The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

"Based on the Worldwide Best Seller"

2009 2h 32m SV

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 3,343

DramaThrillerCrimeMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece

“Based on the Worldwide Best Seller”

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Cast

Michael Nyqvist
Mikael Blomkvist
Noomi Rapace
Lisbeth Salander
Lena Endre
Erika Berger
Sven-Bertil Taube
Henrik Vanger
Peter Haber
Martin Vanger
Peter Andersson
Nils Bjurman
Marika Lagercrantz
Cecilia Vanger
Ingvar Hirdwall
Dirch Frode

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Writers: Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
Languages: Swedish, English
Countries: Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden

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

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 152 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Swedish, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Millennium Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, shot by Eric Kress. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Niels Arden Oplev directs. Eric Kress behind the camera. Jacob Groth scores. Anne Østerud cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden. Dialogue in Swedish, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 152 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Made its money back 8.4× over at the box office.
3Released 17 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Swedish, English.
5International production across 4 countries: Denmark, Germany, Norway, Sweden.
6Part of the "The Millennium Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
7Directed by Niels Arden Oplev, shot by Eric Kress. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Jacob Groth. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Anne Østerud shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace and Lena Endre carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "Based on the Worldwide Best Seller".
12IMDB entry: tt1132620 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 18 themes, including "journalist", "island", "bondage", "rape".
14Released under 28 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Eric Kress
Original score: Jacob Groth
Editing: Anne Østerud
Production design: Niels Sejer
Costume design: Cilla Rörby
Makeup / hair: Love Larson
VFX supervisor: Tor-Bjorn Olsson
Sound: Peter Schultz
Stunt coordinator: Kimmo Rajala
Runtime: 152 min · 2h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $13,000,000
Box office: $109,421,911
Return: 842% of budget
Original language: SV
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Part of

The Millennium Collection

In his Millennium Trilogy Stieg Larsson created an exciting character for the new decade who has captured the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. In turn the three films based on the best-sellers have enthralled movie-goers across the globe. Her journey has become an international sensation...her secrets have captivated millions. The collection consists of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo The Girl Who Played with Fire The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Also by

Niels Arden Oplev

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2021-12-05
★ 9/10
Oddly, the version of this movie I watched contained both English subtitles and dubbing, and after a while I wished I could turn off the dubbing and go with just the subtitles, so that their mouths would always move at the right times. I watched the U.S. production of this with Daniel Craig many years ago, and I liked it, but I don’t remember it clearly enough to compare the two. My f=general impression, though, is that this original is better. Of course, the Lisbeth character is the real hero here. A rough childhood and beyond have molded her into a tough lady indeed, mentally, physically and emotionally. Oddly enough, she is the only character who seems to show any growth by the end of the film, perhaps partly due to her having so much room to grow emotionally.
Dr Nostromo2025-11-20
★ 8/10
82/100 A reporter's social disgrace for libel, rape and revenge, the investigation of serial killings going back to the 40's, all centered around a girl's disappearance in 1966. Made in Sweden two years earlier than the U.S. version, this is the first in the Lisbeth trilogy ...the other 2 films made at the same time and coming out later in 2009. Both versions place their story emphasis on different parts making each a unique take on the same story and outcome. Not as intense and well constructed as the U.S. version (which is well suited as a stand-alone film), this one still manages to hold up quite well as the start of the trilogy and features an excellent performances by Noomi Rapace. -- DrNostromo.com
CinemaSerf2026-10-02
★ 7/10
Soon to be incarcerated after losing a libel suit against a billionaire, journalist "Mikael" (Michael Nyqvist) is surprised to take a call from a wealthy Swedish industrialist who has a task for him. "Henrik" (Sven Bertil-Taube) has long since been concerned about the supposed killing of his niece, and is convinced that someone from within his own dysfunctional family could be responsible so he asks "Mikael" to investigate. Now forty years have gone under the bridge since "Harriet" disappeared, so what chance he can do anything with this coldest of cold cases? Well hope might lie in the help he gets from accomplished hacker "Lisbeth" (Noomi Rapace) - a leather clad motorcylist-cum-rebellious spirit who also sports the titular tattoo! There might be clues from what look like phone numbers or maybe bible verses, but what they soon discover is that there is much more than one single disappearance here - rather a series of savage murders that date back over the decades and that may even have some Nazi connotations. As their investigations deepen, it becomes more perilous for both of them but that process also begins to tie up some hitherto unexplained threads in the lives of both. This benefits from a sort of two-pronged approach. Firstly we have the storyline from Nyqvist that I found a little undercooked but still quite compellingly delivered and then there is the far more turbulent, violent and vengeful one from a Rapace who really does throw herself into the part convincingly. When the time comes for the two to unite, we see the pieces of their respective jigsaws fit (not so) neatly together to make quite a formidable team - complete with a little bit of the visceral thrown in for good measure. There are plenty of potential culprits, but we are drip fed the clues at the same rate as they are, so it's not like you could ever guess whodunnit until an ending that I can't say I loved, but that I certainly didn't expect. Much of this is set amidst the cold and dark rural wilderness of a Sweden that provides us with an eerily effective setting and as carefully paced conspiracy thrillers go, this is up there with the best.