| | Good German DVD (1 Customer Review)
| Category | Dramas DVDs, World War II Movies, Love Affairs Videos, Murder Mysteries, Germany, Journalists/Journalism | | Starring | George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Beau Bridges, Tobey Maguire, Tony Curran | | Director | Steven Soderbergh | | Composer | Thomas Newman | | Director of Photography | Peter Andrews | | Producer | Gregory Jacobs, Ben Cosgrove | | Screenwriter | Paul Attanasio | | Source Writer | Joseph Kanon |
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. One of mainstream cinema's most tirelessly inventive directors, Steven Soderbergh delivers another big-budget stylistic experiment with THE GOOD GERMAN. This time around, Soderbergh's target is 1940s film noir. Set in postwar Berlin, the atmospheric thriller is based on the acclaimed novel by Joseph Kanon. Frequent Soderbergh collaborator George Clooney plays Jake Geismer, an American military journalist who has returned to Berlin for the Potsdam Peace Conference. Jake's driver, Tully (Tobey Maguire), appears innocent upon first glance, but is in fact a major player in the corrupt Berlin underworld. He's also dating Jake's former flame, Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett), whose beauty continues to torment Jake. When Tully's cadaver washes ashore one day, Jake is shocked to discover that nobody wants to go public with the news. As much as he'd like to forget about Lena, he can't. Pretty soon, he's risking his life to help her flee the country.
In shooting THE GOOD GERMAN, Soderbergh employed many of the actual filmmaking techniques that were used in the 1940s: black-and-white cinematography, elaborately constructed sets, wide master shots, and a sweeping score (compliments of Thomas Newman). The result is a film that looks and feels like it was made in a much earlier era, yet which contains the graphic language and content of an R-rated early 21st-century production. Theatrical Release: December 15, 2006 Good German Reviews: 4 stars out of 5 -- "Steven Soderbergh continues his genre-cruising career with this stylised b/w tribute to '40s noir..."-- Chris Roberts, Uncut 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he movie works on its own, with a gleam of seductive corruption....The actors all come up with aces....It's pure moviegoing bliss."-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone "Soderbergh has re-created not only the kind of story told in the 1940s, but the kind of technical production Hollywood gloried in more than half a century ago, too." -- Grade: B-- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly "It vividly recreates the soundstage artifice of Warner Bros' wartime noirs -- replete with melodramatic dynamics but minus the restrictive gentility of 1940s Hollywood."-- Graham Fuller, Sight and Sound 4 stars out of 5 -- "[W]ith Blanchett channelling Marlene Dietrich in an extraordinary performance....Clooney reins it in, playing it with suitably blunt bemusement..."-- Nev Pierce, Total Film Good German | List Price | $19.97 (You save $5.58) | | Studio | Warner Home Video | | Orig Year | 2006 | | DVD Encoding | Region 1 | | All Time Sales Rank |  22697  | | CD Universe Part number | 7419367 | | Catalog number | 73667 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | May 22, 2007 | | Rating | R (MPAA) | | Rating Reason | for language, violence and some sexual content. | | Running Time | 108 Minutes | | Additional Info | Full Frame; Dubbed; Subtitled; Black & White | | Movie Details | B&W; Full Frame; Dubbed; Subtitled; Black & White |
Good German Movie Review Average Rating: (4 out of 5 stars)  Great Post-World War II Mystery
This intense mystery is about an American reporter, Jake Geismer; his former German one-time lover, Lena; her husband; & a scheming American solder involved in Black Market enterprises. Jake & Lena become entangled in solving the murder of the young solder who's pockets are stuffed with German marks. As you watch this movie unfold you'll get a look into the manipulations & maneuverings among the victorious allies over the remaining German engineers & scientists (specifically Lena's husband). This story with its many twist & sub-plots (such as Lena's desperate need in escaping Germany) will keep you baffled over the murder's identity & why is finding Lena's husband so important to the Americans & the Russians.
This is a very interesting & suspenseful story. Even though the beginning of the movie was some what different than the novel, the movie did manage to capture the essence leading to the American solder's murder and tying together the sub-plots for a hard hitting conclusion. I can not say that I enjoyed the movie as much as the book. I can say, however, this move, The Good German, is very enjoyable, spellbinding, and well worth viewing.
Submitted by BobJL (Temecula, CA, USA) 
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Good German DVD Region 1
Keep Case
Single Side - Dual Layer
Full Frame -
1.33
Audio:
Dolby Surround 5.1 - English, Spansh, French/Quebequois,
Dolby Surround Stereo 2.0 - English
Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Subtitles - English, French/Quebequois, Spanish - Optional
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