| The Tin Drum |  | Director: Volker Schlöndorff
Actors: David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski
Category: DVD
Buy New: $25.64
as of 9/6/2010 07:49 MDT details
Rating:  reviews
Format: PAL
Languages: German (Original Language), Hebrew (Original Language), Italian (Original Language), Polish (Original Language), Russian (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 2
Discs: 1
Running Time: 142 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5035017010174
Theatrical Release Date: April 11, 1980
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This Oscar-winning adaptation of Günter Grass's novel is an absurdist fantasy about a little German boy (David Bennent) who wills himself at the age of three not to grow up in protest of the Nazi regime. Made unnecessarily notorious in recent years due to overzealous censors in some parts of the United States, the film is more startling and surreal than obscene. Bennent is very good, and while the 1979 film doesn't meet the high standards of the best work from the then-renaissance of German film, it has a special place in the hearts of many who saw it upon its release. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff (The Handmaid's Tale). --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Tin Drum March 27, 2010
Wayne R. Klatt (Chicago, IL)
This is one of the greatest movies ever made, although some people may not appreciate such a dark satire. A three-year-old boy refuses to grow up and destroys things to get his way. He is pampered by people to keep him happy, and he grows older (without physically or mentally aging) as the Nazis take over the free city of Danzig. Nobel Prize winning author Gunther Grass, who grew up in this area, helped adapt his novel, and the lead character is played amazingly well by a 12-year-old boy who looks younger and yet acts older. His continual presence makes the strange story even more effective than the book.
An unforgettable journey! March 15, 2010
Ankur Mukherjee
One of the very rare masterpieces of cinema indeed. I didn't have much expectations from this film, I never do because I love to be surprised, the film managed to surprise me, shock me and amuse me like very less films do. The film is one of very very rare films that lays emphasis on Dwarfism, but that's not all. David Bennent will steal your heart and soul in this film! you will not dare move an eye lid when you witness this young performer on screen. The film will definitely shock you, change some of your opinions about life as well. An amazing cast performance, direction and truly a gem of a film! have an open mind and give a chance to this rare film, the film has a lot to offer.
Germany's bleak past seen through the eyes of a child.... January 1, 2010
Edmonson (Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The "Tin Drum" (1979) is directed by Volker Schlondorff, and is based on Gunter Grass's novel of the same name. The movie though, only focuses on the first two thirds of the novel up to the end of WWII. The novel also differs from the movie in that the novel was a reminiscence of Oscar from later in life from an insane asylum. The movie doesn't mention this fact, and instead starts from the meeting between Oscar's grandparents in the potato fields. Oscar (David Bennett) is about a boy who has an intellect beyond his years and who sees the hypocrisy of adulthood. At the age of three, as an act of rebellion, he refuses to grow. Oskar lashes out at the world through the beating of his drum, and through his piercing screams. Through surreal imagery, striking eroticism, and biting satire this film stitches together one memorable moment after another. Parts of the film were filmed with an early motion camera in order to create the surreal effect of movements being slightly out of sync with reality. This gives the film a dream like quality as if one is viewing the scenes from memory rather than experiencing things first hand.
The film's picture and sound have been newly remastered by Criterion. The film is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1, and the sound is in 5.1 Dolby Digital, with the option of hearing the soundtrack in its original 1.0 mono version. Disc two has rare deleted scenes, a feature "Volker Schlondorff Remembers the Tin Drum", a rare 1987 reading by Gunter Grass of an excerpt from his novel Die Blechtrommel, entitled "The Platform", the documentary "Banned in Oklahoma", a collection of interviews featuring Schlondorff and actor David Bennett at the 1979 Cannes festival, Schlondorff and Gunter Grass during filming, and others. There is also a statement by Gunter Grass about the adaptation of his novel to screen, and a new essay by film scholar Eric Rentschler, author of "West German Film in the Course of Time".
Hallucinatory fable full of strange beauty July 14, 2009
K. Swanson (Austin, TX United States)
4.5 stars
A hallucinatory fable and then some, The Tin Drum is a truly lush film, visually and philosophically. Having not read the book I have no idea how faithful the screen version is, but the film stands squarely on its own merits.
Disturbing and thought-provoking in many ways and at many points, this is a movie that demands your attention and rewards it handsomely. It is far from a Hollywood studio film so be prepared for a slower pace, but the gorgeous shots of mostly ungorgeous places and people make it all worthwhile, as does the phenomenal script, direction, and certainly Bennent's amazing performance as Oskar. A better child actor does not immediately come to mind. The boy brings so much emotion to the screen, sometimes simply by looking at what's happening. He makes this movie work.
The "controversial" censored scenes here are in no way obscene and far from gratuitous to the story. It says everything about our nation that we try to censor sex but celebrate graphic violence at every turn in movies and on tv. But then again, that's how you inure people to war so the Boys can keep the trillions rolling in while controlling the sheeple and the world. And that's something this movie points out, ironically enough.
It's very wise to watch good foreign films often enough to remind oneself that Hollyweird is far behind the rest of the world in many ways. The perspectives and cinematic conventions of other nations are often both enlightening and beautiful in ways that are strange to American eyes. So much to learn and ponder and compare and rejoice in.
This is a throughly interesting film in most every way, and a powerful allegory about war and what each of us means in the broader picture of humanity. Oh, and very funny at moments too, amazingly enough.
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