Hard to Be a God

1990 1h 59m DE

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 51

DramaAdventureScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Another planet in the period of medieval times. An employee of the institute of experimental history from Earth, who is send under the name of noble don Rumata of Estor as a spy with a mission to contact the local resident of the institute, arrives in the city of Arkanar. But the resident perishes under an unlucky attempt to make a palace coup, and Rumata have to take his place as the resident. Soon he meets all the horrors of the medieval society - a peasant war, palace coups, mass executions. To continue to be an indifferent watcher of all these horrors turns out to be simply impossible...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Edward Żentara
Rumata / Anton
Aleksandr Filippenko
Reba
Andrei Boltnev
Budach
Mikhail Gluzskiy
Hauk
Hugues Quester
Suren
Anne Gautier
Kyra
Christine Kaufmann
Okana
Pierre Clémenti
King

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Fleischmann
Writers: Jean-Claude Carrière, Peter Fleischmann, Pierre Christin
Languages: German
Countries: France, Germany, Soviet Union, Switzerland

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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Soviet Union, Switzerland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Fleischmann, shot by Jerzy Gościk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward Żentara and Aleksandr Filippenko and Andrei Boltnev carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0097292 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 51 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Fleischmann directs. Jerzy Gościk behind the camera. Jürgen Fritz scores. Marie-Josée Audiard cuts. Produced in France, Germany, Soviet Union, Switzerland. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

136 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 4 countries: France, Germany, Soviet Union, Switzerland.
3Directed by Peter Fleischmann, shot by Jerzy Gościk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jürgen Fritz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Marie-Josée Audiard shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Edward Żentara and Aleksandr Filippenko and Andrei Boltnev carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0097292 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 51 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.