The Lives Of Others [2007] | ![The Lives Of Others [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GT-evfaTL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Actors: Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Hans Bauer, Ulrich Muehe
Studio: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
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Rating:  96 reviews
Sales Rank: 97
Format: Anamorphic, Pal
Languages: English (Subtitled), German (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 132
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.2 x 0.6
EAN: 5060052412270
ASIN: B000R342QS
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: September 17, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
In the former East Germany, no-one was above suspicion. Like George Orwell's vision of the future come to life, art and people and relationships were monitored obsessively; The Lives Of Others captures not only the paranoia and danger inherent in such a world, but also expresses hope that even in the most desperate situations, people can make a difference.The story of The Lives Of Others unfolds mostly through the eyes of a secret service agent who's been given the task of spying on an artistic couple who've attracted the attention of the Minister of Culture. Little by little, he's drawn into their lives even as we're drawn into his; and as he loses his faith in the government, he must decide whether or not to try to hide the transgressions of those he's watching. As the physical danger and emotional cost mounts, it's impossible not to become utterly engrossed; intelligent and well-written, The Lives Of Others is also deeply moving. It's rare to find a film that really deserves its rave reviews, and considering The Lives Of Others won a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, it's got a lot to live up to. Happily, it's more than just up to scratch--it's absolutely brilliant. --Sarah Dobbs
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| Customer Reviews: Read 91 more reviews...
 Great movie but not a masterpiece August 10, 2008
The Lives of Others is a great movie, but I can't rate it a masterpiece. On the plus side, the director has a total command of the medium, he knows how to make a suspenseful, thoughtful, entertaining movie, that holds the interest of the audience even at a running time that exceeds 2 hours. What's more, the acting is uniformly extraordinary. Let's talk now about the main problems I see with this film. The emotional heart of the movie is when the Stasi officer in charge of spying the playwright and his girlfriend, a very tough and experienced individual who presumably has worked in many similar cases before, decides instead to protect them. Why he would do that, risking an end to his career and even a charge of treason?. Though his motivations are not altogether clear (he is an extremely reserved man), the change of heart seems to happen in part after listening the playwright playing a sonata on the piano after learning one of his colleagues committed suicide, after years of harassment by the government (he is also uneasy after finding out the Stasi is going for the playwright not for ideological reasons but in order that his beautiful girlfriend would then be available for the repellent minister of culture). As a metaphor from his newly found sensibility, he even steals a book from Brecht from the playwright's house, and is seen reading it. Is this believable? As much as the audience would be moved by a story of redemption, I think it's not. This is not a minor quibble, since this change of heart is really the main plot twist of the movie, on which all the film is build. The ending has a great closing line, but is also a bit difficult to accept. From what I know, few if any Stasi officers have expressed any remorse from what they did, and continue to defend their actions. That aside, this is a great film, from a young director that really knows how to make a movie that is both highly entertaining and thought provoking. And it has many great scenes that you vividly remember later. The best one: the young Stasi officer making a ill-timed Honecker joke in the cafeteria. It's a scene that's so good on so many levels.
 The heart can rule the mind August 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
An incredible film which proves that ultimately, the heart can win out over the mind. Demonstrating the massive pressures both artists and the authorities were under in the Eastern Bloc, this film builds superbly, and the characters are so utterly believable and perfectly acted, I was quite literally on the edge of my seat, unable to sit back and relax with my glass of wine. The story shows the courage of artists unwilling to compromise in the face of fear, and also the bravery of those going against their frightening seniors within the government establishment. The film would already have ended well without the finale, which is a stunning and fitting end to a quite awesome work. A thoughtful, memorable, compelling and fascinating film.
A Must See August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Having served with the British Armed Forces in West Berlin during the 1960s I felt an affinity with this film about life in the East. Although shielded from the excesses of the DDR (Eas Germany), nevertheless I felt I could identify strongly with the storyline. After my service ended I travelled frequently through East Germany on my way to Berlin or Poland. One always felt uncomfortable at the border and, inded, once I and my vehicle were searched thoroughly. I had visions of being locked up and the key thrown away. One might say that this feeling of menace is pure folklore,but the film actually, I feel, portrays a vivid reality of the DDR as it was. The film is a masterpiece and Ulrich Muehe, who died subsequently, plays his role menacingly in the beginning and then as he becomes aware that his position and role in the Stasi affects The Lives of Others, there is a change; a wonderful change. I weeped at the end and I make no excuse. The film is like that. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. For those who have had experience of the DDR as an antagonistic state, then this will qualify your feelings. I see parallels with the Nazi regime and the preoccupation for denunciation under Soviet style regimes in eastern Europe. Current freedoms may not be a panacea in the newly emerging countries of the eastern bloc, but living the kind of life portrayed in the film with the threat of Stasi surveillance and terror is no panacea either.
the best movie of the year ? July 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is the prodigal piece of cinema that thrashed WATER and PANS LABYRINTH and DAYS OF GLORY at the oscars this year in a very controversial coup d 'etat ,whether it deserves its accolodes depends
on how you perceive your environment today as thats THE ISSUE it deals with in a very sensitive manner as it explores the issue of an individuals suveillance by the state in the context of the private rights of a citizen, free speech and civil liberties in a world where these words are becoming a luxury rather then a natural privilege .
The theme is disguised in the seedy berlin suburbs of GDR in 1984 before the berlin wall came down in 1989 in the proletarian state of the GLOSNOST terror where an intellectual playwright suspected of associating with the west is targeted by the comrades through his lovers weakness of being a drug addict who also happens to be a great theatre actress being sexually abused by a minister of the corrupt communist regime .
The poignant but amazingly realistic execution is rendered like a streaming waterfall which is powerful but lyrical like the beethovens symphony APASSIONATA played by the main lead in a sombre moment on a RISOCH PIANO ,while he quotes LENINS famous words that if he kept listening to this immortal musical piece how would he ever succeed in finishing the russian revolution, and its even more miraculous when you realise this is the debut by this german writer -director DONNERSMARCK , WHO PROVES HIMSELF TO BE A MODERN DAY ORSON WELLES in his very first movie .
The movie is shot in toned down colors with minimum dialogues and very appropriately indoors which makes you feel claustrophobic at times to express the anguish of the characters living in a police state ,the rythmic editing and the grey interiors set the mood for a film noir but its a brutally realistic movie which touches your heart and mind simultaneously .
The actors are living rather then acting their roles and the main triad played by SEBASTIAN KOCH as playwright DEYMER , martina gadeck as MARIA-CHTISTINA ,AND WIESLER -ulrich muhe from lola,it is wiesler who steals the movie from beginning to end as the double dealing greyish mysterious character whose mind is as unfathomable as the universe , his character will evoke every possible emotion you can associate with the human condition in general and particularly in the ghetto of a communist regime where a whimper or whisper against the state is enough for an individual to disappear forever,
The most fascinating aspect of the movie is where he is shown tutoring fellow communists the techniques of torturing indiividuals to make them divulge the truth for the greater good of the state but his slow but convincing turnabout is a triumph to human spirit.
the movie reminds me of the COPPOLLA ,HACKMAN-HARRISON FORD classic the CONVERSATION as well as THE WATERGATE movie ALLTHE PRESIDENTS MEN , but as a drama its better then its hollywood counterparts anyday .
a quiet triumph July 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Lives of Others is a quietly mesmerising film that makes you think. Don't expect fireworks or high drama- just a thoughtful exploration of the human spirit.
I won't dwell long on the plot- in East Germany in 1985, a Stasi agent (Ulrich Muhe) is assigned to undertake surveillance on a popular playwright (Sebastian Koch)- purely because an important official wishes to steal his girlfriend, a leading actress (Martina Gedech). As the state security machinery swings into action, each of the main characters makes decisions which have devastating effects.
The drabness of 1980s GDR is wonderfully created and sustained, and there are two exceptional central performances from Muhe and Koch. Muhe expresses so much doing very little as the loyal Stasi agent who comes to realise that as his bosses care less for the state than their careers and love lives, the artist he is spying on is willing to sacrifice all for his beliefs.
The film is not perfect- Martina Gedech overacts in the female role, and I found her role in the denouement unsatisfactory. In fact, women fare particularly badly in the film altogether. And like anything created by 'artists', the film lingers a little too long on the 'woe is me' difficulty of being an 'artist'. However, I found The Lives Of Others an excellent movie with, for me, a satisfying conclusion.
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