Gloomy Sunday

1999 1h 52m DE

🙌

7.7

BANGER

🍅

84%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.7TMDB · 74🍅84%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★7.8IMDB · 8,839

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Budapest in the 1930s. Restaurant owner Laszlo hires pianist András to play in his restaurant. Both men fall in love with the beautiful waitress Ilona who inspires András to his only composition. His song of Gloomy Sunday is, at first, loved and then feared, for its melancholic melody sets off a chain of suicides. The fragile balance of the erotic ménage à trois is sent off kilter when the German Hans falls in love with Ilona as well.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Marozsán Erika
Ilona
Joachim Król
László
Ben Becker
Hans Wieck
Stefano Dionisi
András
András Bálint
Ilonas Sohn
Géza Boros
Geigenspieler
Rolf Becker
Der alte Wieck
Ilse Zielstorff
Frau Wieck

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rolf Schübel
Writers: Nick Barkow, Rolf Schübel, Ruth Toma
Languages: English, German, Hungarian
Countries: Germany, Hungary

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Germany, Hungary.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rolf Schübel, shot by Edward Kłosiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rezsö Seress. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ursula Höf shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marozsán Erika and Joachim Król and Ben Becker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0155722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rolf Schübel directs. Edward Kłosiński behind the camera. Rezsö Seress scores. Ursula Höf cuts. Produced in Germany, Hungary. Dialogue in English, German, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

127 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Hungarian.
3International production across 2 countries: Germany, Hungary.
4Directed by Rolf Schübel, shot by Edward Kłosiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rezsö Seress. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ursula Höf shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Marozsán Erika and Joachim Król and Ben Becker carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0155722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 74 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 15 themes, including "lovesickness", "jealousy", "budapest, hungary", "nazi".