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Jakob The Liar [DVD] [1999]
 
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Jakob The Liar [DVD] [1999]

DVD ~ Robin Williams
3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Jakob The Liar [DVD] [1999]
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Jakob The Liar [DVD] [1999] 3.5 out of 5 stars (6)
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Product details

  • Actors: Robin Williams, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Éva Igó, István Bálint, Justus von Dohnanyi
  • Directors: Peter Kassovitz
  • Writers: Peter Kassovitz, Didier Decoin, Jurek Becker
  • Producers: Robin Williams, Lew Rywin, Marsha Garces Williams, Nick Gillott
  • Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Uca
  • DVD Release Date: 8 Mar 2004
  • Run Time: 115 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004T0ZR
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 25,062 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Jakob the Liar has a hard road to travel, since--Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful aside--milking the Holocaust for laughs is a dangerous game. Even the blackest, most therapeutic humour turns queasy in the shadow of such monstrous evil: it's like dancing on a mass grave. Here the eponymous schlemiel plays out his semi-farcical adventures in the mean streets of the Warsaw Ghetto circa 1944. The skies are always leaden over Jakob's hometown, reflecting the comic climate that pervades this mostly unfortunate adaptation of Jurek Becker's autobiographical book (first filmed in 1975). Jakob Heym (Robin Williams in overbearingly earnest mode) gets tangled in a string of self-perpetuating lies about a hidden radio, supposedly broadcasting news that the victorious Red Army is nearing. His desperate attempts to convince a clutch of insistently idiosyncratic friends (clichés to a man: Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Michael Jeter, Alan Arkin) and obligatory Nazi bad guys that the radio doesn't exist are complicated by the fact that he's stashed a fugitive kid (a dead ringer for Anne Frank) in his attic--and by abundant evidence that lies are the best medicine for the ghetto's skyrocketing suicide rate. Copious unfunny misunderstandings and pratfalls abound in this Holocaust rendition of Fiddler on the Roof (you expect Williams to break into "If I were a funny man... "). Ultimately, Jakob the Liar loses its way for good in some very ugly violence and a rather nasty final twist: the film's ending might just be rubbing our noses in another feel-good lie. --Kathleen Murphy, Amazon.com

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
DVD 9
German
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English German
Dolby Digital 5.1
2 Trailers
Behind The Scenes Featurette
Commentary
Filmographies
Musical Highlights
Arabic\Czech\Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\German\Greek\Hebrew\Hindi\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Swedish\Turkish


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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, 11 Mar 2007
By S. Knight (Wirral) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Not being a particular fan of Robin Williams but having a keen interest in World War Two and the Jewish Holocaust,i took a chance on this more in hope than anticipation.
I was pleasantly suprised by both the film and William's performance.
Williams plays a poor Jewish cafe owner [Jacob],in Nazi occupied Poland during World War 2.
Whilst in the Ghetto,Jacob accidently overhears a forbidden news bulletin signalling Soviet military success against German forces.
When the news is spread throughout the Ghetto,Jacob notices a lift in spirits so he decides to relay fictitios news bullitins to keep morale high.
This must mean one thing,Jacob must have a radio,an offence punishable by death if the Germans find out.
This film has moments of sadness and humour that will make you both laugh and cry with a real sting in the tale in the end.
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5 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile., 23 Jun 2003
This film is OK.
It is better than what I thought it was going to be but that's all I can really say about it.
Robin Williams is good and I have seen far worse films but I wouldn't want to watch it again.
If you are a film buff it is worth checking out, but if you're not then give it a miss.
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3 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 7 Feb 2004
By A Customer
Fantastic film, very emotional. Superb, Robin Williams at his natural best.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely
Lovely is the only word I can think of to describe this film. It is a film that tries to balance tragedy and humour and pulls it off fairly well (although I think the ending gets... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. J. E. ROUSE

3.0 out of 5 stars An honest liar
Jakob the Liar/Jakob der Lugner was the only East German film to be Oscar-nominated and, considering how neatly it falls into the ever-popular tradition of East German films... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

3.0 out of 5 stars Sincere but not entirely successful remake
Jakob the Liar/Jakob der Lugner was the only East German film to be Oscar-nominated, yet it was long-forgotten by the time this much-delayed Robin Williams remake finally made it... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Trevor Willsmer

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