The Good German (DVD, 2007)

Didn't care for this movie plot at all, acting was good, but that's all I can say about this movie, sorry to say.

I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, so it's kind of hard to judge it. But, I do enjoy this type of movie, so I'm sure I'll like it when I do watch it.

Modern NOIR set in Post WAR Berlin we we find journalist (Clooney) has gone to look for Lena (Blanchett) a former love who has done what any girl needs to do to survive~ her new lover is Toby McGuire as a very repulsive con who is into the black market and will do anything and I mean anything to make a buck~ full of twists and turns but well acted and excellent photography~
the black and white feel of the old Noir is there~ well done for a modern Classic~ I would give it an 8 out of 10 for acting plot and a 10 for photography and cinematrography~

Blanchett never disappoints~

IF YOU FOUND THIS REVIEW HELPFUL PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE~

The cinematography was superb and the actors excellent, especially George Clooney. The action is complex and at times confusing. If I had not read the book first, I would have been lost several times. Watching twice is recommended.
Also, some key parts from the book were left out.

It was a great movie. It did not say any where that is was a DVD-RAM, so it would only play on a DVD-RAM player.

The Good German is an excellent modern verison of film noir. The plot is good
with a fair amount of twists and turns to keep you trying to figure who did it.

I see I wrote a review for a German memoir for this by mistake. (g) This is a good film with Cate Blanchett. She accurately portrays things in immediate postwar and occupied Germany, where prostitution was common just in order to get daily bread. I don't see how Cate came up with that good a German accent...she didn't do well on a Southern one, but it is a great film. It has shades of Schindler's List...in that it is done in b & w, and isn't quite as good, but I would buy it again and recommend it.

"The Good German" has three major stars in lead roles: Tobey MacGuire plays Patrick Tully, who is having an affair with an older woman, Lena Brandt, played by Cate Blanchett. Tully is a military driver in post World War II Berlin and is assigned to driving Jake Geismar (George Clooney) of the New Republic Magazine around Berlin during the Potsdam Conference. The movie is filmed in black and white so that actual newsreels can be inserted at various points and not seem out of place.

The movie is really Lena Brandt's story. She has lots of secrets that get revealed as the story progresses. And her main motivation seems to be leaving Berlin and getting to another country. We learn that she was married to an SS Officer, who was a participating secretary to the commander of German Camp Dora, where the German rockets were built by concentration camp slaves. We find out that her husband, presumed dead, is actually alive, and is being taken care of in a secret hiding place by Lena. And there are more secrets to be revealed.

The movie has been compared to "Casablanca" because of a love triangle partly from the past between Geismer-Lena-Tully and the mysterious plane trip at the end of the movie. But to me, the story is much more similar to "Sophie's Choice" because it is a story of survival and doing whatever it takes to live just one more day. That is Lena's story, and it is revealed painfully just as Sophie's story was revealed that way in that movie.

This movie was directed by Steven Soderbergh of "Traffic" fame. Its newsy way of telling the story is similar to "Traffic." The movie did not do well at the box office and quickly went to DVD. However, it is worth viewing just to see Cate Blanchett in another difficult role where she is great. Tobey MacGuire has been panned for his part, but I think that he played the young soldier to a tee; the character was just way over his head in his innocence in trying to play the black market game.

This movie is not great but is worth seeing.

franky,i liked book far more,movie should have followed book and not made changes at all in script,dissapointed,dwm.

I bought the movie because I had read the book and was in Germany two years ago.
I thought the book was great and was eager to see the movie. The movie left me flat and so much profanity is unnecessary to relate the story. I almost got a feel of Dick Tracy like shots and was bored.

I saw it on the big screen, and wanted to own it. The difference between a good review, and an attack, to me, is if you go to a movie to judge it, or with a free open mind. I have heard many writers say when they went back to a movie they judged, with new eyes ( just to enjoy ) they had a complete change of heart. Drama school is for crtics, movies are for fun. The good german was an awesome movie to our little group. We saw this movie together, and this review is reflective of us all. First, if you like Cate Blanchett, just buy the movie. Her performance should win an award, a big one. The rest of the movie did just enough to let Blanchett shine, and shine she does. The setting is post war Berlin, which is very interesting just in it's self. The blackmarket, the unstable atmosphere of those times, and the unusal oppertunities presented during these times, combine in a very interesting and exciting film; not to mention the way the movie is shot, to capture those times; which was stellar.