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Taking Sides

Play trailer Poster for Taking Sides Released Sep 5, 2003 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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73% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
This drama, based on a true story, focuses on the American-led investigation of Wilhelm Furtwangler (Stellan Skarsgard), a famous German conductor suspected of working with the Nazis. Maj. Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) is charged with making an example of Furtwangler due to his status as a high-profile cultural figure, and pulls no punches in questioning him about possible ties to the Hitler regime. However, as Arnold presses forward, his assumptions about Furtwangler don't necessarily hold up.
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Taking Sides

Taking Sides

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Critics Consensus

A complex, well-acted meditation on moral obligation and human loyalty, Taking Sides features noteworthy performances from Harvey Keitel and Stellan Skarsgard.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: C- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 3/5 Dec 30, 2006 Full Review Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer Schematic, didactic, and most of all, in the case of Keitel, woefully miscast. Rated: 2/4 Feb 26, 2004 Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com ...a moderately effective small-scale courtroom drama set in the immediate years after Germany's surrender and shortly after the trials at Nuremberg. Rated: B- Jun 13, 2009 Full Review Apollo Guide Rated: 86/100 May 13, 2005 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) A film of some considerable power, thanks primarily to the brilliant performance of Skarsgard. Rated: 4/5 Mar 9, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Alec B The things that frustrated a lot of people about the movie are probably the best things about it, especially the deep uncertainty of the ending. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/27/24 Full Review Audience Member Don't think you understand where this movie is going and passively sit through to the end. Listen carefully and you will learn something. Guilt or innocence is in the eye of the beholder and both can be true at the same time. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review steve d Complex story with no easy answers, that and some great performances make it an interesting watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Based on a true story, this film talks about the war crime interrogations of well respected Berlin Philarmonic orchestra conductor Furtwangler. Szabo's film revolves more around a theatrical formula than a cinematic one. This, of course, would have seemed more admirable had the film had the right kind of screenplay, but the approach seems to diminish the film's important themes and in the end only serves as a great vehicle for the great performances by Skarsgard and Keitel. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Horrible acting. Couldn't get through 30 minutes. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member The notions of the good man's complicity through inertia ... are ones that have been more powerfully explored before. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Taking Sides

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Cast & Crew

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István Szabó

Director

Harvey Keitel

Major Steve Arnold

Stellan Skarsgård

Dr. Wilhelm Furtwängler

Moritz Bleibtreu

Lt. David Wills

Birgit Minichmayr

Emmi Straube

Oleg Tabakov

Tabakov

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Taking Sides

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Movie Info

Synopsis This drama, based on a true story, focuses on the American-led investigation of Wilhelm Furtwangler (Stellan Skarsgard), a famous German conductor suspected of working with the Nazis. Maj. Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) is charged with making an example of Furtwangler due to his status as a high-profile cultural figure, and pulls no punches in questioning him about possible ties to the Hitler regime. However, as Arnold presses forward, his assumptions about Furtwangler don't necessarily hold up.
Director
István Szabó
Producer
Yves Pasquier
Distributor
New Yorker Films
Production Co
Enterprise Films
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 5, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$189.0K
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Surround
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