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The Tin Drum [VHS] [1995]
 
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The Tin Drum [VHS] [1995]

VHS ~ David Bennent
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski
  • Directors: Volker Schlöndorff
  • Writers: Volker Schlöndorff, Franz Seitz, Günter Grass, Jean-Claude Carrière
  • Producers: Anatole Dauman, Eberhard Junkersdorf, Franz Seitz
  • Format: PAL, Subtitled
  • Language German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Nouveaux Pictures
  • VHS Release Date: 13 Oct 1997
  • Run Time: 136 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CQ40
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,473 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

    Popular in this category:

    #13 in  Video > World Cinema > German

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

This Oscar-winning adaptation of Günter Grass's novel is an absurdist fantasy about a little German boy (David Bennent) who wills himself at the age of three not to grow up in protest of the Nazi regime. Despite acquiring a certain level of notoriety for its m ore salacious moments the film is more startling and surreal than obscene. Bennent is very good, and while the 1979 film doesn't meet the high standards of the best work from the the n-renaissance of German film, it has a special place in the hearts of many who saw it upon its release. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff (The Handmaid's Tale). --Tom Keogh


Synopsis

A young boy growing up in Nazi Germany decides to stop growing. German dialogue with subtitles.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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 (3)
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 (4)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It was a rare "Book to Film" transpostion that worked, 23 May 2000
I have actually broken my first copy and was eager to secure a replacement.

Having read the book by Grass, I was concerned how it might translate to the screen. It actually works extremely well, capturing much of the claustrophobic/paranoid atmosphere of the book.

Obviously, things have had to go. Some of the ..ahem... sticky and descriptive bits have been left out - in the wrong hands it could have been verging on pornographic, which certainly isn't the tone of the book.

Also, much of Oskar's musing's have been curtailed - the film ends at a point where the book has still some time to cover. This could cause some confusion for anyone who has not read it as they would have no idea that Oskar is actually telling his story from a lunatic asylum.

Despite these shortcomings, though, one experiences a wealth of emotions during the showing. There is sorrow, laughter, (look out for the waltzing Hitler Youth) anguish (Charles Aznovour as the toyshop owner) and bewilderment to name a few.

The music at the beginning is heavy and plodding - one can imagine a heavy horse pulling a cart through muddy potato fields. The wailing of the Jew's Harp further intensifies the experience.

Oskar is faithfully represented by David Bennett -the boy who decides not to grow. The other members of the cast, though maybe not household names provide a rich mixture of characters who show a no-holds-barred-reality. Just look at the haircut of the Youth Leader! There is no prettyfication here.

It stands up as a film in its own right. It does have blemishes, but I don't feel that they detract from the the experience and certainly can assist the understanding of an often enigmatic book.

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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars the tin drum, 22 Dec 2003
By Mr. I. K. Perry "poochman" (e.sussex england) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Tin Drum [DVD] [1995] (DVD)
Although it's over 20 years since i saw this film at the cinema. This film still has the power to shock and disturb. It could be viewed as a black comedy or as a realistic fantasy. The story though, is fairly simple Oscar matzereth(David Bennent), a child of only 3. Decides he doesn't want to grow up, So he throws himself down the celler steps,an act that causes him to stop growing. As the nazis take power in germany Oscar beats out his anger on his toy drum.
The film seems to be about 2 minutes shorter then the version i saw in 1980.Most of the cuts are from sex scenes between oscars uncle and his mother and a controversial sequence in which Oscar has oral sex with his nanny. That said, if you've never seen the film you probably wouldn't notice. You certainly won't have seen anything like it befor. The film won the best foreign language oscar in 1979. An award it richly deserved.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars German History/Satire in a nutshell, 3 Jun 2004
By Teo Ee Ming "cybergel" (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Tin Drum [DVD] [1995] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
This review pertains to the US Code 1 Criterion Collection edition of the film.
The Tin Drum is based on Gunther Grass's Nobel winning novel. The whole setting revolves around the most tumultous period in recent German history, spanning from the late 19th century till the end of the second World War, Germany had seen boundaries and name drawn and redrawn numerous times. Not to mention the various follies of wars that had ravaged the country. Oskar, the perpetual 3 year old kid, who refused to grow after observing the immorality that adulthood has to offer. Oskar represented the conscience of the ordinary German of that era. Being impassive, and at the same time bitter and vulnerable and again embittered (especially after the armistice treaty), Oskar presented a whole range of emotions that reflects the public mood of that period.
The DVD presents a beautiful transfer and a Dolby Digital 5:1 audio track. It also comes with an enlightening audio commentary by the director and co-writer, even though at times the commentary may seem bland and screen specific. Nevertheless, it's insightful in the discussion of the production of the film. Another noteworthy extra feature in the 2nd disc is the documentary "Banned in Oklahoma", which chronicled the banning of the film in that state and its ensuing consequences to the country's values of freedom and liberty.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fairly faithful representation of the book
I thought this film gave a good representation of the book - particularly the child playing Oskar. I think some other reviews have exagerrated the shock/disgust factor although... Read more
Published 1 month ago by B. Kirwan

4.0 out of 5 stars A kind of God he is beating a drum
This film is not a good translation from novel to screen.This is based on an allegory about the rise and fall of Nazism through the subjective viewpoint of a child who refuses to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by technoguy

4.0 out of 5 stars More to it than meets the eye
Allegorical story or absurdist fantasy? Whichever this is, its a high class piece of filmmaking from director Volker Schlondorff. Read more
Published 14 months ago by S J Buck

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrifying, Disturbing, Frightening. This film is brilliant
THE TIN DRUM (or DIE BLECHTROMMEL, by it's german title) is a film that not everyone has heard of, and if they have, not likely to have seen it. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2005 by jackhammer79

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