Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6709 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-11-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite its flaws, The Good German is a welcome gift for every film lover who laments that "they don't make 'em like they used to." Steven Soderbergh's affectionate, knowing tribute to the black-and-white melodramas of Hollywood's golden age may lack the emotional depth and romantic passion of Michael Curtiz's Casablanca--the 1946 classic it intentionally emulates--but as Soderbergh approximates Curtiz's studio style, he delivers a shimmering, shadowy reminder that movies can be enjoyed for the sheer pleasure of their craftsmanship. Once again serving as his own cinematographer (credited as "Peter Andrews"), Soderbergh went to great lengths to technically and aesthetically re-create the look and feel of a Curtiz production, and Joseph Kanon's source novel (adapted by Quiz Show screenwriter Paul Attanasio) provides a twisting plot set around the historical Potsdam conference in post-World War II Germany. An American military journalist, Capt. Jake Geismer (George Clooney) is in rubble-strewn Berlin to cover the event, and is quickly drawn into a murder plot involving his appointed driver (Tobey Maguire), an old flame-turned-wartime prostitute (Cate Blanchett) and her missing husband, a scientist who possesses pivotal secrets coveted by Americans and Russians in a pre-Cold War bid for power.

Violence, sexual content, and salty dialogue make it clear that this drama is a brashly contemporary homage to films of a bygone era, and not a slavish attempt to copy the past. This yields mixed results in terms of the film's overall appeal; it's gorgeous to look at, but the plot and performances exist in a vacuum, and the entire film feels oddly disengaged from any sense of genuine human emotion. It's probably fair to say that Soderbergh had more fun making the film than most people will have watching it. And yet, as Clooney's character is repeatedly beaten and deceived on his path to cynical enlightenment, The Good German has many qualities that make it recommendable, not the least being the pleasure of following a talented director as he indulges his penchant for bold experimentation. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
One of mainstream cinema's most tirelessly inventive directors, Steven Soderbergh delivers another big-budget stylistic experiment with THE GOOD GERMAN. This time around, Soderbergh's target is 1940s film noir. Set in post-war Berlin, the atmospheric thriller is based on the acclaimed novel by Joseph Kanon. Frequent Soderbergh collaborator George Clooney plays Jake Geismer, an American military journalist who has returned to Berlin for the Potsdam Peace Conference. Jake’s driver, Tully (Tobey Maguire), appears innocent upon first glance, but is in fact a major player in the corrupt Berlin underworld. He’s also dating Jake’s former flame, Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), whose beauty continues to torment Jake. When Tully’s cadaver washes ashore one day, Jake is shocked to discover that nobody wants to go public with the news. As much as he’d like to forget about Lena, he can’t. Pretty soon, he’s risking his life to help her flee the country. In shooting THE GOOD GERMAN, Soderbergh employed many of the actual filmmaking techniques that were used in the 1940s: black-and-white cinematography, elaborately constructed sets, wide master shots, and a sweeping score. The result is a film that looks and feels like it was made in a much earlier era, yet which contains the graphic language and content of an early 21st-century production.

Customer Reviews

To far removed from the book
This is a good film, shot in black and white and very evocative of the immedate post war devestation of Berlin and the corruption that was going on between the so called Allies in the black market and the "exporting" of German scientists. All I would say is see the film and then read the book. If you do it the other way round you will be disappointed. Whilst all films are based on the book they come from and cannot always show the same detail or involved story line, this film takes too many liberties and consequently spoilt it for me.

Don't mention the war. I mentioned it once but I think that I got away with it.
I found the portrayal of Cate Blanchett to be the high point of this movie. Well shot in black and white with superb support from Toby Maguire, this was a consumate performance in an otherwise dull film. I am not a fan of George Clooney and his performance here left a lot to be desired. The movie raises a lot of questions of the morality of war and those who are involved in it from whatever perspective. It gives the lie to the black and white sides of a wartime experience and allows the viewer to examine the multitudeinous shades of grey.

Survival of the fittest is also a central concern and highlights some of the difficulties arriving at an ethical judgemt whenever our own survival is threatened. The backdrop to this whole story is the dirty business of politics and the dividing of the spoils as exemplified by the biblical story of the roman soldiers dividing up Jesus' gaments after his crucifixion.

Cate Blanchette reminds me of Jody Foster in some of her exceptional performances where one is drawn in to the story though that where the rest of the film is below par.

Stylish but insubstantial. Thoughtful entertainment, even so
Imagine Casablanca meets the Third Man, filmed (of course) in black and white, and starring Cate Blanchett and George Clooney acting against type. That's pretty much what you get with the Good German; post-conflict noir set in the ruins of Germany where the Americans, Soviets, French and British compete ferociously to round up German scientists.

The Good German is occasionally brutal, often sad and it frequently shows its lead characters in a harsh light. Steven Soderbergh has filmed with an uncompromising lens which refuses to flatter even its most beautiful stars -- you can believe the grit, grime and degradation of the ruined German city and its inhabitents.

Clooney takes on another flawed character, a hero with feet of clay who takes huge risks for the woman he once loved. Tobey (Spiderman) Maguire shows up only for a while. Cate Blanchette brilliantly portrays a dangerous, damaged, no-longer-beautiful woman. The language is full-on, often shockingly so.

Yet despite all this good stuff and the strong moral message of the film, it fizzles out a bit right at the end. Afterwards you're left with a 'so?' feeling, almost as if Soderbergh didn't quite want to ram his message home 100%. This makes the Good German very hard to pin down; it's wonderfully constructed and rewarding to watch, but doesn't quite live up to the masterpieces which it seeks to emulate. If you enjoyed Solaris, though, then it should hit all the right buttons.
Ideal for a rental.