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Rating:  -
And i don't know which is worse? Beautifully filmed is about all i can say. its a goofy film and i was glad when i saw the wordsThe End. If you're really bored? Rent it. Don't waste your money on this one.
Rating:  -
I don't understand the reactions many people---audiences and critics alike---had to this movie. It was made in black and white and set during the war, so therefore it either had to be as good as "Casablanca" or "The Third Man," or it was a piece of junk. I don't follow this logic at all. Was every film-noir movie made in 1945 a five-star masterpiece? I don't think so.
This is a really good movie! In fact I'd put it up there with the director's best work. And not just in terms of craft, which is first-rate, but in terms of the whole package. The acting is excellent, the dialogue crisp and perfect, the pace and structure of the film, everything.
The point is, they tried to do it in this movie like they'd have done it back then, and they did a wonderful job. This movie is a great piece of cinematic storytelling, if it had been released in 1945 it would have been a hit and we'd remember it as a great or near-great film. We wouldn't tear it apart by the seams like people do today. Long story short, see this movie not because it resembles the film noirs of Ye Olde Hollywoode....see it because IT'S A GOOD MOVIE.
My only problem with it is, no extras? Was Soderbergh so incensed by the hostile critical reception to the movie that he refused to put together a commentary and a documentary detailing the making of the movie? Speaking as a fan, I'd like to see what he (and the cast and crew) has to say.
Rating:  -
Steven Soderbergh's idea here was to film a 1940s story of skullduggery in post-war Berlin in the style of the classic films from that era, such as A FOREIGN AFFAIR or THE THIRD MAN; thus he relies heavily on backscreen projection (particularly for the scenes involving George Clooney as a writer for The New Republic and Toby Maguire as his nasty and corrupt Army driver) and the use of only one camera for his scenes. These antiquated tricks might have worked well as Verfremdungseffekts with a different director and cast, but here they seem to be more of a smirky way of showing off and being "clever"; the whole thing plays like a kind of film noir Follies as imagined by the Frat Pack. The seal of doom was set on this project when Soderbergh cast Maguire in the key role of the venal US Army driver Tully, who narrates much of the beginning section of the film. Maguire is all wrong for the part, and his line readings are terribly amateurish and stilted: he seems to be playing Harry Lime in a high school play. Cate Blanchett for some ludicrous reason decided to play Tully's lover and punching bag, the prostitute Lena, by channeling Marlene Dietrich, but comes across sounding more like Madeline Kahn as Lili von Shtupp. Only Clooney seems to be working at his role with any genuine effort, but he has almost nothing to play against here. It's a real ghastly oddity.
Rating: -
SPOILER ALERT!!!
If you haven't already seen the film, The Good German, then don't read any further or some of the surprises that pop up in the movie will be ruined for you.
First, let me admit that the only reason I bought this DVD was because I hoped to see the ethereal Cate Blanchett either putting on a pair of nylons, or taking them off. After all, this is a movie that takes place in post-war Germany in 1945, and it is rated "R." Unfortunately, there were no stocking shots of Ms. Blanchett in the film, which was a huge disappointment to me, but I still enjoyed it to a large degree. It did take me most of the movie to finally realize why it was "R" rated and not "PG-13." If the F--- word is used more than once in a film, it automatically gets an "R" rating, and the F--- word was used several times, though once would've been more than enough. I have no idea why the director, Steven Soderbergh, decided to take an "R" rating for a few choice words that really made no difference in the quality of the movie. I personally think it would've been better to skip the F--- word and to see Ms. Blanchett in nylons. That would certainly have been more enjoyable.
The Good German centers on George Clooney's character, whose a newspaper reporter for the Army and is in Berlin to cover the Potsdam conference with Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. He hasn't been in Berlin since before the war and doesn't recognize anything. His driver is Corporal Tobey Maguire, who also dabbles in the black market on the side to make some extra money. Maguire is seeing Cate Blanchett's character, whose a prostitute and agrees to help her get out of Germany and to the United States. The catch here is that the Russians and two separate departments in the Army are watching Blanchett, hoping that her SS Officer husband is still alive and that she'll eventually lead them to him. Some of the people want her husband dead, while others want him alive because of his knowledge. Tobey Maguire is killed off within the first third of the film for being too greedy. George Clooney is beat up several times throughout the film as he tries to find out more about Blancett and her supposedly deceased husband. Before the war, Blanchett worked for Clooney and had an affair with him. He's still in love with her. Because of his love, he offers to help her and her husband escape and nearly dies in the process.
The film, of course, is shot in black and white, and is modeled after the movies of the late thirties and forties. Soderbergh does an excellent job of capturing that time period and of shooting the film just like a forties' director would've done. The performances of all the actors are adequate for what they're doing. There's no Oscar caliber acting in this film, but the performers still do their part to carry the film along. I was a little confused at the end with all the information that's presented to Clooney's character about Blanchett and her husband and why everybody is after him, but up until that point I thought the movie was rather suspenseful and well done. It definitely held my interest. Is this a movie that I'd want to see a second time? No, but only because there's no stocking scene in it with Ms. Blanchett. Had that been in the film, I would watch it over and over again!
Rating: -
"The Good German" is a tribute to the old Hollywood classics like "Casablanca," which is the movie that this film tries so hard to emulate. Stylistically, "The Good German" is incredible. The entire movie is filmed in glistening black and white, and it's very hard to distinguish it from a movie that was made 60 years ago. The basic plot is pretty good, too: an American military journalist (George Clooney) arrives in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam conference, only to stumble into a murder plot involving his newly-appointed driver (Toby Maguire), a former flame (Cate Blanchett) and her not-quite-dead husband. Unfortunately, "The Good German" fails to generate a strong emotional response from the audience the way "Casablanca" does, which really takes away from the other wonderful accomplishments the talented director and cast managed to achieve.
Clooney delivers an excellent performance, but I was disappointed in Maguire, who seemed very out of place in the film. (Fortunately, his character doesn't stick around for very long.) However, the two shining stars of this film are Blanchett, who delivers a stunning performance in her mysterious role, and the cinematography itself, which is absolutely breathtaking. Being a huge fan of old movies, I really enjoyed this modern throwback to 1940s filmmaking. In my opinion, though, the graphic sexual content and foul language really took away from the classic aesthetic feel director Steven Soderbergh tried so desperately to recreate: it was unnecessary, and it really took away from all the other old-fashioned movie elements.
The final scene in the film is very obviously a recreation of the last scene in "Casablanca." Again, while I enjoyed the tribute, I felt that the last scene of "The Good German" severely lacked the same kind of emotion and passion that "Casablanca" has, which is a real shame. The acting was good, but I really didn't care about what happened to any of the characters, which signifies a major problem with the script.
I hope Soderbergh attempts to do another "modern film noir" movie eventually. He has the look of it down pat: now all he needs is a slightly stronger script, and we'll be back to the days of Bogart and Bergman in no time!
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