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The Tunnel

Play trailer Poster for The Tunnel TV-14 2001 2h 40m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
East German swimmer Harry Melchior (Heino Ferch) escapes to West Berlin in 1961, but is forced to leave his family behind. When he recruits pals Mathis (Sebastian Koch), Vic (Mehmet Kurtulus) and Fred (Felix Eitner) to help him dig a tunnel under the wall so he can bring his sister, Lotte (Nicolette Krebitz), to freedom, he discovers that countless others are looking for ways to get relatives out of East Berlin. Suddenly, a small tunnel becomes a major engineering undertaking.
The Tunnel

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The Tunnel is both a tension-filled thriller and a riveting history lesson.

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Critics Reviews

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Tom Keogh Seattle Times 09/23/2005
3.5/4
Richter makes wonderful if obvious use of the wall and the tunnel as built-in metaphors for our struggle for human connection and dread of helplessness and change. Go to Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times 09/15/2005
4.5/5
It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment -- a classic suspense thriller -- that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare. Go to Full Review Ella Taylor L.A. Weekly 09/15/2005
Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts. Go to Full Review Urban Cinefile Critics Urban Cinefile 08/03/2008
This true story about one of the many tunnel escape attempts under the Berlin wall in the 60s provides all the excitement of an escape movie, given extra depth and resonance by its real life genesis... a superb film Go to Full Review William Arnold Seattle Post-Intelligencer 09/22/2005
B-
Well-cast and sporadically gripping. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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03/12/2019 Good movie, emotional with good acting. See more 05/06/2017 A humanist thriller. Its breathtaking to see how democracy always finds its way. The harder the regime presses you,the more sand trickles out ! See more 05/10/2016 Though it contains some rare moments of stupidity in one character (for failed emotional effects), Der Tunnel is a well-made thriller that tells a story many do not know about, providing a solid history lecture about the Berlin Wall. See more 04/23/2016 Some great acting. Meant for TV. See more 09/29/2014 It's hard to believe what some people have been through, especially when it has been at the hands of their own government and in such recent years... What is the price for FREEDOM & how far you are ready to go--A document of history, of permanent emotions at the Berlin Wall...Powerful, Emotional, and very Intense!! See more 08/08/2013 touching story, great acting. See more Read all reviews
The Tunnel

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Cast & Crew

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Roland Suso Richter

Director

Heino Ferch

Harry Melchior

Nicolette Krebitz

Friederike "Fritzi" Scholz

Sebastian Koch

Matthis Hiller

Alexandra Maria Lara

Charlotte "Lotte" Lohmann

Claudia Michelsen

Carola Langensiep
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The Tunnel

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Movie Info

Synopsis East German swimmer Harry Melchior (Heino Ferch) escapes to West Berlin in 1961, but is forced to leave his family behind. When he recruits pals Mathis (Sebastian Koch), Vic (Mehmet Kurtulus) and Fred (Felix Eitner) to help him dig a tunnel under the wall so he can bring his sister, Lotte (Nicolette Krebitz), to freedom, he discovers that countless others are looking for ways to get relatives out of East Berlin. Suddenly, a small tunnel becomes a major engineering undertaking.
Director
Roland Suso Richter
Producer
Nico Hofmann, Ariane Krampe
Screenwriter
Johannes W. Betz
Production Co
Sat.1, teamWorx Television & Film
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Box Office (Gross USA)
$10.9K
Runtime
2h 40m