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The Tin Drum

Play trailer Poster for The Tin Drum R 1979 2h 22m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Oskar Matzerath (David Bennent) is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes (Angela Winkler), Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.
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The Tin Drum

Critics Reviews

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Charles Champlin Los Angeles Times The Tin Drum is, in fact, almost everything anybody could ask a film to be. It is strikingly original and continuously surprising. Apr 22, 2019 Full Review Ela Bittencourt Slant Magazine In Volker Schlndorff's restored version of his 1979 classic, Oskar Matzerath emerges as a tragic anti-hero, whose lustful imagination and prodigious magical gifts can't shield him from the juggernaut of war. Rated: 4/4 Sep 18, 2012 Full Review R. Emmet Sweeney Time Out Schlndorff has a tendency to sketch the rest of the cast as simple grotesques or symbols of decadence that are unconvincingly humanized in the final third. Rated: 3/5 Sep 18, 2012 Full Review Stephen Farber New West/California The film is done with such grace and control that we quickly accept the singular perspective of this bizarre tale. Nov 4, 2021 Full Review Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia Marches to the beat of its own drum. Jan 13, 2021 Full Review Bill Newcott Movies For The Rest Of Us Schlondorff treads the thin line between fantasy and nightmare... always rewarding his audience with precious bits of humor, horror, and pathos. Rated: 5/5 Aug 3, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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alan g Another horrible foreign film the critics liked because they didn't understand. Several hours of incessant screaming and banging a drum. Very disturbing. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/25 Full Review Audience Member Another lousy foreign film, an hour too long to boot. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/16/24 Full Review Raymond S I can't find nothing to pick on, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/24 Full Review helder f Oskar is the family's secret who no one hides, the little devil who no one punishes or reprimands. The journey of Oskar is eventful and he is sort of responsible for a great number of misfortunate events that happened to others. There's something very infantile about he feels responsible -egocentric- but also something very objective where intentional or unintentionally his actions are detrimental for others . Meanwhile an entire set of events from pre war to post wwII unfolds. The movie is eventful and there's little to no pause in the constant beat of the story, often accompanied by Oskar's drumming. It's impossible to forget Oskar and several of the other characters who are well developed. At the same time, the movie isn't perhaps always very captivating and there is only so much one can absorb of this long story of Oskar. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/09/24 Full Review Leaburn This film was good 👍🏼 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review dave s It took twenty years after Gunther Grass' seemingly unfilmable The Tin Drum was originally published for a film adaptation to emerge, but what an adaption Volker Schlondorff's film turned out to be. Set in Europe before and during World War 2, Oskar Matzerath (David Bennent) is a young boy who refuses to grow after observing the abhorrent behavior of the adults in his life, using a tin drum and a shrill scream to protest the horrors of the world around him. Beautifully shot and superbly acted, especially by the young Bennent, it is a film fueled by horror, joy, surrealism, and sobering realism, riveting from beginning to end and filled with thought-provoking themes throughout, a cinematic experience not to be missed. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Tin Drum

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Cast & Crew

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Volker Schlöndorff

Director

David Bennent

Oskar Matzerath

Angela Winkler

Agnes Matzerath

Mario Adorf

Alfred Matzerath

Daniel Olbrychski

Jan Bronski

Katharina Thalbach

Maria Matzerath
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The Tin Drum

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Movie Info

Synopsis Oskar Matzerath (David Bennent) is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes (Angela Winkler), Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.
Director
Volker Schlöndorff
Producer
Franz Seitz, Anatole Dauman
Screenwriter
Volker Schlöndorff, Jean-Claude Carrière, Franz Seitz
Production Co
GGB-14, Hallelujah Films, Argos Films
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.5K
Runtime
2h 22m
Sound Mix
Mono
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