Rent Jakob the Liar (1974)
3.7 of 5 from 46 ratings
1h 40min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In a Jewish ghetto, Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský) is ordered to report to a police station by a Nazi watchtower guard, where he overhears a radio broadcast suggesting that the Red Army is closing in on Poland. He tells a friend that the Germans might be losing the war, but they refuse to believe that he could have survived an encounter with Nazi officials. To make his story plausible, he claims to illegally possess a radio - and soon finds himself spreading false reports that he has supposedly heard on the airwaves, if only to give his community hope in the face of unimaginable horror.
- Actors:
- Vlastimil Brodský, Reimar J. Baur, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Klaus Brasch, Erich Petraschk, Fred Ludwig, Margit Bara, Blanche Kommerell, Dezsö Garas, Zsuzsa Gordon, Friedrich Richter, Erwin Geschonneck, Peter Sturm, Jürgen Hilbrecht, Paul Lewitt, Fritz Links, Henry Hübchen, Manuela Simon, Edwin Marian, Gabriele Gysi
- Directors:
- Frank Beyer
- Producers:
- Gerd Zimmermann
- Voiced By:
- Horst Preusker
- Narrated By:
- Horst Preusker
- Writers:
- Jurek Becker, Frank Beyer, Gerd Gericke
- Aka:
- Jakob der Lügner / Jakub lhár
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Comedy, Drama
- Collections:
- Top 10 European Remakes, Top 10 Titles About the Golden Age of Radio, Top Films
- Countries:
- Germany
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 16/02/2026
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- German LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Lessons of the Past - new interview with Jewish studies scholar Sue Vice on Holocaust cinema and 'Jakob the Liar'
- Jurek and Jakob - new video essay by film and literature scholar Mary Going on Jurek Becker and DEFA's adaptation of 'Jakob the Liar'
- A Diary for Anne Frank (Joachim Hellwig, 1958) - DEFA documentary on the story of Anne Frank and the post-war lives of several high-ranking Nazi officials implicated in her murder
