German Movie Recommendation

Language Corner
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Hi guys

I am taking German classes and my reading comprehension is ok, though listening to somebody, even my teacher talk, is *hell*. I do the fish eye thing when people speak to me. So I am thinking a weekly German language matinee is in order!!!

Do you have any recommendation for good German movies that I can rent at the videostore? I would rather not watch dubbed American movies.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys!

Leyla

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Massimo Rocky's A:UA

das Boot - if you a guy

Madchen Madchen 1 & 2 - if you like chick flick.

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Hi leyla

My favorites:

Das Leben der Anderen

Der Untergang

Der Schuh des Manitu

Anatomie

Stalingrad

Otto Filme

Das Boot

Good bye Lenin

On TV: Tatort, Stromberg

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Hi. If you would like to get a little closer to the Swiss way of speaking German, maybe you should check-out a film called "Mein name ist Eugene". Difficult obviously, but hilariously funny and lots of good scenes shot in and around Bern and Zürich

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I'd recommend Lola Rennt - without giving too much away, the story is told three times over, so what you miss first time, you might pick up the second or third times!

An absolute classic is Heinz Rühmann's Die Feuerzangenbowle (1944), though make sure you get a remastered version as otherwise the sound quality might make it difficult for you to understand anything! It's traditional to drink Feuerzangenbowle as you watch - the jury is still out on whether this aids or impairs comprehension!

Edit: I forgot - Sonnenallee is also really good.

Edit again with more afterthoughts: Der bewegte Mann is very funny, Aimee und Jaguar is supposed to be good but I haven't seen it myself, and Crazy is good if you want to brush up on teen-German.

Ok, no more edits, I promise - If I remember any more films, I'll keep them to myself!

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Lola Rennt indeed is good - and they speak proper German, like.

Bang on the subtitles and away you go.

Alternately, rent your favourite, most-watched movie ever and watch it in German. You know the story, you have an idea what they're saying - and you can put on German subtitles to increase your understanding.

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As always, Frau Google is our friend:

Best German Films for German Learners

- not necessarily as good as personal recommendations, but not a bad place to start. I've only heard of about half of the films they list on the next page (top 35 German films), despite having lived in German-speaking countries for about ten years. I should probably be ashamed of myself.

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I went to see La Vie en Rose this weekend. It's a French film about Edith Piaf and it is subtitled in German.

Since management (GF) is French and a fan of Piaf I agreed to go. I didn't think I'd get by on the German subtitles, but I did. With the French commentary and the visual context, I found it a really interesting experience and can say that I got 90% of the German. I liked the speed aspect of it, forcing yourself to read and comprehend quickly.

This is indeed a great way to learn.

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"Indianer!"

"Servus!"

Yeah, Schuh des Manitu as someone already said.

Traumschiff Surprise (same people as the above).

Beresina oder Die letzten Tage der Schweiz (how can nobody have mentioned this one?!)

"Schuh" can also be had on DVD in English, so you can watch it once in both languages to help with understanding. Can't remember if there are subtitles available or not.

I forgot to say: my old teacher recommended quiz shows on German TV as they often print the question at the bottom of the screen if you get stuck. Soon you'll be so engrossed in answering the questions you'll forget what language it is in. Honest.

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I don't know if you're interested only in movies, but when I was learning my first foreign language, I found that watching cartoons greatly improved my listening. They have a restricted and easy vocabulary (for obvious reasons) and because you can't see lips moving, you really have to concentrate on the sounds. Note that these cartons don't necessarily need to be german, just in german.

Hope that helps.

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If you like slow but deep movies, try Wim Wenders. I greatly enjoyed "Der Himmel über Berlin" and "In weiter Ferne so nah" although I can understand if they are not everybody's cup of tea (Sometimes they speak with thick Berlin accents but it should be pretty understandable... It's not as bad as in "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick" with Heinz Rühmann(for those of you who know that film))

Re: Swiss movies - I'd suggest "Die Schweizermacher" (The Swiss Makers) which is all about the naturalisation processes of different immigrants - very enjoyable (especially if you are in the same situation...) even though it is a little bit dated.

To enrich your teen-Swiss German vocabulary check out "Achtung fertig Charlie" - a hilarious comedy about recruits in the Swiss Army..

Cheers,

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Also just try channel surfing during the afternoon - you'll often find a 1930s or 1940s films on the TV in nice, slow High German.

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Herr Lehmann Is the funniest German film I've seen. Great soundtrack too.

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Some good recommendations here... maybe also check out Nowhere in Africa (Nirgendwo in Afrika).

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can't edit my post? hrm. clicking that link, Europa Europa is also good, and I found it incredibly easy to follow the German within that film compared to, say, Der Untergang

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You can't edit your posts until you've made a certain number of them.

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i'm surprised no one mentioned The Edukators. also, Nowhere in Africa and Goodbye Lenin are amazing.

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Ugh, The Edukators... Two thumbs down unless you'd vote for the far-left wing of the SP (stretching it) or "Die Link" / soon-to-be-former "PDS" in Germany -- a real Communist movie.

I found myself drawn, despite reservations, to what has been posthumously titled the "BRD Trilogy" by a director who is suddenly becoming popular in Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Some of his films have suddenly appeared within the past six months at our local Swiss library. They've been playing some on Star tv as well, and his prolific Berlin Alexanderplatz was shown at the recent Berlin Film Festival. You cannot rent it, and do not want to -- it is 15 1/2 hours.

If you are able to, try to get a hold of the "The Marriage of Maria Braun." The film is extremely well made, although one needs to be careful about Fassbinder's anti-West German tendencies. The second in the series is extremely good and amazingly cynical - "Veronika Voss." Here is the Star tv schedule . Maria Braun is on in May. Just be warned, quite of a few of his movies are not as good (I've seen three others, none of them were as well made as the BRD trilogy) and is known as a director that you either like or do not like. I tend not to believe such statements -- I think each movie or period of time is different from others. Just be warned, that most of the movies on TV will more than likely not be that good.

A quick tip to everyone! You should go to your local library and see if they carry DVDs, the fees will either be less than at a rental place or non-existent. Rental periods usually range from one to two weeks, dependent upon the library. The library we frequent charges 10 CHF per year and carries almost all of the movies mentioned in this thread -- that would be quiet a savings!

19
Well, I saw "Das Leben der Anderen" and I enjoyed it. Good movie. But as far as the pedagogy of learning a language by watching a grown up movie goes...eh. It was so frustrating that it took about oh, 2 days, off an on, to get through.

So I'm sticking to the more comedic suggestions on here.

My next attempt may be cartoons, Swiss or German.

Cheers

Leyla

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I too saw 'Das Leben der Anderen' (The Lives of Others) but with English subtitles. Excellent film; very good actors.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/