Schtonk!

"One of the first funny german look at its past."

1992 1h 55m DE

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 95

ComedyHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Schtonk! is a farce of the actual events of 1983, when Germany's Stern magazine published, with great fanfare, 60 volumes of the alleged diaries of Adolf Hitler – which two weeks later turned out to be entirely fake. Fritz Knobel (based on real-life forger Konrad Kujau) supports himself by faking and selling Nazi memorabilia. When Knobel writes and sells a volume of Hitler's (nonexistent) diaries, he thinks it's just another job. When sleazy journalist Hermann Willié learns of the diaries, however, he quickly realizes their potential value... and Knobel is quickly in over his head. As the pressure builds and Knobel is forced to deliver more and more volumes of the fake diaries, he finds himself acting increasingly like the man whose life he is rewriting. The film is a romping and hilarious satire, poking fun not only at the events and characters involved in the hoax (who are only thinly disguised in the film), but at the discomfort Germany has with its difficult past.

“One of the first funny german look at its past.”

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Cast

Götz George
Hermann Willié
Uwe Ochsenknecht
Fritz Knobel
Christiane Hörbiger
Freya von Hepp
Harald Juhnke
Pit Kummer
Ulrich Mühe
Dr. Wieland
Rolf Hoppe
Karl Lentz
Dagmar Manzel
Biggi
Veronica Ferres
Martha

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Helmut Dietl
Writers: Ulrich Limmer, Helmut Dietl
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.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Helmut Dietl, shot by Xaver Schwarzenberger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Götz George and Uwe Ochsenknecht and Christiane Hörbiger carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "One of the first funny german look at its past.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0105328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Helmut Dietl directs. Xaver Schwarzenberger behind the camera. Konstantin Wecker scores. Tanja Schmidbauer cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

134 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Helmut Dietl, shot by Xaver Schwarzenberger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Konstantin Wecker. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Tanja Schmidbauer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Götz George and Uwe Ochsenknecht and Christiane Hörbiger carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "One of the first funny german look at its past.".
7IMDB entry: tt0105328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.