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The Book Thief
Genre | Family Entertainment |
Format | Color, Dubbed, Dolby, NTSC, AC-3, Subtitled, Multiple Formats, Widescreen |
Contributor | Brian Percival, Emily Watson, Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush |
Language | English |
Runtime | 2 hours and 5 minutes |
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Product Description
Product Description
Based on the beloved best-selling book comes this profoundly moving story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. Although Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) is illiterate when she is adopted by a German couple (Oscar Winner Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson), her adoptive father encourages her to learn to read. Ultimately, the power of words helps Liesel and Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jew hiding in the family's home, escape from the events unfolding around them in this extraordinary, acclaimed film directed by Brian Percival (DOWNTON ABBEY).
Amazon.com
Skillfully pared down from Markus Zusak's celebrated young adult novel, The Book Thief presents a somewhat sanitized glimpse of Nazi Germany and the war from the uniquely innocent view of an adolescent girl. At first the perspective seems to be from the narrator, a bored, yet amused voice we learn is Death, presumably taking a brief holiday to comment on the experience of young Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) and the evolving disruptions around her. After Liesel is separated from her brother and mother in sharp and unsettling fashion, she lands at the home of protective, penurious foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson) in a small village somewhere in the picturesque German countryside. When she's teased at school for being illiterate, the kindly Hans makes a fun project of teaching her to read. Rosa is a persnickety presence for both of them, but it's mainly a façade as the couple embrace Liesel tighter even as the situation around them grows more dire. At a Nazi book burning a horrified Liesel surreptitiously snatches a random volume from the flames. The wife of the local Bürgermeister is the only one who notices, and she compassionately allows Liesel to visit her dead son's library, where she soon earns the movie's title moniker. Liesel's newfound love of literature begins informing her actions as more is revealed about the Hubermanns and the toll of wartime village life becomes more desperate. Liesel makes two friends who are vague romantic draws--her thoughtful, rebellious neighbor Rudy, and Max, the Jewish son of a man to whom Hans owes his life. The Hubermanns risk everything by hiding Max, a shining light of idealized nobility for Liesel. The Book Thief is lackadaisical and episodic, with an affecting spirit brought to life by all the performances and the exceptional period detail. Rush is superb as a lovable, complicated man, as is Watson, whose stern manner is only a mask. Nélisse steals the show, along with many hearts, by portraying Liesel as a malleable force whose passivity develops into nascent intensity as she grows up with the horrible changes unfolding around her. Death has a place, and not just as a commentator. But the villainy of Nazism and shadow of the Holocaust evades center stage as an overriding focus of this moving story. Less a tearjerker than a tear-tugger, The Book Thief steals heartfelt emotion, though it will mostly be gladly given. The first-rate score is by John Williams, taking a break from Steven Spielberg's production ensemble for the first time in a long while. --Ted Fry
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 2.40:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 1.6 ounces
- Item model number : 801682
- Director : Brian Percival
- Media Format : Color, Dubbed, Dolby, NTSC, AC-3, Subtitled, Multiple Formats, Widescreen
- Run time : 2 hours and 5 minutes
- Release date : March 11, 2014
- Actors : Sophie Nélisse, Emily Watson, Geoffrey Rush
- Dubbed: : French, Spanish
- Subtitles: : English, French, Spanish
- Studio : 20th Century Fox
- ASIN : B00G15MDI0
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #60,241 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #40,353 in DVD
- Customer Reviews:
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Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024
“One small fact: you are going to die. Despite every effort, no one lives forever. Sorry to be such a spoiler. My advice is when the time comes, don't panic. It doesn't seem to help.” Wisdom according to Death.
Film can be many things. It can document an event, it can imagine a far away world, it can tell a story with an alternate ending, it can be a visual symphony and in the case of “The Book Thief” it can be allegorical poetry. And with a John Williams score it can be sublime allegorical poetry.
In every sense of the word Brian Percival directs this production not as a WW2 period piece although the period of Hitler’s Germany is everywhere. We are used to such pieces being told from the point of view of victim, heroes, escapees or the Allied liberation. We are not used to sympathizing with Nazis and here we are forced to. But we are never often offered the point of view of Death as a character but if Death is a protagonist this is the film he was meant to star in. Inded, Percival gives us Death as both narrator and subject of this ode to life.
Meet Liesl. Her new adoptive parents Hans and Rosa. Hans has a musical soul and Rosa is cloaked in thunder. We meet Rudy and Franz, classmates of Liesl in her new school. Rudy would have been her prom date in several years but Franz was just a schoolyard bully. And we meet Ilsa, wife of the Burgermeister and caretaker of her dead son’s library where books can be conviently stolen by Liesl, our book stealer. And then there’s Max. The sun of a Jew who saved Hans’ life in WW1 by sacrificing his own. They are hiding Max in their basement. Max nearly dies but lives and leaves sacrificing his own safety so Liesl and her new family can live.
And because every symphonic allegorical poem, even of the sublime type, needs a climax Death does not hold back even as Death nonchalantly describes their last evening together:
“No one intended to destroy a street named after Heaven that evening. It was a misread on a map. No sirens that evening. First were Rudy’s brothers. I wrapped their simple dreams. Then I kissed his mother. And stole the meanness from Franz Deutcher’s heart. Rosa I caught mid snore……and I felt her regrets for not sharing more of her very big heart. As for Hans his soul was lighter than a child’s …..and I heard his final thought…..Liesl.”
Death continues, “Rudy- his soul just rolled into my arms.”
As the rescue effort is underway we learn that Liesl lives and so does Max. And again Death speaks: “Humans. I see their ugliness and their beauty and I wonder how the same can be both. All I know is that I’m haunted by humans.”
This film has entirely satisfying ending and is hauntingly beautiful.
I loved this movie for its focus on the story - i.e., the character development (as a future writer) of a young girl living in WWII Germany. The main character (Liesel) is encouraged in her writing by a Jew ("Max Vandenburg") who her foster parents are hiding in their basement. But she is also influenced by all of the other aspects of life in WWII Germany, including her foster parents, her neighbors, and her friends. This is pretty much like real-life - i.e., life is a compilation of experiences, and not just the result of a single encounter. I applaud the film for not digressing into the typical rant against the mistreatment of Jews by the Germans - there have been enough of those films to last us a lifetime. The film speaks for itself in that respect by credible depictions of day-to-day life in Germany during the war.
The movie does not digress from the main story line (which it could easily have done by including gratuitous romance, violence and general anti-Nazi scenes), but rather maintains its focus on Liesel and her development (as influenced by her own personal experiences during this troubled time). For this alone I would give the movie a 4-star rating. But the acting, cinematography, soundtrack (mostly non-obtrusive, for which kudos are in order), and conservative use of special effects moves this film up to the 5-star category. There is nothing about this film that I dislike or would change. It is a wonderful story without being preachy. In the end, it is just a story (and a wonderful one at that), and viewers can take from it what they will, without being force-fed some ostensible moralistic pabulum. In a rare instance Hollywood has produced a film which allows the viewers to just enjoy the story, and to draw their own conclusions as to any morals to be derived therefrom.
Make no mistake - this is not the "movie version" of the book. They are two separate and distinct works of art, and generally tell two different stories. Kudos to Michael Petroni for his screenplay in adapting the novel to the big screen. Both the book and the movie are wonderful, and (in my opinion) stand as separate works worthy of equal praise. (Think "Gone With the Wind", "The Wizard of Oz", and other great books that have been make into great films, but don't necessarily track film-to-book.) I loved the book, and I loved the movie - equally and separately.
Top reviews from other countries
Zur Zeit des Dritten Reiches gibt die Kommunistin Tochter Liesel in Plflege, der kleine Bruder stirbt bei der Zugfahrt. Sie kommt bei Hans und Rosa Hubermann unter, und hier erscheint auch aufgrund eines Versprechens des WK I -Soldaten Hans der Sohn eines jüdischen Kameraden, Max (Ben Schnetzer) der vor der Verfolgung in Sicherhei gebracht wird. und damin er wenigstens etwas bewegung hat, vom einsehbaren Wohnbereich in den Keller zieht. Für Liesel gehört Max zu ihrer Familie, und auch Rosa, die anfangs wie eine herrische kaltherzige Vettel wirkt, zeigt im Verlauf des Filmes ihr großes Herz.
Gezeigt wird Liesels Freundschaft zu dem blonden Nachbarjungen und ihr Leben mit der neuen Familie, Hans (Geoffrey Rush), für den Sophie wie eine Tochter ist, und ihr Interesse für das geschriebene Wort, gemeinsam mit Hans, der ebenfalls eine Leseschwäche hat, lernt sie Lesen und Schreiben, gefördert von Barbara Auer als Bürgermeistergattin, die Liesel, die dort von Rosa gebügelte Wäsche abliefert, in die wunderschöne und umfangreich bestückte Bibliothek lässt.
Rudi (Nico Liersch), ihr Kinderfreund, nennt sie Bücherdiebin, ein Kosename. Sie steigt, nachdem der Bürgermeister Rosa nicht mehr Bügeln lässt, wiederholt in die Bibliothek ein, wobei ich vermute, dass die Bürgermeisterfrau Ilsa Herrmann (Barbara Auer graumeliert) ein Fenster absichtlich offenstehen lässt.
Es kommt zum Ausbruch des Krieges, immer noch werden Häuser und keller nach versteckten Juden durchsucht und diese ins KZ abtransportiert, Kinder und Opas sollen an die Front, Essen wird knapp, und als Max lebensbedrohlich erkrankt, gibt er nach Genesung an, Sophies Vorlesen habe ihn am Leben erhalten.
Nicht alle sympathischen Protagonisten erleben das Kriegsende, wie wir sehen und auch am Ende von Gevatter Tod, der das wunderbare Märchen mit der angenehmen Stimme vión Ben Becker als würdiger Nachfolger seines großartigen Ziehvaters Otto Sander erzählt.
Der Film ist nicht perfekt: Die Reichsprogomnacht fand nicht zeitgleich mit den Bücherverbrennungen statt, die "farbenfrohe" Ausstattung vieler Straßen mit den roten Hakenkreuzfahnen erscheint völlig übertrieben, der Verbreitung des Filmes im englischsprachigen Raum ist geschuldet, dass die Kellerwände, wo Liesel Schreiben und Lesen lernt, mit englischen statt deutschen Wörtern übersäht ist. Wer ist überzeugter Nazi, wer nur Mitläufer und wer Gegner des Regimes, das bleibt doch sehr oberflächlich. eine korrekte Geschichsstunde liefert der Film nicht, der Zuschauer vwird manch Unstimmigkeiten und Fehler in dieser Hinsicht sehen.
Was den Film sehenswert macht, sind neben den vorzüglichen Darstellern, allen voran die zauberhafte 13jährige Frankokanadierein Sophie Nélisse, Werte wie eine aufrichtige Freundschaft wie zwischen Rudi und Gretel, die dem treuen Gefährten den erwünschten und auch verdienten Kuss erst zu spät geben kann, die bewundernswerte Treue und Haltung von Sophies neuen Eltern, die unter Gefahr für das Leben aus Dankbarkeit und wegen eines gegebenen Wortes Max verstecken, eine Liebe zwischen Eltern und Kind ohne Blutsverwandschaft und der Wert eines Wortes, nicht nur des gegebenen, sondern auch des geschriebenen, und dies im Falle von Max auch, da Sophies zuerst nüchterne, dann mit eigenen Worten und Vergleichen sehr anschauliche und bildhafte Beschreibung der Außenwelt Max die Augen ersetzt, die sonst nur den dunklen Keller sehen. Und ist es nicht möglich, dass Sophies Vorlesen am Bett des todkranken jungen Mannes auch ein Grund war, dass er die Krankheit überlebte?
Der Film erzählt eine nicht immer realistische, aber zutiefst berührende Geschichte über Liebe, Treue, Menschlichkeit unter unmenschlichem Regime, eine Liebe wie zwischen Sophie und der neuen Familie, die tiefer gehen kann als zu einer gefühlskalten "echten" Familie, Abwägen zwischen striktem Wahren eines Geheimnisses und Vertauen auf Liebe wie bei Liesel und Rudi.
Gevatter Tod ist ein sehr alter Mann. Er erinnert sich zwar an alle menschlichen Schäfchen, die er zu sich geholt hat, aber darf ihm chronologisch nicht etwas durcheinander geraten? Vielleicht sind alle, die er zu sich geholt hat, in einem dicken Buch festgehalten, mit ihrem Charakter, ihren Stärken, ihren Fehlern. Er liefert ein moralisches Märchen, kein exaktes Geschichtsbuch, und überwiegend ist das Märchen wunderbar und wertvoll.
Doc Halliday
a film I RECOMMEND