Movies in German

Films and DVDs: 1997-1999

Filme aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

German Movies > 2000-2003 > 1997-1999 > Index

> Full Movie Index (Titles alphabetically)
> Reviews of German Movies
> German Videos

This is the second part of our guide to German-language films dated 1997 or later. When complete, we will list all of the major German films from 1994 on, plus earlier German film classics. Also see: Best German Films for German-Learners, Movie Index, German Movies on DVD, and German Movies: Introduction.

Films listed alphabetically for each year
Years are for original release in home market

ABBREVIATIONS USED:
A=Austria, CH=Switzerland, D=Germany
DVD/D/VHS/D=On DVD/video in German (Region 2)
DVD/E/VHS/E=On DVD/video, English subtitles (Region 1)
NTSC=U.S. TV standard (video for U.S. VCRs)
PAL=German TV standard (video for German VCRs)

NOTE: Not all films listed, even older ones, are available on video/DVD. German DVDs are Code 2 and will not play on a normal North American Code 1 DVD player. PAL VHS is only suitable for German and some other European VCRs. For more about playing German DVDs, see our DVD Guide.

To buy the German (PAL, Region 2) versions of many of the films below, see the German-Hollywood DVD Store (Web link).

1999 Films

Aimée & Jaguar (D)
Director: Max Färberböck. Berlin 1943/44. Two young women fall deeply in love against the background of the double threat of bombing raids and persecution. For one of them, married and a mother of four children, it will be a crucial experience in her life. For the other woman who, as a Jew and member of an underground organisation, is under constant threat, this love also means hope of life and survival. - DVD/E: Aimée & Jaguar DVD - Compare Prices!
WEB > Aimée and Jaguar - Review from World Film at About.

Der Krieger und die Kaiserin (D)
Director: Tom Tykwer. English title: The Princess and the Warrior. Director Tykwer teamed up again with his "Run Lola Run" star, Franka Potente, to make this similar but also different film about how happenstance can change one's life in an instant. When a man (Benno Fürmann) gets run over, a nurse (Potente) saves his life. But then the man seems to disappear. - DVD/E: Princess & Warrior DVD - Compare Prices!

Sonnenallee (D)
Director: Leander Haussmann. English title: Sun Alley (a mistranslation of Sonnenallee, which should be "Sun Boulevard" or "Sun Avenue"). "Die Sonnenallee" is an actual street that was cut in two by the Berlin Wall. This film version of Thomas Brussig's novel is a seriocomic look at life in communist East Berlin during the 1970s. It was both praised and criticized for the way it portrays the people of East Germany, but both the film and the book are ideal in many ways for German-learners, with clear and simple language (with some Berlin dialect thrown in) that intermediate learners can follow. The director himself was born in Quedlinburg in East Germany in 1959. "Sonnenallee" was his film directorial debut. - DVD/D: Sonnenallee DVD (Region 2)
BUCH zum FILM: Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee von Thomas Brussig. The original novel upon which the film is based.
WEB > Sonnenallee Website (in German)

1998 Films

Pünktchen und Anton (D)
Director: Caroline Link. English title: Annaluise and Anton. Yet another screen version of a well-known Erich Kästner children's story. In this update, Pünktchen/Annaluise is no longer selling matches to help Anton, but is a street singer in Munich. Director Link is perhaps better known for her award-winning "Jenseits der Stille" ("Beyond Silence," 1996), nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar® in 1997. Also see our review of Link's more recent NIRGENDWO IN AFRIKA. - DVD/D: Pünktchen und Anton - DVD (Region 2)

Lola rennt (D)
Director: Tom Tykwer. English title: Run Lola Run. See our two articles on this very popular German film starring Franka Potente: Lola's Running and Lola's Running on Video. - This is a great DVD: 'Run Lola Run' on DVD (in German with or without subtitles).

1997 Films

Beyond Silence (D 1997, US release)
German title: Jenseits der Stille. Award-winning film directed by Caroline Link (Nirgendwo in Afrika). COMPARE PRICES > Beyond Silence on DVD or Video

Comedian Harmonists (D)
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier. English title: The Harmonists. The true story of a German singing group that achieved worldwide success before the Nazis made life difficult for them. Vilsmaier's film won the German Film Prize (Deutscher Filmpreis) in 1998. Eberhard Fechner made a documentary film about the group in 1976 (Die Comedian Harmonists. Sechs Lebensläufe) and his book by the same name (see below) was published in 1997. - DVD/E: Harmonists DVD (English subtitles) - Compare Prices!
BUCH zum FILM: Die Comedian Harmonists. Sechs Lebensläufe von Eberhard Fechner.

Funny Games (A)
Director: Michael Haneke. This Austrian Clockwork Orange-flavored horror-thriller flick is not to my taste, but if you like this sort of thing—mindless terrible violence—this film has it to the extreme. Two young men go from friendly visitors to sadisitic killers as they terrorize a family of three at their lakeside vacation home. "See it if you dare!"

BACK > Part 1: German Movies 2000-2005
INDEX > Full Movie Index - Titles listed alphabetically
BACK > German Movies: Introduction

German Movie Reviews New!
Full reviews of feature films and DVDs for German by your Guide.

VIDEOS > German Videostore