Gespensterjäger
Cornelia Funke doesn’t usually allow her books to have film versions using German studios, as she prefers the Hollywood style, so this 2015 family-friendly adventure comedy is a special treat for us German-speaking fans! Comedy…
Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer
This post is specially covering the four-episode Augsburger Puppenkiste collection from 1977 and not the film remake of 2018. This film is recommended for ages 3+ and does lean young. That being said, the language…
Leberkäs Junkie
A Eberhoferkrimi, this 2019 film is a continuation of stories that began in 2013 with Dampfnudelblues and continues through 2022 with Guglhupfgeschwader so far. (It appears as if they may have spun off from a…
Tschick
Known in the US as Goodbye Berlin, this 2016 film is available to stream in the US with ads on Tubi and is rated TV-MA. In plays from here with English subtitles, which are at…
Das schaurige Haus
This 2020 Austrian Netflix film is marketed as a horror/mystery/thriller. There are moments of consequential learning that may be of interest to you and your students. For example, the older son complains that his phone…
Plisch und Plum
This Wilhelm Busch work, read by the narrator Helmut Hansen, may be less well-known than Max und Moritz or Struwwelpeter, but popular enough to have been translated into English long ago. This story is a…
Max und Moritz
This simple audio-film uses the images from Wilhelm Busch’s Max und Moritz to tell the story. For those less familiar with the book, some of the Streiche (tricks, or in this case the chapters) may…
Struwwelpeter
This audio-film uses images from Wilhelm Busch’s Struwwelpeter exclusively. It goes through each short story with a musical clip and a collage of images from the book. At times the music is distracting, as it…
Der Besuch der alten Dame (2008)
Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Der Besuch der alten Dame has been filmed a few times throughout film history, dating back to the early years of the star actress’ career, actually. This particular version stars Christiane Hörbiger as…
Das doppelte Lottchen (1950)
Narrated by Erich Kästner himself, this version’s screenplay was adapted from his book himself. Lotte and Luise are played by twins Isa and Jutta Günther. This was the first film for both girls, and they…
Die wilden Hühner
This post will cover the first film, released in 2006. There is a post for the final film at Die wilden Hühner und das Leben. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten my hands on the middle film,…
Das kleine Gespenst
Taken from Otfried Ostpreußler’s children’s book, this 2013 film stars a little ghost who awakes at night to have his adventures. Caspar fans should particularly enjoy this film! Potentially the most famous of the cast…
Das Boot
The story of life in an U-Boot during the war, this 1981 film explores the psyche and trials of the men serving their country under the sea. Giving a different view of the war from…
Die Nibelungen (Siegfried; Kriemhilds Rache)
These Fritz Lang films from 1924 follow the famous stories of Siegfried, beginning with the sword that he forged to slay the dragon. The actor playing King Etzel in Kriemhilds Rache probably goes down in…
Nirgendwo in Afrika
Released in 2001, this film centers around a Jewish family that must leave 1930s Germany, settling in Kenya. Interestingly, the actress who plays Jettel, Juliane Köhler, also played Eva Braun in Der Untergang. Her husband…
Nosferatu Phantom der Nacht (1979)
This Werner Herzog version of the classic 1922 Nosferatu (or, better stated, of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) features Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula. Lucy Harker in this version is played by the Paris-born actress Isabelle Adjani.…
Murder on the Bridge
This version of Dürrenmatt’s Der Richter und sein Henker, released in 1975, features Jon Voigt and Jacqueline Bisset. The original language is English, but the German dubbing is logical for the setting. The main character…
Ich bin dann mal weg
This 2015 film is based on a book of the same title, written by the main character, Hape Kerkeling, who does not play himself in this particular film. Devid Striesow plays Hape. We know him…
Der Prozess/ The Trial (1962)
An important note to start off: there is no a German version of Kafka’s book Der Prozess. The German film of this title, released in 1948, has a WWII focus. This production was done in…
Der Räuber Hotzenplotz
This 2006 retelling of the classic story features Armin Rohde as the title character. We’ve seen him in quite the variety of roles in German film, and can even be seen in English language films…
Lebenszeichen
Released in 1968, this Werner Herzog film is a drama done in the form of a documentary, and was his first feature film. As mentioned in the post on Woyzeck, Wolfgang Reichmann joins us again…
Woyzeck
This 1979 Werner Herzog film starring Klaus Kinski is just one of the film versions of the Georg Büchner play, first performed in 1913. More on Klaus Kinski can be found in the post on…
Buddenbrooks
This 2008 film is an adaptation of the Thomas Mann novel by the same name. Wikipedia actually has a good article on this book, even in the English article. It’s a story not unlike Pride and…
Der Steppenwolf
This film adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s Steppenwolf was released in 1974. It was originally done in English. Before the movie begins, there is a note stating that this version includes scenes not available in the…
Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum
This film version of the Heinrich Böll novel, published only a year before the film was released. It is also the directorial debut of Margarethe von Trotta, who later went on to direct Rosenstraße. In…
Frau Ella
Matthias Schweighöfer plays a taxi driver in this 2013 film who has some major life issues come up as we come in. Frau Ella is played by Ruth-Maria Kubitschek, who was born before WWII in…
Die wilden Hühner und das Leben
Please note: there are three wilden Hühner films. This post focuses on the final one, released in 2009. This film transitions our main characters into the older teenage years, when troubles are much different than…
Bergkristall
Released in 2004, this film began as a novella by Austrian author Adalbert Stifter in 1845. The story begins in a winter storm during the holidays. We learn the back story of two young adults,…
Allein gegen die Zeit
This is a film version, released in 2016, of a TV show that ran from 2010-2012. Interestingly, they were able to use much of the same cast. Janina Fautz is the headliner of this film.…
Das doppelte Lottchen
This 2017 version of the Erich Kästner classic book is already a German teacher favourite. For those who don’t know the story, it’s a “Parent Trap” story, where identical twins Lotte and Luise meet at…
Tom Sawyer
Released in 2011, this is a German adaptation of the famous Mark Twain novel, so most of you don’t need a plot summary… I would hope! Benno Fürmann plays Indianer Joe and Joachim Król is…
Pünktchen und Anton
This 1999 version of Erich Kästner’s novel centers around a young boy and girl who are best friends with completely different home lives. Anton’s situation (single mother who is sick and unable to work) may…