The Tin Drum
Die Blechtrommel
West Germany, France, Poland, Yugoslavia
1979
142 Min
Color
1.66:1
German, Polish, Russian, Hebrew, Italian
Synopsis
Danzig, Germany, 1924. Oskar Matzerath is born with an intellect beyond his infancy. As he witnesses the hypocrisy of adulthood and the irresponsibility of society, Oskar rejects both, and, at his third birthday, refuses to grow older. Caught in a baffling state of perpetual childhood, Oskar lashes out at all he surveys with piercing screams and frantic poundings on his tin drum, while the unheeding, chaotic world marches onward to the madness and folly of World War II. Honored with the Palme d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival and the 1979 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film, Volker Schlöndorff’s The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) is a truly visionary adaptation of Nobel laureate Günter Grass’ acclaimed novel, an unforgettable fantasia of surreal imagery, striking eroticism, and unflinching satire. —The Criterion Collection
Director
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff (born 31 March 1939 in Wiesbaden, Germany) is a Berlin-based German filmmaker.
He won an Oscar as well as the Palme d’or at the Cannes Film Festival for The Tin Drum (1979), the film version of the novel by Nobel Prize-winning author Günter Grass.
Schlöndorff has adapted many literary works for his movies, including some critically well-received US productions, but he is also engaged in post-war German politics. He served as the chief executive for the UFA studio in Babelsberg. Volker Schlöndorff also teaches film and literature at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland, where he conducts an Intensive Summer Seminar.
He was married to fellow film director Margarethe von Trotta from 1971 to 1991. —Wikipedia
Wall
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lasttimeisaw
18Apr13
great anti-war testimonial, 8/10 my review: http://lasttimeisawdotcom.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/last-film-i-saw-the-tin-drum/
Julia Miville
16Feb13
The first 3/4 of this film was great, then it got really weird, really fast. Still adding this book to my reading list.
josher
13Jan13
I was kind of hoping the protagonist's head would explode when he screamed; no dice. He kept on screaming, for the next two hours, and he kept on banging that fucking tin drum, and he kept going down on sixteen year old girls in his three year old's body. I was partially satiated, however, when his midget lover blew up while stalling during an air raid because she had an overwhelming urge to stop for a cup of coffee.
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[Last Film I Saw] The Tin Drum
By lasttimeisaw on April 18, 2013
English Title: The Tin Drum
Original Title: Die Blechtrommel
Year: 1979
Country: West Germany, France
Language: Hebrew, Italian, German
Genre: Drama, War
Director: Volker Schlöndorff… read review
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DVD
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