Rent The Tin Drum (1979)

3.6 of 5 from 156 ratings
2h 22min
Rent The Tin Drum (aka Die Blechtrommel) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
When Oskar Matzerath (the extraordinary David Bennent, just twelve at the time) receives a tin drum for his third birthday, he vows to stop growing there and then - and woe betide anyone who tries to take his beloved drum away from him, as he has a banshee shriek that can shatter glass. As a result, he retains a permanent child's-eye perspective on the rise of Nazism as experienced through petit-bourgeois life in his native Danzig, the 'free city' claimed by both Germany and Poland whose invasion in 1939 helped kick-start World War II.
With the help of Luis Bunuel's favourite screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere, director Volker Schlondorff turns Gunter Grass's magical-realist masterpiece into a carnivalesque frenzy of bizarre, grotesque yet unnervingly compelling images as Oskar turns his increasingly jaded eye and caustic tongue on the insane follies of the adult world that he refuses to join.
Actors:
, , , , , , , Roland Teubner, Tadeusz Kunikowski, , , , , , , , Wigand Witting, Mariella Oliveri, Fritz Hakl,
Directors:
Producers:
Hans Prescher, Franz Seitz, Anatole Dauman, Volker Schlöndorff
Voiced By:
Horst Gentzen, Adolf Hitler, Reinhard Kolldehoff, Lutz Riedel, Herbert Weissbach
Writers:
Jean-Claude Carrière, Günter Grass
Aka:
Die Blechtrommel
Studio:
Nouveaux Pictures
Genres:
Classics, Drama
Collections:
Memory Lane: Films Set in 1920s, Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top 10 Films of 1979, Top 10 Golden Bear Winners
Countries:
Germany
Awards:

1980 Oscar Best Foreign Film

1979 Cannes Palme d'Or Ex-aequo

BBFC:
Release Date:
10/11/2003
Run Time:
142 minutes
Languages:
German
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour and B & W
Bonus:
  • Interview with Volker Schlondorff
  • Picture gallery
BBFC:
Release Date:
30/01/2012
Run Time:
142 minutes
Languages:
German Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.66:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Audio commentary with director/co-screenwriter Volker Schlondorff
  • Interview with Volker Schlondorff on the new cut of The Tin Drum (2011)

More like The Tin Drum

Reviews (3) of The Tin Drum

Masterpiece - The Tin Drum review by dl

Spoiler Alert
14/11/2016

Caught this one years ago probably mid 80’s C4 didn’t really have much of an effect on me except for the young lead (David Bennent) and his instantly remarkable features that immediately make this film so recognisable.Fast forward 30+years and we not only have a restoration but an all important directors cut, this film is pure gold i was left totally blown away from its almost 3hr runtime, it plays almost like your typical coming of age type drama thats set among the early rise and fall of Nazi Germany but this became so much more by including some fantastic and sometimes very risqué surreal moments which are explained wonderfully by Volker Schlondorff on the included extras.To get such an emotional and powerful performance from a young boy aged 11 was a great achievement and now will be down as one of my favourites and most memorable performances by a child ever.Really can’t fault this movie everything from the performances/cinematograhy and its wonderful score make it a genuine classic.Great great film that i will revisit soon maybe giving the theatrical cut a tryout which should never of happened according to its Director speaking on UA’s involvement, burn Hollywood burn.9+/10

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

Still amazing - The Tin Drum review by Popeyethetim

Spoiler Alert
09/11/2020

Stands up well to the test of time. A wonderful film which manages to transpose the European magical realism of the book into film. Its just a shame that it stops at the end of Oskar's travels through to the end of the Second World War and we don't get to see the progress of Oskar through the new Germany - but then that would have made a VERY long film epic. As it stands this is a wonderful film made by a committed cast of director and actors to get it right. And it does too. The scenes in my head on reading the book were very similar to the scenes in the film. David Bennent is exceptional and the directing of Volker Schlondorff is spot on.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

Unable to decipher this one - The Tin Drum review by BE

Spoiler Alert
02/12/2015

If it's allegorical, I didn't get it. If it isn't, the surrealism of the piece didn't bode well for easy understanding of the characters or make for good cinema. The child came across as a quiet monster, no empathy therefore could be allotted to him. The bedroom scenes betwixt the child and adults was also very risqué. Charles Aznavour had a cameo in it. Most odd

0 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

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