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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 is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, 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 04/22/2019
The Tin Drum is, in fact, almost everything anybody could ask a film to be. It is strikingly original and continuously surprising. Go to Full Review Ela Bittencourt Slant Magazine 09/18/2012
4/4
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. Go to Full Review R. Emmet Sweeney Time Out 09/18/2012
3/5
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. Go to Full Review Stephen Farber New West/California 11/04/2021
The film is done with such grace and control that we quickly accept the singular perspective of this bizarre tale. Go to Full Review Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia 01/13/2021
Marches to the beat of its own drum. Go to Full Review Bill Newcott Movies For The Rest Of Us 08/03/2020
5/5
Schlondorff treads the thin line between fantasy and nightmare... always rewarding his audience with precious bits of humor, horror, and pathos. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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alan g @agenser 01/16/2025 Another horrible foreign film the critics liked because they didn't understand. Several hours of incessant screaming and banging a drum. Very disturbing. See more Russ G @RT78760655 10/16/2024 Another lousy foreign film, an hour too long to boot. See more Raymond S @RT96793064 03/30/2024 I can't find nothing to pick on, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. See more helder f @uniquecliches 03/09/2024 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. See more Leaburn @RT35452347 02/22/2023 This film was good 👍🏼 See more dave s @RT68722908 08/26/2022 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. See more 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

The Tin Drum (1979) The Tin Drum (1979) A scene from the movie "The Tin Drum." A scene from the movie "The Tin Drum." The Tin Drum (1979) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, 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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