|
The Lives of Others | 
| Director: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Actors: Ulrich Tukur, Michael Gerber, Volkmar Kleinert, Herbert Knaup, Martina Gedeck
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 26.95
Buy New: CDN$ 14.08
You Save: CDN$ 12.87 (48%)
New (14) Used (5) from CDN$ 8.99
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 280
Format: Ac-3, Dolby, Ntsc, Subtitled, Widescreen
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 17085
UPC: 043396170858
EAN: 0043396170858
ASIN: B000OVLBGC
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item, factory Sealed. Buy direct from the U.S. and save! We only ship airmail to Canada (7-15 days).Caiman, les prix qu'on aime! Tous nos produits sont neufs. Envoi par avion des Etats-Unis
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
Hearing the heretics June 24, 2008
Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)
It's all about stability - how to maintain it and how to prevent its disruption. In East Germany, from the establishment of The Wall, society found ways to lay out a given path for life. It also provided a traffic control body to keep individuals on that track. The traffic controllers were the staff and informants of the Stasi. Applying various, but effective, methods of thought control, the DDR rooted out dissent in its attempt to keep its populace thinking along "approved" lines. While we have been inundated with books and films depicting brutality, murder and intimidation applied in the East, this film shows an entirely different and far more efficient approach.
Gerd Wiesler [Muhe], a Stasi captain, is recruited to launch an investigation of playwright Georg Dreymark. There's very little to indicate Dreymark is a threat to society, but the motivation arises from elsewhere. Dreymark's girl-friend, Christa-Maria [Gedeck], is an object of the Culture Minister's passions. Wiesler undertakes the surveillance himself, and his portrayal carries this film far beyond entertainment. We have already seen his interrogation techniques - calm, dispassionate and merciless. Whatever he undertakes will be seen through thoroughly. The surveillance of Dreymark and Christa-Maria will be no different.
However, Wiesler learns of the Minister's prompting of the spying - a corruption of the socialist ideal. More significantly, Wiesler is able to discern Dreymark's humanity expressed in ways none of his previous victims have demonstrated. One of these is Dreymark's defence of his former play director Albert Jerska. Wiesler sees Dreymark confront the Minister over Jerska and learns the blacklisted director had given the playwright the score of "Sonata for a Good Man". The title becomes a key point in the development of the story. Wiesler revises his outlook as the cynicism and coldness of the regime become more apparent to him. He is increasingly aware of the need for people to be people and not automatons.
The film story builds tensions at a perfect pace, increasing with every passing scene. There are no dull nor lost moments. Directory von Donnersmarck's light touch in shifting a character we loathe at the outset of the film into a symbol of pathos at the end. While a shallow view makes Dreymark the victim/hero, it is Wiesler the interrogator and snoop who gains our sympathy. Wiesler comes into increasing conflict with his superior as the focus on Dreymark and Christa-Maria intensifies. Jerska's fate drives Dreymark to take an irrevocable step, one which threatens them all. The conclusion can only be tragic, but the result is nonetheless unexpected.
As with many of the "foreign" films recently released, the Director's Commentary version of the film is well worth taking the time for. This is von Donnersmarck's first full-length film, but there's nothing amateurish about it. He was meticulous in his portrayal of East Berlin, even painting "freedom's graffiti" over each morning prior to shooting in the street. The attention to detail is clear, even in selecting the colours allowed in any given setting. The effect is to seize the viewer from the opening scene and never provide release. The film has garnered many awards and deserves all of them. Mostly, it deserves your attention for its story and its imparted values. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
A beautifully made and poignant movie January 31, 2008
Sonetto (NC)
Without understanding all of what I was watching, I was moved to tears. The visual elements of this film conveyed so much of the drabness, the hopelessness and, ultimately, the tragedy that many people in the GDR must have experienced. I do not know how to put into words the emotional impact of what I have seen. It was a previously viewed film that an employee of the store where it was being sold tried to discourage me from buying. I'm glad he did not succeed.
A very powerful movie! December 10, 2007
Aeneas
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie is so well made and with such depth of character and depiction of a totalitarian system, that it gives the viewer much to contemplate. It shows a ponerized society in it's final stages, when creativity is completely stifled. I liked the way the stasi captain was depicted, who was ideologically driven and the process he underwent. It would be hard to write more without revealing too much of the plot. In light of the way Western society is marching in a fascist direction with surveillance and torture becoming the norm this movie is a must see. To understand about ponerology, I can recommend a book I recently read called "Political Ponerology, a Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes", as it compliments this film nicely.
A very powerful movie! December 10, 2007
Aeneas
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This movie is so well made and with such depth of character and depiction of a totalitarian system, that it gives the viewer much to contemplate. It shows a ponerized society in it's final stages, when creativity is completely stifled. I liked the way the stasi captain was depicted, who was ideologically driven and the process he underwent. It would be hard to write more without revealing too much of the plot. In light of the way Western society is marching in a fascist direction with surveillance and torture becoming the norm this movie is a must see. To understand about ponerology, I can recommend a book I recently read called "Political Ponerology, a Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes", as it compliments this film nicely.
Powerful...A Must See December 6, 2007
Vince (Manitoba, Canada)
I would recommend this movie to all ages -both for the fact that it is very well made but also for its historical significance. It is one thing to have been told about the existence of a state that "watches" your every move, but it is something altogether different to witness it so intimately as one does with this outstanding movie. I have relatives from the East (Czech Republic) who grew up in this type of world. They had on occasion tried to describe the experience of living under these circumstance (they were effected by my father's escape) but I don't think I ever really appreciated what they meant..I think I do now. -highly recommended.
|
|
|
|
| |
