The Lives of Others
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Martina Gedeck
Sebastian Koch
Ulrich Tukur
Charly Huebner
Hans-uwe Bauer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
East Berlin, November 1984. Five years before its downfall, the former East-German government ensured its claim to power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance. Party-loyalist Captain Gerd Wiesler hopes to boost his career when given the job of collecting evidence against the playwright Georg Dreyman and his girlfriend, the celebrated theater actress Christa-Maria Sieland. After all, the "operation" is backed by the highest political circles. What he didn't anticipate, however, was that submerging oneself into the world of the target also changes the surveillance agent. The immersion in the lives of others--in love, literature, free thinking and speech--makes Wiesler acutely aware of the meagerness of his own existence and opens to him a completely new way of life which he has ever more trouble resisting. But the system, once started, cannot be stopped. A dangerous game has begun.
Cast
Martina Gedeck
Sebastian Koch
Ulrich Tukur
Charly Huebner
Hans-uwe Bauer
Matthias Brenner
Ulrich Muehe
Herbert Knaup
Volkmar Kleinert
Thomas Thieme
Crew
Simone Bär
Claudia Beewen
Quirin Berg
Gabriele Binder
Hagen Bogdanski
Silke Buhr
Dirk Hamm
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Stephane Moucha
Hubertus Rath
Patricia Rommel
Christoph Von Schoenburg
Max Wiedemann
Arno Wilms
Gabriel Yared
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Best Foreign Language Film
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Winner of the 2007 award for Best Film Not in the English Language by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
Winner of the 2007 award for Best Foreign Film by the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC).
Winner of the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Winner of the John Schlesinger Award, 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Winner of the KPN Audience Award at the 2007 Rotterdam International Film Festival.
Winner of two 2007 awards including Foreign Language Film of the Year and Screenwriter of the Year by the London Critics' Circle.
Winner of the 2006 award for Best Foreign-Language Film of the Year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).
Winner of the People's Choice Audience Award for Most Popular International Film at the 2006 Vancouver International Film Festival.
Winner of the Prix du Public Audience Award at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival.
Winner of the Satyajit Ray Award for best first feature at the 2006 Times BFI London Film Festival.
Released in United States December 1, 2006
Released in United States Winter February 9, 2007
Released in United States on Video August 21, 2007
Released in United States 2006
Released in United States August 2006
Released in United States September 2006
Released in United States October 2006
Released in United States November 2006
Released in United States 2007
Released in United States January 2007
Released in United States February 2007
Released in United States July 2009
Shown at Times BFI London Film Festival (Cinema Europa) October 18-November 2, 2006.
Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival September 28-October 13, 2006.
Shown at Locarno International Film Festival (Piazza Grande) August 2-12, 2006.
Shown at Pusan International Film Festival (World Cinema) October 12-20, 2006.
Shown at Rotterdam International Film Festival (Cinema of the World: Time & Tide) January 24-February 4, 2007.
Shown at Santa Barbara International Film Festival (World Cinema) January 25-February 4, 2007.
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (2007 Best of Fest, Awards Buzz - Best Foreign Language Film) January 4-15, 2007.
Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (German Cinema) February 8-18, 2007.
Shown at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (20 Years of Freedom) July 3-11, 2009.
Feature directorial debut for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
Sony Pictures Classics acquired North American rights at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Released in United States December 1, 2006 (one week Oscar qualifying run; Los Angeles)
Released in United States Winter February 9, 2007
Released in United States on Video August 21, 2007
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at Times BFI London Film Festival (Cinema Europa) October 18-November 2, 2006.)
Released in United States 2006 (Shown at Vancouver International Film Festival September 28-October 13, 2006.)
Released in United States August 2006 (Shown at Locarno International Film Festival (Piazza Grande) August 2-12, 2006.)
Released in United States September 2006 (Shown at Telluride Film Festival September 1-4, 2006.)
Released in United States October 2006 (Shown at Pusan International Film Festival (World Cinema) October 12-20, 2006.)
Released in United States November 2006 (Shown at AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival (World Cinema) November 1-12, 2006.)
Released in United States 2007 (Shown at Rotterdam International Film Festival (Cinema of the World: Time & Tide) January 24-February 4, 2007.)
Released in United States 2007 (Shown at Santa Barbara International Film Festival (World Cinema) January 25-February 4, 2007.)
Released in United States January 2007 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (2007 Best of Fest, Awards Buzz - Best Foreign Language Film) January 4-15, 2007.)
Released in United States February 2007 (Shown at Berlin International Film Festival (German Cinema) February 8-18, 2007. )
Released in United States July 2009 (Shown at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (20 Years of Freedom) July 3-11, 2009.)
The Country of Germany
