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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 13467
Released: May 22, 2007 |
| Our Price: Too low to display |
| Used Price: $1.55 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Who knows what American journalist Jake Geismer (George Clooney) expected to find in postwar Berlin? Peace, maybe. Or at least a story. But certainly not Lena (Cate Blanchett), his beautiful, embittered one-time love. And not the trail of secrecy and deception that leads from Lena to the scheming young corporal (Tobey Maguire) who's her new lover...and to a murder no one seems interested in solving. Except Jake. Steven Soderbergh directs three of today's top talents in this zigzag thriller that's both an atmospheric homage to 1940s filmmaking and a deft modern film noir. The Good German is "haunting and hypnotic, it's pure moviegoing bliss" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).
Description of The Good German:
Despite its flaws, The Good German is a welcome gift for every film lover who laments that "they don't make 'em like they used to." Steven Soderbergh's affectionate, knowing tribute to the black-and-white melodramas of Hollywood's golden age may lack the emotional depth and romantic passion of Michael Curtiz's Casablanca--the 1946 classic it intentionally emulates--but as Soderbergh approximates Curtiz's studio style, he delivers a shimmering, shadowy reminder that movies can be enjoyed for the sheer pleasure of their craftsmanship. Once again serving as his own cinematographer (credited as "Peter Andrews"), Soderbergh went to great lengths to technically and aesthetically re-create the look and feel of a Curtiz production, and Joseph Kanon's source novel (adapted by Quiz Show screenwriter Paul Attanasio) provides a twisting plot set around the historical Potsdam conference in post-World War II Germany. An American military journalist, Capt. Jake Geismer (George Clooney) is in rubble-strewn Berlin to cover the event, and is quickly drawn into a murder plot involving his appointed driver (Tobey Maguire), an old flame-turned-wartime prostitute (Cate Blanchett) and her missing husband, a scientist who possesses pivotal secrets coveted by Americans and Russians in a pre-Cold War bid for power.
Violence, sexual content, and salty dialogue make it clear that this R-rated drama is a brashly contemporary homage to films of a bygone era, and not a slavish attempt to copy the past. This yields mixed results in terms of the film's overall appeal; it's gorgeous to look at, but the plot and performances exist in a vacuum, and the entire film feels oddly disengaged from any sense of genuine human emotion. It's probably fair to say that Soderbergh had more fun making the film than most people will have watching it. And yet, as Clooney's character is repeatedly beaten and deceived on his path to cynical enlightenment, The Good German has many qualities that make it recommendable, not the least being the pleasure of following a talented director as he indulges his penchant for bold experimentation. --Jeff Shannon
The Good German Reviews:
A fake 40's movie in black and white? 
2009-09-13 - This movie kind of struck me as an anti-Casablanca:Casablanca
Instead of everybody being good and noble, we have the American
behaving at times like Nazis in this film.
This story is about a 1946 Berlin where the people are living in the ruins
and the GI's are kings.
The jeep driver thinks he has hit real pay dirt
when it turns out his German girl friend -prostitute
is married to someone both the Russians and Americans want.
But the newspaper reporter he is driving also remembers her
from before the war. Lena is a case of survival at any cost
and pretty much hates herself worse than anyone else could,
yet men makes fools of themselves over her.
The acting is pretty good and the movie almost convinces you
that this was the 40's again.
Even the end is the same as Casablanca with an airplane leaving,
but what is between sort makes you wonder who really won that war?
Interesting, But Ultimately Confusing And Dirty (For A Black-And-White), Movie. Good Acting, Though. 
2009-09-07 - Steven Soderbergh's "Homage" to black-and-white movies is interesting, in that it has an intriguing plot which unfortunately gets muddled in the middle and ultimately goes nowhere. Also, it was very dirty for a black-and-white movie. Sex, nudity, language and graphic violence are thrown in to make this movie appealing for a modern audience. What a stupid ploy to cater to the degenerate tastes of filmgoers. Try watching "Casablanca," "Double Indemnity," "King Kong" or any film made in the 1930's, 1940's or 1950's to see how black-and-white movies were made and what they're about. Very good plots...and NO sex, nudity, language or graphic violence. (And all these movies made money too...and some even were nominated for, and sometimes won, Academy Awards; and people still watch these beautiful movies nowadays). Don't waste your time with this movie. "A good cast does not a good movie make." All too true with "Scarface" and this movie. Rated R, but it should not have been made in the first place.
Offbeat thriller experiment is worth a look
2009-08-18 - The story in "The Good German" is a little dry and long, but if you have any predisposition to enjoy a layered tale of wartime intrigue, you'll make it through okay. The real selling point, though, is the wonderful production design and gorgeous black & white photography, the latter seen in generous widescreen glory (after the opening credits, which tease you into thinking you'll be forced to watch the movie in the boxy aspect ratio of actual 1940's movies). Ultimately, what's, well... good about "The Good German" is that it doesn't settle for being a well-produced pastiche of old wartime movies, but says a few compelling things about the ways otherwise decent people are willing to behave in situations when they feel their backs are against the wall. Problematic in some ways, "The Good German" is absolutely recommended at least as a rental. The DVD looks and sounds great, though there are no extra features.
Not like the book 
2009-06-20 - On what planet did they make this movie? It is so different from the book, e.g. Lena and Renate are combined into one character which completely changes Lena's relationship with Jake. I thought the book was an excellent read and was so looking forward to seeing it as a movie -- total disappointment! And when George Clooney isn't getting beat up, he looks jowly and worn-out. If you liked the book, don't bother with the movie!
The Good German got better! 
2009-05-25 - George Clooney, to me and only to me, is not such a good actor (my apology to his millions of fans) but every now and then he surprises me. In "The Good German" Clooney is more than competent and reveals a side to his acting not usually seen, and produces a convincing performance as Captain Geismar, who tries to unravel a murder mystery and to come to grips with his own emotions. Is this a film for everyone? Not at all, but those who enjoy the reality of film noir and superb directing will revel in this film.
