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The Lives of Others (2006)

Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Volkmar Kleinert, Matthias Brenner

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Release Date: February 9th, 2007
Release Date: 13th April, 2007

Synopsis: The horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany. In the early 1980s, the successful dramatist Georg Dreyman and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland, a popular actress, are big intellectual stars in the socialist state, although they secretly don’t always think loyal to the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple, but their life fascinates him more and more.

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About the Movie

The Lives of Others is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of writer and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The film involves the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR’s secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his chief Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman’s lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland.

The film was released in Germany on March 23, 2006. At the same time, the screenplay was published by Suhrkamp Verlag. The film succeeded in Germany despite a widespread contemporary reluctance in the country, particularly in its films, to confront the totalitarian excesses of the East German state.

With The Lives of Others, Henckel von Donnersmarck won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film had earlier won seven Deutscher Filmpreis awards – including best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best supporting actor – after having set a new record with 11 nominations. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 64th Golden Globe Awards. The Lives of Others cost US$2 million and grossed more than $77 million worldwide as of November 2007[update]. Prior to his death, Sydney Pollack was said to be directing a possible Hollywood remake of the film.

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'The Lives of Others' Stars

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Martina Gedeck, Matthias Brenner, Sebastian Koch, Thomas Thieme, Ulrich Mühe, Ulrich Tukur, Volkmar Kleinert

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'The Lives of Others' Movie Links

Official The Lives of Others Movie Website
The Lives of Others on IMDb

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