My Favorite German Movies
by kopfmatscher | created - 12 Apr 2011 | updated - 13 Jun 2014 | PublicA movie list made by Kopfmatscher : My Favorite German Movies
( die besten deutschen filme )
( the best german movies)
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1. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,389 | Gross: $11.49M
2. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,458
3. Downfall (2004)
R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler
Votes: 375,281 | Gross: $5.51M
4. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
PG | 158 min | Adventure, Drama
The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Votes: 38,603
5. Elementarteilchen (2006)
113 min | Drama, Romance
Two half brothers in Berlin, 30+, one an introverted scientist, the other a sexually frustrated teacher, have no love life. That's about to change.
Director: Oskar Roehler | Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Ulmen, Franka Potente, Martina Gedeck
Votes: 8,306
6. The Tin Drum (1979)
R | 142 min | Drama, War
In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
Director: Volker Schlöndorff | Stars: David Bennent, Mario Adorf, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach
Votes: 25,757
7. Christiane F. (1981)
R | 138 min | Biography, Drama
A teen girl in 1970s Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Natja Brunckhorst, Eberhard Auriga, Peggy Bussieck, Lothar Chamski
Votes: 29,423
8. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney
Votes: 156,992 | Gross: $20.16M
Deutschland, USA
9. The Punch Bowl (1944)
97 min | Comedy, Family
A successful writer, home-schooled in his youth, masquerades as a student at a secondary school to experience all the fun and pranks he missed out on.
Director: Helmut Weiss | Stars: Heinz Rühmann, Karin Himboldt, Hilde Sessak, Erich Ponto
Votes: 6,615
10. Bang Boom Bang - Ein todsicheres Ding (1999)
110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A violent chain of events ensues as a jailed criminal arranges to buy a car from a shady car dealer, unaware that his partner in freedom has squandered most of the money from their last bank robbery on horse race betting.
Director: Peter Thorwarth | Stars: Oliver Korittke, Markus Knüfken, Ralf Richter, Diether Krebs
Votes: 10,831
11. The Bridge (1959)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, History, War
In 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.
Director: Bernhard Wicki | Stars: Volker Bohnet, Fritz Wepper, Michael Hinz, Frank Glaubrecht
Votes: 8,654
12. The Treasure of the Silver Lake (1962)
82 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
In their first cinematic adventure, Apache chief Winnetou and mountain man Old Shatterhand pursue a gang of murderous outlaws who will stop at nothing to find the legendary treasure of Silver Lake.
Director: Harald Reinl | Stars: Pierre Brice, Lex Barker, Herbert Lom, Götz George
Votes: 3,626
13. Ödipussi (1988)
88 min | Comedy, Romance
Gray-haired furniture retailer Paul Winkelmann still has his dinner cooked and his laundry done by his mother. He spends his evenings playing Scrabble with Mama's friends and discussing the... See full summary »
Director: Vicco von Bülow | Stars: Vicco von Bülow, Katharina Brauren, Evelyn Hamann, Edda Seippel
Votes: 4,349
14. The Blue Light (1932)
85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
When the moon is full, young men die attempting to reach the mysterious blue light in the mountains.
Directors: Leni Riefenstahl, Béla Balázs | Stars: Leni Riefenstahl, Mathias Wieman, Beni Führer, Max Holzboer
Votes: 1,390
15. The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)
R | 150 min | Action, Biography, Crime
A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings, and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz
Votes: 40,129 | Gross: $0.48M
16. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro
Votes: 62,307
17. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997)
Not Rated | 87 min | Action, Crime, Comedy
Two terminally ill patients escape from a hospital, steal a car and rush towards the sea.
Director: Thomas Jahn | Stars: Til Schweiger, Jan Josef Liefers, Thierry van Werveke, Moritz Bleibtreu
Votes: 33,695 | Gross: $0.00M
18. In July (2000)
99 min | Adventure, Comedy, Romance
A young, insecure teacher embarks on a journey through Europe to Turkey, where he wants to see a woman again whom he believes to be his fate.
Director: Fatih Akin | Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christiane Paul, Mehmet Kurtulus, Idil Üner
Votes: 22,843
19. Attention, Papa Arrives! (1991)
89 min | Comedy, Family
After ordering enough typewriting paper for 40 years, just to get discount, Heinrich Lohse is forced to retire. The former manager has plenty of time now to spend with his wife and their 16... See full summary »
Directors: Vicco von Bülow, Renate Westphal-Lorenz | Stars: Evelyn Hamann, Vicco von Bülow, Irm Hermann, Hans-Peter Korff
Votes: 5,945
20. Werner - Beinhart! (1990)
93 min | Action, Animation, Comedy
Broesel has to make a Werner animation film but right now he has no real ideas for new stories. Thus he simply draws some stories from Werner's youth.
Directors: Gerhard Hahn, Niki List, Michael Schaack | Stars: Klaus Büchner, Andi Feldmann, Kulle Westphal, Rötger Feldmann
Votes: 6,231
21. The Edukators (2004)
R | 127 min | Drama, Romance
Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
Director: Hans Weingartner | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaußner
Votes: 32,380 | Gross: $0.18M
22. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 207,021 | Gross: $7.27M
23. The Lives of Others (2006)
R | 137 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Votes: 410,557 | Gross: $11.29M
24. Wings of Desire (1987)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois
Votes: 77,045 | Gross: $3.33M
25. Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.
Director: Wolfgang Becker | Stars: Daniel Brühl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova, Florian Lukas
Votes: 152,662 | Gross: $4.06M
26. Lammbock (2001)
Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Crime
Stefan and Kai have good going business, self-grown cannabis screened as pizza delivering service. For now they only have to deal with aphids.
Director: Christian Zübert | Stars: Lucas Gregorowicz, Moritz Bleibtreu, Marie Zielcke, Julian Weigend
Votes: 11,876
27. Was nicht passt, wird passend gemacht (2002)
101 min | Comedy
A group of rather slapdash builders are rather imaginative at solving what problems come their way. Whatever it is that doesn't fit the picture, it will be made fit in no time.
Director: Peter Thorwarth | Stars: Peter Thorwarth, Ralf Richter, Hilmi Sözer, Willi Thomczyk
Votes: 4,138
28. The Experiment (2001)
R | 120 min | Drama, Thriller
For two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski, Wotan Wilke Möhring
Votes: 96,103 | Gross: $0.14M
29. Suck Me Shakespeer (2013)
119 min | Comedy
A comedy that follows an ex-convict who lands a position at a school that sits over the spot where money from one of his earlier robberies was stashed.
Director: Bora Dagtekin | Stars: Elyas M'Barek, Karoline Herfurth, Katja Riemann, Jana Pallaske
Votes: 31,698
30. Soul Kitchen (2009)
99 min | Comedy, Drama
In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.
Director: Fatih Akin | Stars: Adam Bousdoukos, Moritz Bleibtreu, Pheline Roggan, Anna Bederke
Votes: 40,439 | Gross: $0.27M
31. The Miracle of Bern (2003)
118 min | Drama, Sport
A young boy from a working class family in post-war Germany struggles with his estranged father returning from war captivity, while a friend of his plays for the German National Soccer Team at the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland.
Director: Sönke Wortmann | Stars: Louis Klamroth, Peter Lohmeyer, Johanna Gastdorf, Lucas Gregorowicz
Votes: 7,479
32. Der Stern von Afrika (1957)
88 min | Drama, War
Biographic Movie of the German fighter ace, who was killed in a plane crash after over 150 kills in North Africa.
Director: Alfred Weidenmann | Stars: Joachim Hansen, Marianne Koch, Hansjörg Felmy, Horst Frank
Votes: 349
33. Stalingrad (1993)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, War
The story follows a group of German soldiers, from their Italian R&R in the summer of 1942 to the frozen steppes of Soviet Russia and ending with the battle for Stalingrad.
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier | Stars: Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph
Votes: 37,730 | Gross: $0.08M
34. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,492 | Gross: $0.03M
35. Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Votes: 185,562 | Gross: $1.24M
36. Triumph of the Will (1935)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History
The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Max Amann, Martin Bormann
Votes: 18,325
37. Serengeti (1959)
85 min | Documentary
The borders of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania were initially drawn without considering the herds of grass-eating wild animals. The recording of seasonal animal movements by the ... See full summary »
Director: Bernhard Grzimek | Stars: Bernhard Grzimek, Holger Hagen, Hermann Rockmann
Votes: 432
38. Forklift Driver Klaus: The First Day on the Job (2000)
10 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Short film depicting a fictional educational film about fork lift truck operational safety. The dangers of unsafe operation are presented in gory details.
Directors: Stefan Prehn, Jörg Wagner | Stars: Konstantin Graudus, Gustav Adolph Artz, Jürgen Kittel, Sönke Korries
Votes: 4,943
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