The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) UK DVD Available for Pre-Order

Reader Comments

1. toni 06/01/2007 @ 1:03am

   i did not like this movie. it poses an fictional variation of reality in a totalitarian regime which did NEVER happen. this is a rather ignorant movie and has been bashed in austria and germany for its dishonest portrayal of the stasi. it’s the excuse for an direct confrontation with this dark chapter in german history (see Goodbye Lenin).

2. stimpy 06/01/2007 @ 1:44am

   The movie is already available with English subtitles on Thai dvd (Anamorphic widescreen, original aspect ratio), and also very cheap.

3. Jon Pais 06/01/2007 @ 2:55am

   toni - I thought I recognized your writing (the ‘caps lock’ gave it away!)… And I recall your senseless bashing of Edgar Reitz’s monumental Heimat trilogy in response to my review posted last August. I wondered then why someone would spend 54 hours of their valuable time watching a film they seemed to dislike so intensely. You wrote at the time, “i don’t know but I still have to see ONE (!!!!) good german-speaking movie of the last years/decade. german & austrian movies SUCK !!!!” So I think it’s fair to say, we know you are a model of impartiality and an arbiter of good taste. I have already pointed out in these pages that there was controversy surrounding von Donnersmarck’s portrayal of the Stasi, but that in no way diminishes my appreciation of the film, the distinguished performances, or the screenplay—one of the most intelligently written scripts in recent memory.

4. Ard Vijn 06/01/2007 @ 6:48am

   Agree with Jon Pais here.

   I KNOW that this cannot be called an accurate description of typical STASI practices, but the movie does give an indication of how obsessive the information-gathering was in Eastern Germany.

   The movie itself owns up to the implausibility of it’s own story by stressing the fact that this is in no way a normal STASI-investigation.

   And I don’t mind the makers stretching reality a bit. Sometimes it’s necessary to be able to tell your story within 2.5 hours. I didn’t get the impression this movie was made for those people who suffered from STASI investigations, but rather wanted to show how extensive, ruthless and stiffling this system was.
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