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| The Lives of Others | 
| Director: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck
Actors: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muehe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.94
Buy New: $8.69
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (245 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1100
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 138 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: COLD17085D
UPC: 043396170858
EAN: 0043396170858
ASIN: B000OVLBGC
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Theatrical Release Date: 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The erotic & emotionally-charged story of one couple whose every private moment is being monitored by an east berlin secret police officer (the stasi) who is about to learn secrets that will change their lives - and his - forever. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 03/25/2008 Run time: 138 minutes Rating: R
Amazon.com
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Nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, this is a first-rate thriller that, like Bertolucci's The Conformist and Coppola's The Conversation, opts for character development over car chases. The place is East Berlin, the year is 1984, and it all begins with a simple surveillance assignment: Capt. Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe in a restrained, yet deeply felt performance), a Stasi officer and a specialist in this kind of thing, has been assigned to keep an eye on Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch, Black Book), a respected playwright, and his actress girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck, Mostly Martha). Though Dreyman is known to associate with the occasional dissident, like blacklisted director Albert Jerska (Volkmar Kleinert), his record is spotless. Everything changes when Wiesler discovers that Minister Hempf (Thomas Thieme) has an ulterior motive in spying on this seemingly upright citizen. In other words, it's personal, and Wiesler's sympathies shift from the government to its people--or at least to this one particular person. That would be risky enough, but then Wiesler uses his privileged position to affect a change in Dreyman's life. The God-like move he makes may be minor and untraceable, but it will have major consequences for all concerned, including Wiesler himself. Writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck starts with a simple premise that becomes more complicated and emotionally involving as his assured debut unfolds. Though three epilogues is, arguably, two too many, The Lives of Others is always elegant, never confusing. It's class with feeling. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Beyond The Lives of Others 
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from Sony Pictures Classics | Stills from The Lives of Others (click for larger image)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 240 more reviews...
 You must see this film!!! November 20, 2008
I work for government and I have my fair share of seeing characters like Minister Hempt and Lt. Colonel Grubitz, whom appear to the world staunch beholders of believes and ideals but in reality are just power hungry and greedy.
The one who really believes in his country's direction and who really knows how to do his job (getting confessions and snooping) right is Captain Gerd Wiesler (code name: HGW XX/7), who was classmates with Lt. Colonel Grubitz and now his subordinate.
With an old classmate in a high place, Captain Wiesler should have no trouble moving up the career ladder into a cushy position and comfortable retirement. A chance assignment to monitor his country's best play write and his living actress girl friend changed Captain Wiesler and those he monitored lives forever.
Many people had summarized the plot so I won't repeat here. I just want to say that I was shouting with joy when I saw the first of the 3 epilogues. When Captain Wiesler was demoted by Lt. Colonel Grubitz to a basement room to steam-open letters (to check for content), Grubitz screamed at him "Do you know how long you'd be steaming letters? 20 YEARS!!!!". People in government jobs who are out of favor, who had done something wrong, or who were not aligned with rising stars know this fate intimately. That's why it's such a joy to see Wiesler out of steaming letters after less than 5 years at it.
Yes, Captain Wiesler did pay for not "doing his job right", even after the fall of East Germany. He had to make do by working as a mailman. I can't help but to feel a rush of tears to my eyes and warmth in my heart seeing the last scene when he said to the bookstore clerk that the book "Sonata for a Good Man" he was about to pay for was "for him". There's barely a hint of smile lurking in the corner of his mouth when the frame stopped. That was a priceless last scene to a well-written, well-acted, and well-edited film, one of the best I've seem in the past 5 years.
Somewhere, somehow, someone..... November 12, 2008
In a heartless time under a heartless regime, somehow, someone found a heart, and faced with a dilemma made a decision, that would impact the Lives of Others.
It is a rare sign only seen in the best movies, and masterful how this movie builds up, and unwinds, and unwinds even more just as you think its already completely unwound.
This story is as intricate as the inner working of a watch, make the slightest wrong adjustment and....
So Ulrich Muhe gives an excellent performance as does Sebastian Koch as Dreyman. Apparently, Muhe was bugged himself when he live in East Germany, and his ex wife sued him for mentioning this in a radio interview.
Lives of Others won Best Foreign Language movie at the Oscars. After watching the movie, I watched some of the earlier scenes over. At around 8 minutes you see the actresses proclamation on stage, and the words she said set up two later scenes. See if you can figure it out.
If you're like me, and you love this movie, you will most probably also like Blackbook, also starring Sebastian Koch as the male lead. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, of Basic Instinct and Total Recall fame. One of the few movies I have bought in addition to watching.
I hope you find this review helpful, and, if you do, please click yes.
Stasi Life November 3, 2008
'The Lives of Others' deserved its foreign-language Oscar.
The acting and plot were well integrated, and the overall
theme of the violation of privacy was gripping. The writer-
director's commentary on the DVD was engrossing.
humanity overcomes a evil system November 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This movie is just fantastic. And on blu ray it shines and delivers
it's timeless story with even more clarity. The communist system with it's intolerance and inhumanity even in regards to the most minute aspect of peoples lives is depicted here with a knowing production. Each actor protrays their character in a light of reality and highly perfected skill.
The story is about a man whose whole life is based around violating others rights and hunting down enemies of the state with precision and robot like slavish duty. The secret police or stasi by 1984 was not the murder machine it was in previous decades yet it still killed the souls of it people and the robot like watcher only becomes a good man after he
spies on his intended targets. This movie won awards and delivers solid
drama and an very important story for the ages. The details need to be seen by the viewer but over 200 people took the time to write about how much they loved this movie and if you love solid dramas then this is the one for you.
Chillingly Instructive of the society we are becoming. October 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The movie is excellent. It is a toned down reminder of the evil a state can perpetrate against individuals and a nation once absolute power is attained. It also illustrates that a police state can only succeed when it has accomplices in the population at large and in the media that controls access to the truth. I marveled at the efficiency of the Stasi and their system of obtaining and maintaining information on East German citizens. Imagine what could be done with today's technology to spy on and control citizens. Ultimately, the Stasi files themselves attest to the failure of communism/socialism. The files document those who were complicit in the Stasi evil while also documenting those unsung heroes that continued to yearn and work for freedom up to the point that they just disappeared in the night. Sadly, it seems that only those that have lived under the yoke of totalitarianism can truly appreciate the freedoms we American's take for granted. Today, as we see American citizens vilified in the press for taking contrary positions, or as we view the efforts of those in academia to indoctrinate rather that teach, one must ask, how much longer before the truth police will be knocking on our doors.
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