and faithful performances of the cast and the striking photography. There's a stately Greek drama quality to it; Sophocles could have written something very similar.

A lesson for our own times from the darkest days of WWII, when an undaunted band of German students -- the White Rose movement -- risked all for freedom. There is much more background information, trailers, etc. available at the movie's website.

Nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign-language Film, 2005. Winner of several German film awards.

"We will not be silent."