Customer Reviews

The Tunnel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This made for German television epic story of several people attempting to help their friends, families, and loved ones escape from East Berlin to free West Berlin. It is based on a true story, and in the DVD extras, you actually get to meet the real man responsible for the story in this film, whose name was slightly changed for the movie.

Popular German actor Heino Ferch gives a superb performance as the leader of a group of tunnel diggers, determined to get their loved ones out of the Communist side of Berlin, just after the Berlin Wall was built. For Ferch's character, Harry, it's his beloved sister, for Harry's friend Matthis, it's his spouse, and for the young girl Fritzi, who the group are quite suspisious of, it's her fiance' who is currently building the wall, but desperately wants out. There are many others helping, who don't necessarily have loved ones to help escape, including the American, Vic, who despite his leg injury, is just as determined as the rest, and even takes some of the biggest risks in the film.

The performances throughout the entire cast are top notch, and while there isn't a ton of action until the end, the tense atmosphere of the film really keeps you glued to the set. The emotions in the film are high, and the bonds between Harry and his sister, Lotte, and Matthis and his wife Carola, are so realistically portrayed, that it's easy to see why they are going through months and months of digging to get these people out.

The 167 minutes seem like they flew on by, and I could have gone on watching more of these intriguing characters. It's better than any other spy or war thrillers released in any country over the last several years. Hard to believe it was made for German TV, as it blows away several big screen productions. The direction, cinematography, script, and choice of actors cannot be faulted, and the only fault would be if you miss this gripping film.

For all you fans of cold war movies and spy thrillers....look no further. This is the movie we've been waiting for. Set in Berlin in 1961-62 this film is intense and thrilling. The viewer doesn't know what's going to happen right up until the end. This ranks to me, as one of the top spy/espionage/thriller movies of all time, side by side with "Day of the Jackal". All Star performances all around by the cast....especially the three female leads. This is a MUST purchase.

There have been some superb movies coming out of Germany over the past couple of years. Reunification seems to have unleashed a wellspring of creative, complex looks at what was going on inside the country during World War II and during the period where the country was riven into two parts, East and West. Head-On and The Lives of Others are among the best five movies I've ever seen. Other standouts include Downfall and Good Bye, Lenin!. I've even enjoyed softer fare like Mostly Martha (although steer clear of 'No Reservations', the off-target Catherine Zeta-Jones remake) and the inimitable Run Lola Run.

"The Tunnel" ranks among the best of these. Lots of familiar faces here to German film lovers - Sebastian Koch was playwright Georg Dreyman in Lives of Others; Heino Ferch was Albert Speer in Downfall (IMDB points out that Koch has also played Speer on-screen); Germany's most beautiful woman Alexandra Maria Lara (IMDB says she was "ranked #1 in a list by tabloid 'Bild' searching the '50 most beautiful Germans of today' (28 April 2005)") was Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge (she of the 'blind spot' - Blind Spot - Hitler's Secretary - in Downfall. I'd never seen Nicolette Krebitz before, but she's the standout here, even amongst that stellar group.

The film is over two-and-a-half hours long, but you'll hardly notice the time. It's a suspenseful, bracing trip well worth your time. Make sure to watch the 'Making Of' featurette to see how they constructed the tunnel. It's eye-opening.

I read the reviews for this movie and decided to buy it.

On the cover there is a quote by Kevin Thomas of the L.A. Times stating "Flat-out the most exciting movie from Germany since DAS BOOT"; the man speaks the truth. Holding your breath suspense, intense drama, this movie has it all.

Though I was reading sub-titles (which at times isolates you from truly connecting with a film) the actors were so passionate in the movie and so moving; giving their characters such realism, depth and life, I became completely emotionally involved in the movie from start to finish. Well acted, well scripted, well done!!!

I am so glad I bought this movie, amazing, truly amazing....

Film is based on a true story. It is set in 1961-1962 after the GDR (German Democratic Republic) erected the Berlin Wall and closed the border between the communist and democratic parts of East and West Berlin. Residents of East Berlin were barred from entering the west. Harry Melchior, a German swimming champion, who fled to West Berlin, was determined to help his sister Lotte and her family escape. Melchior and other passionate Germans on a similar mission of trying to get family or loved ones across - plot and begin to execute on their action plan.

The movie's principal character, Heino Ferch, who plays Harry Melchior, is superb in his performance as the leader of the group of tunnel diggers - as are the other main characters who are well-casted and believable. (Perhaps all just a bit too good looking to be believable but we'll give the director a pass on this one...)

The movie features terrific visual cinema in the digging of the tunnel and the enormity of the task - the dirt, the claustrophobia, the backsliding, the huge undertaking over months - which could all come apart with informant leaks or capture by the ongoing surveillance by the Secret Police.

Meanwhile, the Stasi (State Security) anticipates that the family members in East Berlin will look to join their family in the West so they are on constant surveillance and they work in their evil ways to turn family member on family member resulting in acts of betrayal, as well as heartbreak and courage.

The movie is long. Almost 3 hours. But the pace, plot, suspense and tension keep you fully engaged - - cheering on the main characters at the finish. If you like films with griping suspense and "good vs. evil" story lines - you'll like this film.

This terrific suspense-thriller is set in the early 1960s during the erection of the Berlin Wall and in simplest terms, it's about the building of a tunnel under that wall to make an escape route for East Germans wanting to cross over to the West. Beginning with a handful of men, digging under an abandoned building, they are eventually joined by others in a months-long project. Meanwhile, security forces on the Eastern side are doing all they can to find and put a stop to such efforts, and the result is a cat-and-mouse game that keeps you on the edge of your seat for over two hours. Along the way, there are betrayals, acts of courage, scenes of heartbreak and heroism. And if you have a hint of claustrophobia and a fear of being buried alive or drowned, the many scenes underground will have you squirming and taking deep breaths.

There are excellent performances all around, not the least of which is Heino Ferch as Harry, a champion swimmer who leads and inspires the group with a fierce determination. Sebastian Koch ("The Lives of Others") as Mattich, the engineer, provides the brains of the operation. Among other key members of the group is a young woman, Fritzi, played by Nicolette Krebitz, who is trying to rescue her fiance from behind the wall. Crisis falls on the heels of crisis, and we watch to the end, never sure that the project will be a success. Without giving anything away, it can be said that the final half hour will have you breathless. A very well-made film, with a strong script and fine ensemble acting.

What a superb movie this is! The tension slowly builds as the tunnel is being dug; by the time the tunnel was completed and the escape attempt is ready to begin, I was already emotionally wrung out. I was shocked to learn that this was a made-for-TV movie, because it blows away most of the theatrical releases I've seen in the past few years.

In August 13, 1961, the German Democratic Republic erected the Berlin Wall, closing the border between the communist and democratic parts, and demarcating East Berlin from West Berlin. In barely ten days, residents of East Berlin were barred from entering West Berlin and every escape route had been blocked. The film "The Tunnel (Der Tunnel)" depicts the story of Harry Melchior (played by an outstanding Heino Ferch), a swimming champ of the GDR, who fled to the West side and heroically came back through a tunnel to help his sister escape. It is loosely based on the experiences of Hasso Herschel who, for many years, helped over a thousand people escape East Berlin.

One day before the wall's construction and aided by a disguise and a fake tourist passport, Harry enters West Berlin and hooks up with his best friend, Matthis, an engineer. Together with several other men and later, a young woman, they dig a tunnel five meters deep and 145 meters long from the West to the East that will serve as an escape route for their families who were left behind. Harry's goal is to get his sister, Lotte, and her daughter out. Using picks, shovels and a jackhammer, their progress is slow and delayed by lack of funds. By a stroke of luck, one of the crew strikes a deal with NBC, which at that time was filming in West Berlin. In exchange for rights to film a documentary of the tunnel building and the eventual escape, NBC would fund the crew's operations. I'll stop right here for to go further would be grossly unfair.

This is an intense and suspense-filled story that moves at rapid-fire pace, underscoring the urgency of the crew's task. This is like "Mission: Impossible" without the gadgetry (or "The Great Escape"), where one mistake could undo months of digging and timing the escape down to seconds could mean the difference between life or death. There are many threats that could foil their plans--the danger of discovery by the Stasi (State Security), betrayals, logistics of tunneling with rudimentary tools, and orchestrating the escape of their families under the watchful eye of the East. The film has its moments of grief and frustration, but also small triumphs along the way. **(Possible Spoiler)** There's a particularly riveting and heartbreaking scene where their female crew member, Friederike, is on one side of the wall and her fiancée, who was attempting to climb the wall, on another. He's shot by the Stasi and bleeding to death, she talks to him from the other side. This scene is shot from high up, emphasizing the helplessness of the German people amidst a political tragedy foisted on them. **(End of Spoiler)** There are also moments of brief joys such as when Harry and Friederike are dancing to 1960s German rock-and-roll, or when the crew celebrates their first Christmas together, hopeful that the Christmases to come will be with their families.

At 2 hours and 47 minutes, "The Tunnel" is a longer film than most, but there are no pointless fillers or tricks here. Every scene contributed to a better understanding of the political and personal ramifications of the Berlin Wall. The Wall, described as "the most potent symbol of European division," and "the defining achievement of socialism" stood for twenty-eight years. It's worth remembering how ordinary people, caught in a political maelstrom not of their making and beyond their control, can find in themselves the heroism and guts to save others. This is a superbly-acted and powerful film with high production values that's well worth the viewing time.

(Language: German with English subtitles. DVD extras include the "Making of..." which includes commentary by Herschel.)

Based on a true story, Roland Suso Richter's crackerjack action/adventure yarn excels on every level, as it relates a remarkable tale of courage and determination. Indeed, if it were fiction, you might not believe it. As Harry and Matthis lead the tunneling effort from the western side, they face not only back-breaking labor, but the need to keep their work secret, and stay on the lookout for spies and informers. Long but spellbinding, with no lulls to speak of, "The Tunnel" demonstrates just how far human beings will go to safeguard their families.

i love this movie, i watched it a couple of times. i grew up in germany and i remember all this very well. Also Heino Frech is a great german actor.