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The Baader Meinhof Complex

Play trailer Poster for The Baader Meinhof Complex R 2008 2h 30m Biography Crime Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 98 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu). Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek), they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.
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The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Baader Meinhof Complex

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Critics Consensus

Intricately researched and impressively authentic slice of modern German History, with a terrific cast, assured direction, and a cracking script.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Spectator It is brutal, relentless, nihilistic, violent, terrifying, relentless, psychopathic, and yet it is so powerful, so explosively febrile, it compels you to watch and keep watching. Aug 23, 2018 Full Review Ed Koch The Atlantic Two problems I had with the film were that the subtitles were too small making them difficult to read and that they did not remain on the screen long enough to adequately read. Nevertheless, it is an amazing movie and well worth your time. Jan 17, 2018 Full Review Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Jason Best What's On TV Director Uli Edel and producer and screenwriter Bernd Eichinger don't take sides. They don't condemn, but nor do they excuse. Instead, they leave us to make up our own minds. Nov 15, 2020 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture Edel's mix of historical footage and dramatized scenes provide little more than a breezy history lesson. Rated: 3/5 Oct 11, 2019 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Taut and ferocious, a lean, solid, unsentimental narrative that dives right into the nitty gritty details of its subject. Rated: 3/4 Aug 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Aender S The stirring story of the Rote Armee Fraktion marvellously played by the cast. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/11/24 Full Review Pooran S The name of the movie bought back vague recollections of reading about them at times in newspapers here during childhood so decided to watch this as it had good reviews. Yes the movie is certainly worth a watch as it shows the futility of armed rebellion as an idea to influence people for too long & how violence cannot be controlled beyond a point without affecting all cross sections of a society . It shows the inner circle / founders of this RAF and their ideas & at times unplanned but brutal actions, their gradual internal decline & their long incarceration. Great acting , direction , action , cinematography make it worth a watch. And a special mention of the late Swiss actor Bruno Ganz who plays the chief of police in charge of hunting down the RAF members , if you haven't watched the German movie The Downfall (English Translated name) in which he plays Adolf Hitler in his last days you really have missed in my opinion what great acting is all about . Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/24/23 Full Review Wolfgang G Der Baader Meinhof Komplex schildert Vorgeschichte und Aktionen der linksextremistischen Terrorgruppe Rote-Armee-Fraktion (RAF) von 1967 bis 1977. Regie führte Uli Edel und Bernd Eichinger verfasste das Drehbuch, der Film folgt dem gleichnamigen Buch von Stefan Aust. Die Geschichte wird recht kompakt erzählt, und will der Realität recht nahekommen, deshalb verzichtet das Drehbuch auf einen durchgehenden Handlungsbogen… . Die schauspielerische Leistung der Darsteller ist beachtlich, der Baader Meinhof Komplex ist ein sehenswerter Film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Poor Character writing and almost no character development. Starts off thrilling but looses it's grip over time. The whole movie seemes to rush through a lot of scenes without being able to make the aufdience connect to the protagonists. This makes the movie a rather drainig experience. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Tim G Those people sure were.... dedicated. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/30/21 Full Review Audience Member It may be overstuffed but it deserves a lot of credit for showing the appeal of the RAF to certain radicals while also demonstrating the utter hypocrisy of their political ideas and the horrific consequences of their acts of terrorism. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu). Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek), they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.
Director
Uli Edel
Producer
Bernd Eichinger
Screenwriter
Bernd Eichinger
Production Co
Constantin Film Produktion
Rating
R (Graphic Nudity|Disturbing Images|Language|Sexual Content|Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre
Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$476.3K
Runtime
2h 30m
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