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Murderers Among Us

1946 1h 20m Drama List
80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
A Berlin doctor plans to kill a retired Nazi captain (Arno Paulsen) who ordered mass executions in Poland.

Critics Reviews

View All (5) Critics Reviews
Variety Staff Variety While not fully successful, either as drama or ideology, film is marked by superb camera and montage technique recalling some of the firstrate German productions before the Nazi era. Apr 15, 2009 Full Review Thomas M. Pryor New York Times A confused and rambling study of disillusionment in post-war Germany is presented in heavily stylized fashion. Rated: 2/5 Aug 8, 2006 Full Review Fred Camper Chicago Reader The film's visual symbolism can be heavy-handed, but many images are stunningly evocative, and the scene in which the doctor begins his own recovery by performing a tracheotomy on a dying girl is genuinely affecting. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 20, 2005 Full Review Cheryl DeWolfe Apollo Guide This film is amazing to watch from a purely historical point of view, and it is also an interesting story. Rated: 74/100 Jul 13, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (29) audience reviews
andrey k Interesting movie from the historical point of view, it being the first German post-WW2 movie and the film itself apart from its historic curiosity is pretty solid. it doesn't look old at all, looks, on the contrary, very authentic - it didn't need decorations, it had real ones, the ruined Berlin. The picture deals with the German 'guilt' of war, in a bleak and dark manner, including the expressionist cinematography which is outstanding here, portraying who survived the massacre and have to deal with the outcomes of it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A cogent exploration of post-war German society. The spectre of fascism is as dominant as the clouds always overhead. You can smell Expressionism burning away in the rubble. The youth will rise soon and ask the most difficult questions. Staudte provides a bold study in change and reconciling with a corrupted history. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Audience Member This film (literally) rises from the rubble and ash of post war Berlin. It is a fascinating take on the guilt and recovery of a Germany in the wake of Hitlers Third Reich. Staudte's noiresque style, along with the unworldly atmosphere of post war Berlin, is reminiscent of the German expressionist film of the 1920s and parallels the interior landscapes of a defeated people. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A historically important film, being that it was the first film produced in Post World War II Germany. A doctor who served with the Nazis during the war, now finds himself after the war overcome by grief and guilt for the horrors he saw during the war. Unable to continue his work as a doctor, due to his disillusionment with the darkness in men's hearts he walks to streets of his bombed out city amongst the rats, and drinks excessively on a daily basis. That is until a woman comes into his life, who helps him out of his depression. At the same time, a commanding officer from his past also comes into his life. Since the war, despite his crimes against humanity, the Captain returns to his his family life, his home left unscathed throughout the war, and his position of manager at a successful factory. This is too much for the doctor who ultimately takes it upon himself to bring justice to the victims of the war. While not perfect in the story telling department (especially in the second half, which I found wrapped everything up a little too nicely) this film still packs a heavy punch. The footage of the city destroyed by war set the perfect backdrop for this film, and the photography throughout was also top notch. The desperation of the films main character reflects the desperation of an entire nation, and that message is still a very powerful thing for modern audiences to experience. Much of the main character's views seem to be parallell to French Existentialist writers like Jean Paul Sartre or Albert Camus, who were experiencing similar confusion and disillusionment following the war. All in all a must see for those interested in European or Film History, but also really just a good movie with an important message and story. Recommended. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Heavy on the portent, but so accomplished in its cinematography and editing that, even when it shows too much of what happened near the end, the story of what happens to several Nazi officers in post-WWII Berlin is breathtaking. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member The first film to be produced in (East) Germany after the fall of Berlin and the armistice. An expressionist drama pondering the question of guilt in justice in a society that is trying to find itself within the maelstrom of being the culprit and victim at the same time. Great performance by Knef and quite wooden and overdone ( think Fritz Lang and the Weimar School ) acting on the part of the other actors. Still, the film is shot in the actual ruins of Berlin and that alone is quite a sight to behold (including a christmas mass in a bombed out church). Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Murderers Among Us

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Cast & Crew

Berlin Express 80% 61% Berlin Express This Land Is Mine 71% 81% This Land Is Mine Watch on the Rhine 80% 63% Watch on the Rhine Angel 100% 65% Angel Pandora and the Flying Dutchman 69% 75% Pandora and the Flying Dutchman Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A Berlin doctor plans to kill a retired Nazi captain (Arno Paulsen) who ordered mass executions in Poland.
Director
Wolfgang Staudte
Screenwriter
Wolfgang Staudte
Production Co
DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Runtime
1h 20m