list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Good German on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Good_German/261877/default.aspx Title: The Good German
Year: 2006
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Plot: A U.S. Army war correspondent is drawn into a deadly mystery in post-war Berlin as he seeks out his wartime mistress in this adaptation of author Joseph Kanon's best-selling novel. The war is over, and Jake Geismar (George Clooney) is an American journalist assigned the task of covering the peace in Berlin -- but he was once lovers with a mysterious woman named Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett). Lena is a lady with many secrets to hide, however, and now that the fighting has ceased, she has every intention of burying her sins and escaping her dark past. As Jake searches for Lena in war-torn Berlin with the assistance of American Army motor pool driver Tully (Tobey Maguire), the complex web of deceit woven by the desperate woman soon leads all three into the black market, which could prove either the ticket to Lena's ultimate escape or the downfall of both her and her pursuers. Filmed entirely in the style of such Hollywood classics as Casablanca, The Good German was shot by director Steven Soderbergh (under the pseudonym Peter Andrews) using 1940s era lenses, sound-recording techniques, and a decidedly less-mobile camera. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 8
Number of Lists: 18
Number of blog posts: 10
SpoutRating: 2
]]>Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:40:31 GMTThe Good German2006Steven SoderberghA U.S. Army war correspondent is drawn into a deadly mystery in post-war Berlin as he seeks out his wartime mistress in this adaptation of author Joseph Kanon's best-selling novel. The war is over, and Jake Geismar (<a href="/players/P____13722/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>George Clooney</a>) is an American journalist assigned the task of covering the peace in Berlin -- but he was once lovers with a mysterious woman named Lena Brandt (<a href="/players/P___215038/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Cate Blanchett</a>). Lena is a lady with many secrets to hide, however, and now that the fighting has ceased, she has every intention of burying her sins and escaping her dark past. As Jake searches for Lena in war-torn Berlin with the assistance of American Army motor pool driver Tully (<a href="/players/P___196872/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tobey Maguire</a>), the complex web of deceit woven by the desperate woman soon leads all three into the black market, which could prove either the ticket to Lena's ultimate escape or the downfall of both her and her pursuers. Filmed entirely in the style of such Hollywood classics as <a href=/films/5340/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Casablanca</a>, The Good German was shot by director <a href="/players/P___112040/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Steven Soderbergh</a> (under the pseudonym <a href="/players/P___112040/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Peter Andrews</a>) using 1940s era lenses, sound-recording techniques, and a decidedly less-mobile camera. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide8Taggedy Taggged (6-10)18102http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/s261877.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Good_German/261877/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/unclefestering/archive/2008/8/7/33730.aspx Post By: unclefestering
Post To: unclefestering Blog
Post Date: 8/7/2008 11:31:11 PM
Body: Every time I go to a Steven Soderberg movie, I’m reminded of the scene from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back where Matt Damon explains that you do the pop movie, so you can fund your indie movie, which you might be able to shoe horn in before you do your payback movie. Soderberg ping pongs back and forth between these types of projects more than any other current director I can think of. The Good German is the Artsy Soderberg in high form. He makes sure that you know it is important because he uses all the traits of classic Hollywood to present this tale. Just in case you might not appreciate the film references, Soderberg films this in black and white, so you know it is more serious that Ocean’s 12 or 14 or 23. I think it is supposed to be ironic. It’s hard to tell. The plot is so convoluted that even after multiple viewings I was still confused about why people were double and triple and quadruple-crossing each other. Part of that might be because each time I watched it, I lost interest in it more quickly. George Clooney plays Captain Jack Gusman, who is returning to a post-war Germany to cover the Potsdam Conference for a magazine. He is assigned a motor pool driver (Tobey Maguire) who is running a number of short cons, black market deal and pimping out women. One of the women that Maguire is running is Cate Blanchett, a weary German who was George Clooney’s mistress during the war. Maguire gets murdered but the Americans and Russians and the few politically powerful Germans are too busy trying to smuggle, betray, help and prosecute each other to notice or really care. Only Clooney can save the day, solve the murder and maybe even uncover who the real war criminals are. There are a lot of problems with this movie. The plot spends a lot of time referencing much better World War II and Post world war movies like Casablanca and The Third Man without having absorbed what makes those movies so great. There is plenty of clever and snappy dialogue, which is good because almost all the leads seem very bored with the roles they are playing. Blanchett is trying to be Marlene Deitrich, but while she swirls in and out of the inky shadows, she fails to project any of Deitrich’s sexual fierceness. Clooney doesn’t seem to be having any fun in his role as the virtuous chump schlepping through the ruins of Germany to be shocked that Americans wanted to keep German rocket scientists out of the hands of the Russians. The only person having fun in his role seems to be Maguire, who seems to like playing the creepy and sadistic Tully. So who is the good German of the title? Who knows? It looks like it is supposed to be one more piece of irony, but it would take more effort that it is worth to figure it out.
]]>Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:31:11 GMTunclefesteringunclefestering Blog8/7/2008 11:31:11 PMEvery time I go to a Steven Soderberg movie, I&rsquo;m reminded of the scene from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back where Matt Damon explains that you do the pop movie, so you can fund your indie movie, which you might be able to shoe horn in before you do your payback movie. Soderberg ping pongs back and forth between these types of projects more than any other current director I can think of. The Good German is the Artsy Soderberg in high form. He makes sure that you know it is important because he uses all the traits of classic Hollywood to present this tale. Just in case you might not appreciate the film references, Soderberg films this in black and white, so you know it is more serious that Ocean&rsquo;s 12 or 14 or 23. I think it is supposed to be ironic. It&rsquo;s hard to tell. The plot is so convoluted that even after multiple viewings I was still confused about why people were double and triple and quadruple-crossing each other. Part of that might be because each time I watched it, I lost interest in it more quickly. George Clooney plays Captain Jack Gusman, who is returning to a post-war Germany to cover the Potsdam Conference for a magazine. He is assigned a motor pool driver (Tobey Maguire) who is running a number of short cons, black market deal and pimping out women. One of the women that Maguire is running is Cate Blanchett, a weary German who was George Clooney&rsquo;s mistress during the war. Maguire gets murdered but the Americans and Russians and the few politically powerful Germans are too busy trying to smuggle, betray, help and prosecute each other to notice or really care. Only Clooney can save the day, solve the murder and maybe even uncover who the real war criminals are. There are a lot of problems with this movie. The plot spends a lot of time referencing much better World War II and Post world war movies like Casablanca and The Third Man without having absorbed what makes those movies so great. There is plenty of clever and snappy dialogue, which is good because almost all the leads seem very bored with the roles they are playing. Blanchett is trying to be Marlene Deitrich, but while she swirls in and out of the inky shadows, she fails to project any of Deitrich&rsquo;s sexual fierceness. Clooney doesn&rsquo;t seem to be having any fun in his role as the virtuous chump schlepping through the ruins of Germany to be shocked that Americans wanted to keep German rocket scientists out of the hands of the Russians. The only person having fun in his role seems to be Maguire, who seems to like playing the creepy and sadistic Tully. So who is the good German of the title? Who knows? It looks like it is supposed to be one more piece of irony, but it would take more effort that it is worth to figure it out. http://www.spout.com/blogs/cinemarian/archive/2008/5/12/28581.aspx Post By: CinemaRian
Post To: CinemaRian Blog
Post Date: 5/12/2008 11:22:01 AM
Body: Although I'm not one of the director's biggest fans, I have to give Stephen Soderbergh credit- he is certainly one of the most versatile directors working today. He's made a Gen-X indie drama, an existential comedy, three blockbuster heist films, a feel good legal comedy, a social morality play, a microbudget slice of life masterpiece, and a self indulgent piece of crap - and that's just the movies I've seen. I didn't like all of them and downright hated one, but Soderbergh always has new trick up his sleeve. The Good German is a movie that is ultimately undone by its own ambitions. It tries to be two things at once and succeeds to a limited degree, but I felt that this could be a really great movie if the director took only one approach and did all the way, instead of oscillating between the two. On one level, the movie is a homage to 40's cinema- shot in the academy ratio with a period camera on period film stock (this doesn't extend to the sound, however, which is stereo). On another level, it's a "real" movie with a real story that we are supposed get involved. But the two approaches conflict with each other. We have fun with the some of the 40's movie cliches, but when the real drama comes, it's hard to care about the characters, which are limited to archetypes. Soderbergh can't completely evoke the films of the 40's, either. The biggest problem is, I think, the fact that we are in a postmodern age. In this film, George Clooney plays a part that would almost certainly have been played by Humphrey Bogart. But there are no actors left (except maybe Clint Eastwood) that have the iconic status of a Bogart. Clooney is a good actor, but he can't be an icon. The changes in acting method have altered since the 40's, too. We expect actors to create characters instead of essentially inhabiting a persona. It's funny when Sodebergh parodies 40's stylistic techniques, but he can't create characters we care about. The story, which is a sort of combination of Casablanca and The Third Man (with lots of visual allusions to both films, as well as Bicycle Thieves), is hard to care about, too. Set in Germany immediately after the countries surrender, most of the film is a search for guy named Emile Brandt (I won't reveal what happens when they find him, or who plays him). Emile is the ex-husband of Lena (Cate Blanchett in the Marlene Dietrich part) who is an old flame of American soldier Jake (Clooney). Although I think understood the many twists and machinations of the plot, I'm not sure I can repeat them, and I'm not sure that's really the point. One critic referred to this movie as an anti-Casablanca, and that's probably true. Whereas Curtiz's film is about making sacrifices made to so that others might have better lives, this is about hurting others so you can live. But there is a moment at the very end of the film that is intended to be a surprise that I had expected the whole time, and that scenes allusion to Casablanca was more painfully obvious than clever. I am recommending the film, mostly because the visual fun of Soderbergh's homages. The black and white photography never stops being gorgeous, even after the somewhat shallow characters become tiresome. This is an ambitious film that fails on a human level, but gets by on its technical merits. The Good German (2006)
]]>Mon, 12 May 2008 15:22:01 GMTCinemaRianCinemaRian Blog5/12/2008 11:22:01 AMAlthough I'm not one of the director's biggest fans, I have to give Stephen Soderbergh credit- he is certainly one of the most versatile directors working today. He's made a Gen-X indie drama, an existential comedy, three blockbuster heist films, a feel good legal comedy, a social morality play, a microbudget slice of life masterpiece, and a self indulgent piece of crap - and that's just the movies I've seen. I didn't like all of them and downright hated one, but Soderbergh always has new trick up his sleeve. The Good German is a movie that is ultimately undone by its own ambitions. It tries to be two things at once and succeeds to a limited degree, but I felt that this could be a really great movie if the director took only one approach and did all the way, instead of oscillating between the two. On one level, the movie is a homage to 40's cinema- shot in the academy ratio with a period camera on period film stock (this doesn't extend to the sound, however, which is stereo). On another level, it's a "real" movie with a real story that we are supposed get involved. But the two approaches conflict with each other. We have fun with the some of the 40's movie cliches, but when the real drama comes, it's hard to care about the characters, which are limited to archetypes. Soderbergh can't completely evoke the films of the 40's, either. The biggest problem is, I think, the fact that we are in a postmodern age. In this film, George Clooney plays a part that would almost certainly have been played by Humphrey Bogart. But there are no actors left (except maybe Clint Eastwood) that have the iconic status of a Bogart. Clooney is a good actor, but he can't be an icon. The changes in acting method have altered since the 40's, too. We expect actors to create characters instead of essentially inhabiting a persona. It's funny when Sodebergh parodies 40's stylistic techniques, but he can't create characters we care about. The story, which is a sort of combination of Casablanca and The Third Man (with lots of visual allusions to both films, as well as Bicycle Thieves), is hard to care about, too. Set in Germany immediately after the countries surrender, most of the film is a search for guy named Emile Brandt (I won't reveal what happens when they find him, or who plays him). Emile is the ex-husband of Lena (Cate Blanchett in the Marlene Dietrich part) who is an old flame of American soldier Jake (Clooney). Although I think understood the many twists and machinations of the plot, I'm not sure I can repeat them, and I'm not sure that's really the point. One critic referred to this movie as an anti-Casablanca, and that's probably true. Whereas Curtiz's film is about making sacrifices made to so that others might have better lives, this is about hurting others so you can live. But there is a moment at the very end of the film that is intended to be a surprise that I had expected the whole time, and that scenes allusion to Casablanca was more painfully obvious than clever. I am recommending the film, mostly because the visual fun of Soderbergh's homages. The black and white photography never stops being gorgeous, even after the somewhat shallow characters become tiresome. This is an ambitious film that fails on a human level, but gets by on its technical merits. The Good German (2006) http://www.spout.com/blogs/windbreaker/archive/2007/11/28/22276.aspx Post By: Windbreaker
Post To: Windbreaker!
Post Date: 11/28/2007 11:33:07 AM
Body: I can't say that I completely lost interest, because I was forcing myself to maintain interest. Like JimBell said in his post [linky linky], I was looking forward to some noir goodness. Several stylistic elements are there, but I think Soderbergh just tried too hard. Some of the plot points had potential, but the biggest distraction for me was the portrayal of George Clooney's character. Was he really a reporter? If so, what was he reporting and why didn't he ever take notes or type up stories? In fact, I was convinced that Clooney's character would reveal a dark secret about his background since it was so obvious that he was *not* a reporter brought to Germany by the US military. Bah. I won't even recommend that you rent this.
]]>Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:33:07 GMTWindbreakerWindbreaker!11/28/2007 11:33:07 AMI can&#39;t say that I completely lost interest, because I was forcing myself to maintain interest. Like JimBell said in his post [linky linky], I was looking forward to some noir goodness. Several stylistic elements are there, but I think Soderbergh just tried too hard. Some of the plot points had potential, but the biggest distraction for me was the portrayal of George Clooney&#39;s character. Was he really a reporter? If so, what was he reporting and why didn&#39;t he ever take notes or type up stories? In fact, I was convinced that Clooney&#39;s character would reveal a dark secret about his background since it was so obvious that he was *not* a reporter brought to Germany by the US military. Bah. I won&#39;t even recommend that you rent this. http://www.spout.com/blogs/shaunhuston/archive/2007/8/27/18885.aspx Post By: ShaunHuston
Post To: ShaunHuston filmblog
Post Date: 8/27/2007 1:00:43 PM
Body: One thing, maybe the thing, that makes The Good German perplexing is that its best quality, the meticulous recreation of a 40s international noir ala Casablanca (1942) or The Third Man (1949), is also its biggest weakness.There are some beautiful and authentic images in the film, but there are others that verge on parody (mostly those involving rear projection; sorry no stills or screen grabs available - I popped the film back into the mail before thinking I might want it). By itself, that wouldn't be a problem except that director Steven Soderbergh and writer Paul Attanasio haven't rethought the films they reference so much as attempted to reproduce them, but with the jarring addition of language, violence, and sex that wouldn't have been allowed in the 1940s. Unlike, say, homosexuality (and, really, race) in Far From Heaven (2002) or the disappearing blandness of Ed (Billy Bob Thornton) in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), the updating and revisioning of genre in The Good German is trivial at best, and clumsily tacked on at worse. Arguably, what the film does that could not have been done in 40s is the presentation of sympathetic, or at least other than venal, German characters, but, for whatever reason, I did not find myself even thinking about that possibility until the hour or so after having seen it. Ultimately, the film ends up feeling more like an aesthetic exercise than anything else and that detracts from its thematic elements, and also turns its actors into living wax museum pieces (which is not to suggest that the cast is anything but game, just that they, more often than not, come across as parts of the mise-en-scene more than people). Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs
]]>Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:00:43 GMTShaunHustonShaunHuston filmblog8/27/2007 1:00:43 PMOne thing, maybe the thing, that makes The Good German perplexing is that its best quality, the meticulous recreation of a 40s international noir ala Casablanca (1942) or The Third Man (1949), is also its biggest weakness.There are some beautiful and authentic images in the film, but there are others that verge on parody (mostly those involving rear projection; sorry no stills or screen grabs available - I popped the film back into the mail before thinking I might want it). By itself, that wouldn't be a problem except that director Steven Soderbergh and writer Paul Attanasio haven't rethought the films they reference so much as attempted to reproduce them, but with the jarring addition of language, violence, and sex that wouldn't have been allowed in the 1940s. Unlike, say, homosexuality (and, really, race) in Far From Heaven (2002) or the disappearing blandness of Ed (Billy Bob Thornton) in The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), the updating and revisioning of genre in The Good German is trivial at best, and clumsily tacked on at worse. Arguably, what the film does that could not have been done in 40s is the presentation of sympathetic, or at least other than venal, German characters, but, for whatever reason, I did not find myself even thinking about that possibility until the hour or so after having seen it. Ultimately, the film ends up feeling more like an aesthetic exercise than anything else and that detracts from its thematic elements, and also turns its actors into living wax museum pieces (which is not to suggest that the cast is anything but game, just that they, more often than not, come across as parts of the mise-en-scene more than people). Originally posted on:Short-Circuit Signs http://www.spout.com/blogs/puhnner/archive/2007/8/27/18870.aspx Post By: Puhnner
Post To: Puhnner Blog
Post Date: 8/27/2007 8:10:00 AM
Body: Ho hum...I wish this film had explored the subtext (at least as it seems to me to be shown, but really when examined, the drive behind the film narrative and the action itself ) more, the 'Operation Paperclip' side, but as noted in the article below, the original name was 'Operation Overcast.' Various nastiness was cast aside for the advancement of the national goals to quickly and quietly extract those Germans of 'value'. The Cate Blanchett, while seeming to be channeling Deitrich in Touch of Evil, Lena character and that of her husband Emil Brandt, who would expose the operation make much more sense to me knowing the reasons behind their seemingly contradictory and crosspurposed motivations and actions and ultimate ends. Quite a bit of information exists on the program that is worth a look into. Here is a link and a brief telling of the story...go to the link and others available on the net and in books if you are interested in more...http://www.operationpaperclip.info/...'Operation Paperclip was the codename under which the US intelligence and military services extricated scientists from Germany, during and after the final stages of World War II. The project was originally called Operation Overcast, and is sometimes also known as Project Paperclip.Of particular interest were scientists specialising in aerodynamics and rocketry (such as those involved in the V-1 and V-2 projects), chemical weapons, chemical reaction technology and medicine. These scientists and their families were secretly brought to the United States, without State Department review and approval; their service for Hitler's Third Reich, NSDAP and SS memberships as well as the classification of many as war criminals or security threats also disqualified them from officially obtaining visas. An aim of the operation was capturing equipment before the Soviets came in. The US Army destroyed some of the German equipment to prevent it from being captured by the advancing Soviet Army'... as to what Soderbergh was trying to do here, I just don't know. I would love to hear his commentary...but hell, the score was pretty good though and I enjoyed the melding of newsreel footage with the various portions of the film. It seems like it would be very interesting to bookend this film with Wilder and Marlene Deitrich and Tyrone Power in Witness for the Prosecution and do some speculating about the characters.
]]>Mon, 27 Aug 2007 12:10:00 GMTPuhnnerPuhnner Blog8/27/2007 8:10:00 AMHo hum...I wish this film had explored the subtext (at least as it seems to me to be shown, but really when examined, the drive behind the film narrative and the action itself ) more, the &#39;Operation Paperclip&#39; side, but as noted in the article below, the original name was &#39;Operation Overcast.&#39; Various nastiness was cast aside for the advancement of the national goals to quickly and quietly extract those Germans of &#39;value&#39;. The Cate Blanchett, while seeming to be channeling Deitrich in Touch of Evil, Lena character and that of her husband Emil Brandt, who would expose the operation make much more sense to me knowing the reasons behind their seemingly contradictory and crosspurposed motivations and actions and ultimate ends. Quite a bit of information exists on the program that is worth a look into. Here is a link and a brief telling of the story...go to the link and others available on the net and in books if you are interested in more...http://www.operationpaperclip.info/...&#39;Operation Paperclip was the codename under which the US intelligence and military services extricated scientists from Germany, during and after the final stages of World War II. The project was originally called Operation Overcast, and is sometimes also known as Project Paperclip.Of particular interest were scientists specialising in aerodynamics and rocketry (such as those involved in the V-1 and V-2 projects), chemical weapons, chemical reaction technology and medicine. These scientists and their families were secretly brought to the United States, without State Department review and approval; their service for Hitler&#39;s Third Reich, NSDAP and SS memberships as well as the classification of many as war criminals or security threats also disqualified them from officially obtaining visas. An aim of the operation was capturing equipment before the Soviets came in. The US Army destroyed some of the German equipment to prevent it from being captured by the advancing Soviet Army&#39;... as to what Soderbergh was trying to do here, I just don&#39;t know. I would love to hear his commentary...but hell, the score was pretty good though and I enjoyed the melding of newsreel footage with the various portions of the film. It seems like it would be very interesting to bookend this film with Wilder and Marlene Deitrich and Tyrone Power in Witness for the Prosecution and do some speculating about the characters. http://www.spout.com/blogs/sarcastig/archive/2007/7/13/13877.aspx Post By: sarcastig
Post To: As cool as a Fruitstand
Post Date: 7/13/2007 4:00:34 PM
Body: Is Soderbergh somehow fundamentally incapable of making an uninteresting movie?I don't think this is among his better films; it's too clinical, too calculated, perfectly in the style of 40's movies but not quite there in tone. I cared for Rick and Ilsa, and even for Holly and Valli, but Clooney and Blanchett? /they do their best, the co-operate, but they fail to inject enough feeling to make this more than just a genre exercise.A very well executed style exercise, don't get me wrong.But it does make you wonder: can you be brilliant and still have a heart? Originally posted on:As cool as a Fruitstand
]]>Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:00:34 GMTsarcastigAs cool as a Fruitstand7/13/2007 4:00:34 PMIs Soderbergh somehow fundamentally incapable of making an uninteresting movie?I don't think this is among his better films; it's too clinical, too calculated, perfectly in the style of 40's movies but not quite there in tone. I cared for Rick and Ilsa, and even for Holly and Valli, but Clooney and Blanchett? /they do their best, the co-operate, but they fail to inject enough feeling to make this more than just a genre exercise.A very well executed style exercise, don't get me wrong.But it does make you wonder: can you be brilliant and still have a heart? Originally posted on:As cool as a Fruitstand http://www.spout.com/blogs/jimbell/archive/2007/6/12/10930.aspx Post By: JimBell
Post To: JimBell Blog
Post Date: 6/12/2007 2:14:00 PM
Body: Because I am a film noir fan, I looked forward to The Good German (2006). Shot in black and white in classic film noir style, Steven Soderbergh’s film is disappointing, and the problem is the script. If I came to you with this pitch, would you go for it? Pitch: An American reporter returns to Berlin in the summer of 1945 to cover the Potsdam conference, although he never does. His assigned military driver is a sleazy American serviceman making money on the black market and pimping his German woman. The driver soon shows up dead, and the reporter goes after the woman, who used to be his secretary/”stringer” and lover. Unfortunately, the woman is essentially dead, soul-less, her eyes never once flickering with life. Was it because she was raped by a Russian? Apparently not. And why is everyone after her husband who is supposed to be dead but is apparently not? Because he was the personal secretary for a Nazi scientist who made rockets in a brutal concentration camp factory, and the Americans are trying to make the brilliant scientist a fine, upstanding American. As the soul-less woman finally wangles her pass to freedom and walks toward the airplane, she tells the reporter that her crime was turning in a dozen fellow Jews to the Gestapo so that she could survive. The end. Such a script has major problems. There is no one the viewer can identify with. The reporter is so vague he floats through the movie. We never see him report anything. This is in stark contrast to old film noir-style movies that would have had a bustling newspaper office with noisy typewriters. Worse, he wears a military uniform because the US Army insisted, but instead of acting military, he usually just gets beaten up and told to watch his step. Nor does he have any of the a) righteousness or b) conflicted morality of traditional film noir characters. He wants desperately to find out what is going on with the woman and with her mysterious husband, but she is clearly a burned out wreck not worth the dogged effort. We wonder what is motivating this man. We don’t identify with the broken woman because we never see her any other way—she is just a heartless prostitute looking out for number one—and because we have no idea what happened to her until the last two minutes of the movie. This points to the other major problem besides the characters: the plot. The major plot concerns the woman’s husband and the brilliant scientist, but we hardly see them and have no reason to care. The other plot is the reporter’s attempt to re-establish a connection with his old lover, and this includes finding out what happened to her. But we are given no clues whatsoever that she betrayed fellow Jews until she announces the sordid fact in the last two minutes of the movie.
]]>Tue, 12 Jun 2007 18:14:00 GMTJimBellJimBell Blog6/12/2007 2:14:00 PMBecause I am a film noir fan, I looked forward to The Good German (2006). Shot in black and white in classic film noir style, Steven Soderbergh&rsquo;s film is disappointing, and the problem is the script. If I came to you with this pitch, would you go for it? Pitch: An American reporter returns to Berlin in the summer of 1945 to cover the Potsdam conference, although he never does. His assigned military driver is a sleazy American serviceman making money on the black market and pimping his German woman. The driver soon shows up dead, and the reporter goes after the woman, who used to be his secretary/&rdquo;stringer&rdquo; and lover. Unfortunately, the woman is essentially dead, soul-less, her eyes never once flickering with life. Was it because she was raped by a Russian? Apparently not. And why is everyone after her husband who is supposed to be dead but is apparently not? Because he was the personal secretary for a Nazi scientist who made rockets in a brutal concentration camp factory, and the Americans are trying to make the brilliant scientist a fine, upstanding American. As the soul-less woman finally wangles her pass to freedom and walks toward the airplane, she tells the reporter that her crime was turning in a dozen fellow Jews to the Gestapo so that she could survive. The end. Such a script has major problems. There is no one the viewer can identify with. The reporter is so vague he floats through the movie. We never see him report anything. This is in stark contrast to old film noir-style movies that would have had a bustling newspaper office with noisy typewriters. Worse, he wears a military uniform because the US Army insisted, but instead of acting military, he usually just gets beaten up and told to watch his step. Nor does he have any of the a) righteousness or b) conflicted morality of traditional film noir characters. He wants desperately to find out what is going on with the woman and with her mysterious husband, but she is clearly a burned out wreck not worth the dogged effort. We wonder what is motivating this man. We don&rsquo;t identify with the broken woman because we never see her any other way&mdash;she is just a heartless prostitute looking out for number one&mdash;and because we have no idea what happened to her until the last two minutes of the movie. This points to the other major problem besides the characters: the plot. The major plot concerns the woman&rsquo;s husband and the brilliant scientist, but we hardly see them and have no reason to care. The other plot is the reporter&rsquo;s attempt to re-establish a connection with his old lover, and this includes finding out what happened to her. But we are given no clues whatsoever that she betrayed fellow Jews until she announces the sordid fact in the last two minutes of the movie. http://www.spout.com/blogs/walktheearth/archive/2007/6/10/10638.aspx Post By: walktheearth
Post To: walktheearth Blog
Post Date: 6/10/2007 11:11:00 AM
Body: Most of the reviews I have read about The Good German have stated that it is a film noir. True it does have many of the essenital elements of a noir. Single source lighting, seedy underbelly of urban evniroments and inhabitants, the femme fatal, etc. I found this movie to be more of a propaganda film with its uses of film stock from the period and heavily slanted / not so subliminal opinions of politics and the comparison of what was happining in 40's Berlin and what is taking place in current times.An interesting note abot the noir issue is that American Noir was born out of the German Expressionist movement that started as a way for German directors to express thier political views in a "hidden" way during the first world war. Many of these directors imgrated to America during the second workd war. So for George Clooney to use this style for this film it is an interesting omage to the Gerere as well as the political ethos that gererated it.Overall I was not wildly impressed with the film. I felt that Toby McGuire was miscast and Kate Blanchett seemed to be phoning it in. It's worth a rent. It is an interesting examination of how movies can be used to influance people, and the style of film making is not seen very often any more. Clooney poiltical views and mine are not that different, I only wish he would spend a little less time pluging them into his films and a litle more time developing his charecters.
]]>Sun, 10 Jun 2007 15:11:00 GMTwalktheearthwalktheearth Blog6/10/2007 11:11:00 AMMost of the reviews I have read about The Good German have stated that it is a film noir. True it does have many of the essenital elements of a noir. Single source lighting, seedy underbelly of urban evniroments and inhabitants, the femme fatal, etc. I found this movie to be more of a propaganda film with its uses of film stock from the period and heavily slanted / not so subliminal opinions of politics and the comparison of what was happining in 40&#39;s Berlin and what is taking place in current times.An interesting note abot the noir issue is that American Noir was born out of the German Expressionist movement that started as a way for German directors to express thier political views in a "hidden" way during the first world war. Many of these directors imgrated to America during the second workd war. So for George Clooney to use this style for this film it is an interesting omage to the Gerere as well as the political ethos that gererated it.Overall I was not wildly impressed with the film. I felt that Toby McGuire was miscast and Kate Blanchett seemed to be phoning it in. It&#39;s worth a rent. It is an interesting examination of how movies can be used to influance people, and the style of film making is not seen very often any more. Clooney poiltical views and mine are not that different, I only wish he would spend a little less time pluging them into his films and a litle more time developing his charecters. http://www.spout.com/blogs/chesterfilms/archive/2007/6/1/9894.aspx Post By: chesterfilms
Post To: chesterfilms Blog
Post Date: 6/1/2007 2:47:35 AM
Body: To call The Good German an homage to the old War dramas of the 1940's is an understatement. Shot in black & white with lenses used from the period, and performances in that old style. In fact several scenes are completely ripped off (wait till you see the ending). It's a beautiful film with amazing shots and sets. You can see Soderbergh and the actors having fun with it. That being said, the biggest thing lacking in this film is story. It is full of holes, and it just doesn't go anywhere. Ultimately the film suffers from it but, if you love films from that period, that you should see it. It's not a bad film, it's just a perfect example of style over substance.
]]>Fri, 01 Jun 2007 06:47:35 GMTchesterfilmschesterfilms Blog6/1/2007 2:47:35 AMTo call The Good German an homage to the old War dramas of the 1940&#39;s is an understatement. Shot in black &amp; white with lenses used from the period, and performances in that old style. In fact several scenes are completely ripped off (wait till you see the ending). It&#39;s a beautiful film with amazing shots and sets. You can see Soderbergh and the actors having fun with it. That being said, the biggest thing lacking in this film is story. It is full of holes, and it just doesn&#39;t go anywhere. Ultimately the film suffers from it but, if you love films from that period, that you should see it. It&#39;s not a bad film, it&#39;s just a perfect example of style over substance. http://www.spout.com/blogs/sarcastig/archive/2007/5/24/9496.aspx Post By: sarcastig
Post To: As cool as a Fruitstand
Post Date: 5/24/2007 6:36:00 PM
Body: Is Soderbergh somehow fundamentally incapable of making an uninteresting movie?I don't think this is among his better films; it's too clinical, too calculated, perfectly in the style of 40's movies but not quite there in tone. I cared for Rick and Ilsa, and even for Holly and Valli, but Clooney and Blanchett? /they do their best, the co-operate, but they fail to inject enough feeling to make this more than just a genre exercise.A very well executed style exercise, don't get me wrong.But it does make you wonder: can you be brilliant and still have a heart? Syndicated Feed From:As cool as a Fruitstand
]]>Thu, 24 May 2007 22:36:00 GMTsarcastigAs cool as a Fruitstand5/24/2007 6:36:00 PMIs Soderbergh somehow fundamentally incapable of making an uninteresting movie?I don't think this is among his better films; it's too clinical, too calculated, perfectly in the style of 40's movies but not quite there in tone. I cared for Rick and Ilsa, and even for Holly and Valli, but Clooney and Blanchett? /they do their best, the co-operate, but they fail to inject enough feeling to make this more than just a genre exercise.A very well executed style exercise, don't get me wrong.But it does make you wonder: can you be brilliant and still have a heart? Syndicated Feed From:As cool as a Fruitstand http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/war/MemberTagFilms.aspxwar
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