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Movies / On DVD / The Baader Meinhof Complex
The Baader Meinhof Complex

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The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009)

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Reviews Counted:80

Fresh:69

Rotten:11

Average Rating:7.1/10

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

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for blood and violence.

Runtime: 2 hrs 29 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Aug 21, 2009 Limited

Box Office: $296,294

Synopsis: Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalized... Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalized children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz). And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he’s only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

Producer and scriptwriter Bernd Eichinger (PERFUME - STORY OF A MURDERER, DOWNFALL) brings Stefan Aust’s standard work on RAF terrorism, THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX to the big screen for Constantin Film. Director Uli Edel (LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, ZOO) presents the dramatic events that shook the democratic foundations of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1967 to the “German Autumn” of 1977. --© Vitagraph [More]

Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz

Starring: Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Nadja Uhl, Alexandra Maria Lara, Karoline Herfurth, Hannah Herzsprung

Director: Uli Edel

Director: Uli Edel
Screenwriter: Bernd Eichinger
Producer: Bernd Eichinger
Studio: Vitagraph Films

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Release:

Nov 30, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • DTS HD Master Audio - German
  • Subtitles - English
 
 
 
 

Reviews for The Baader Meinhof Complex

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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It's not surprising the film was Germany's 2008 submission for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
11/01/09
Dan Lybarger
Dan Lybarger
eFilmCritic.com

A richly detailed, emotionally complex, character-filled examination.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
10/31/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The acting is top drawer and everyone behind the camera is technically proficient with a workmanlike approach. The monumental task of editing by Alexander Berner deserves special mention.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
10/30/09
Keith Cohen
Keith Cohen
Entertainment Spectrum

An epic look at a recent blood-soaked episode of post-war Germany.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
10/30/09
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Merely lets the facts of forty years ago speak for themselves, and one can't deny that its dramatization of them has enormous energy and urgency.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
10/16/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

It doggedly refuses easy ways out, and it has the guts, brains and critical eye to plumb the roots of terror and its bloody consequences.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
10/16/09
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Baader-Meinhof Complex is not an easy film to watch; its violence is ugly and brutish. And there's a lot of it.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/01/09
Richard Nilsen
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Part thriller, part social history, this tense 2008 drama traces the rise and fall of the Baader-Meinhof gang.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/25/09
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It’d be nice to see an American filmmaker commit a similar reckoning with the Watts riots, the Weather Underground, or the Black Power movement, not simply resort to cant and kitsch but to really interpret those moments.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/25/09
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An exciting, infuriating, combative experience.

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment Comment
09/25/09
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

Edel uses documentary tropes to realize his overarching narrative, and the end result is an electrifying, morally complex story of the evil that men (and women) do in the name of the greater good.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
09/25/09
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

It does take awhile for the plot to really kick into gear. Yet the discussion of terrorist morality is interesting, and there are some very tense sequences.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
09/24/09
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The Baader Meinhof Complex arrives as a useful tool, a history lesson in a box, on a moment in time when actual revolution seemed not only possible but in some cases likely, in parts of Western Europe and the United States.

Full Review Source: East Bay Express | comment Comment
09/23/09
Kelly Vance
Kelly Vance
East Bay Express

This sprawling portrait of the Red Army Faction... is neither an apologetic for the anarchist gang nor a condemnation of it, but rather a fascinating exploration of the shift in the zeitgeist of that era...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
09/21/09
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

There are some literally killer performances here, most notably Johanna Wokalek as Gudrun.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
09/18/09
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's a fine line to walk when making a film about outlaws: A few wrong moves and, presto, glamorization occurs. To its credit, The Baader Meinhof Complex almost entirely avoids this pitfall.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/18/09
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

Edel doesn't force an interpretation on the audience: instead his film provides an experience which raises questions rather than answering them.

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
09/18/09
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

A thoroughly engrossing tale of conflicting agendas and thwarted ambition. In its verve and verisimilitude, the film recalls such classics of political cinema as Z and The Battle of Algiers.

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/17/09
Calvin Wilson
Calvin Wilson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

There's an element of relatable humanity missing from the foundation of trying to tell a story that could have taken six hours in 144 minutes, but there's no denying the power of those 144 minutes.

Full Review Source: Movie Retriever | comment Comment
09/15/09
Brian Tallerico
Brian Tallerico
Movie Retriever

By the end you’re left with a question worth asking: What is the best way to put your ideals on the line in any country, in any era?

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
09/15/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
At the Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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