The Tin Drum

"A savage, sweeping epic of society in chaos."

1979 2h 42m DE

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 563

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

“A savage, sweeping epic of society in chaos.”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Mario Adorf
Alfred Matzerath
Angela Winkler
Agnes Matzerath
David Bennent
Oskar Matzerath
Katharina Thalbach
Maria Matzerath
Daniel Olbrychski
Jan Bronski
Tina Engel
Young Anna Koljaiczek
Berta Drews
Anna Koljaiczek
Roland Teubner
Joseph Koljaiczek

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Volker Schlöndorff
Writers: Volker Schlöndorff, Franz Seitz Junior, Jean-Claude Carrière
Languages: German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian
Countries: France, Germany, Poland

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 162 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Poland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, shot by Igor Luther. 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 Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Volker Schlöndorff directs. Igor Luther behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. Suzanne Baron cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in France, Germany, Poland. Dialogue in German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 162 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 5.7× over at the box office.
447 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Dialogue crosses 5 languages: German, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Russian.
6International production across 3 countries: France, Germany, Poland.
7Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, shot by Igor Luther. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
8Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
9Editor Suzanne Baron shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
10Mario Adorf and Angela Winkler and David Bennent carry the top of the cast.
11Marketing tagline: "A savage, sweeping epic of society in chaos.".
12IMDB entry: tt0078875 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
13Classified under 31 themes, including "puberty", "adultery", "lolita", "suicide".
14Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Igor Luther
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: Suzanne Baron
Production design: Nikos Perakis
Runtime: 162 min · 2h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $17,000,000
Return: 567% of budget
Original language: DE
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Tin Drum (1979)

Awards

Palme d'Or
Academy Award for Best International Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Volker Schlöndorff

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

MoHA2015-05-01
A smart movie powered by David Bennent's performance Oskar is a young man in World War II Germany who refuses to grow up when he was three years old. He deliberately let himself fall on a stair to injure himself and stop his growth. Oskar's refusal to grow and release his tin drum is an obvious metaphor about refusing the Nazi regime. This is made more obvious since he finally decided to grow and let go of his drum after the Nazi's defeat. The Tin Drum is based on a celebrated novel by German author Gunter Grass. Director Volker Schlöndorff brings it to life with profound elegance and intellectual humor. Made in 1979, in the middle of the German film renaissance, The Tin Drum pokes fun at the Nazi regime and at the same time presents an unforgettable and often hilarious story. The movie begins in the late 19th century when Oskar's grandmother helps his grandfather to escape German soldiers by letting him hide under her skirt. It is also where Oskar's mother Agnes (Angela Winkler) is conceived. Agnes grows up during the First World War and marries a man named Alfred Matzerath (Mario Adorf). She begins to have an affair with her cousin Jan Bronski, while Oskar slowly becomes aware of their relationship. David Bennent's performance as Oskar is simply amazing. He was about 12 years old at the time, and he plays Oskar from childhood to his 20s. Although Oskar's physical appearance never changes. We can see his aging process through Bennent's performance. Oskar's movement changes; he begins to become more mature and discover the world around him. Bennent plays the character with an impressive level of believability and intellectual maturity. The Tin Drum reminded me of one of my favorite movies-Forrest Gump. Both movies have central characters that are physically and mentally disabled, and both manage to have an interesting journey life. Both movies pass through an important historical event, with both heroes getting involved. The Tin Drum is not quite in the same league as Forrest Gump, but it still amazed and captivated me from beginning to end. The Tin Drum contains some really grotesque scenes. One scene in particular is when they show a fisherman using a dead horse's head as bait for eels. The fisherman removes the eels one by one from the horse's head, while Agnes vomits in disgust. To balance it out, the movie also contains moments of pure joy. I love the sequence where Oskar's drumming influences a band to change their music form a German march to Strauss' The Blue Danube. A Nazi officer screams in disgust, while the crowd joins together and dances. I enjoy watching intelligent satires. I laughed out loud a lot of times in this movie and I relished its lush story. The movie deals with many things, including warfare, adultery, and religion. It may be a little too long for some people at 140 minutes, but for me, no good movie is too long. The Tin Drum contains astonishing images powered by remarkable acting.

Production companies