The Tunnel

2001 2h 30m DE

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 118

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Inspired by true events, Olympic swimmer Harry Melchior defects from East Germany in the 1960s and hatches a daring plot to help his sister and others flee East Berlin through a 145-yard underground tunnel.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Heino Ferch
Harry Melchior
Nicolette Krebitz
Friederike " Fritzi " Scholz
Sebastian Koch
Matthis Hiller
Alexandra Maria Lara
Lotte Lohmann
Claudia Michelsen
Carola Hiller
Felix Eitner
Fred von Klausnitz
Mehmet Kurtuluş
Vittorio Castanza
Heinrich Schmieder
Theo Lohmann

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roland Suso Richter
Writers: Johannes W. Betz
Languages: German
Countries: Germany

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

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Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roland Suso Richter, shot by Martin Langer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Heino Ferch and Nicolette Krebitz and Sebastian Koch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0251447 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roland Suso Richter directs. Martin Langer behind the camera. Thomas Wander scores. Peter R. Adam cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
225 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Roland Suso Richter, shot by Martin Langer. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Thomas Wander. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter R. Adam shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Heino Ferch and Nicolette Krebitz and Sebastian Koch carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0251447 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "berlin, germany", "escape", "berlin wall", "german democratic republic".