Das Wunder von Bern (2003)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sönke Wortmann

Writers:

Rochus Hahn (writer)
Sönke Wortmann (writer)

Release Date:

16 October 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Plot:

The movie deals with the championship-winning German soccer team of 1954. Its story is linked with two...

Plot Keywords:

German Soccer | Young Boy | Soccer | House Arrest | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

10 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Louis Klamroth	...	Matthias Lubanski
Peter Lohmeyer	...	Richard Lubanski
Johanna Gastdorf	...	Christa Lubanski
Mirko Lang	...	Bruno Lubanski
Birthe Wolter	...	Ingrid Lubanski
Katharina Wackernagel	...	Annette Ackermann
Lukas Gregorowicz	...	Paul Ackermann (as Lucas Gregorowicz)
Péter Franke	...	Sepp Herberger (as Peter Franke)
Sascha Göpel	...	Helmut Rahn
Knut Hartwig	...	Fritz Walter
Holger Dexne	...	Horst Eckel
Simon Verhoeven	...	Ottmar Walter
Jo Stock	...	Toni Turek
Martin Bretschneider	...	Hans Schäfer
Christian Broos	...	Werner Kohlmeyer (Im Endspiel)
Andreas Bath	...	Werner Liebrich (Im Endspiel)
Sylvester Pezena	...	Jupp Posipal (Im Endspiel)
Jan Holland	...	Karl Mai (Im Endspiel)
Tobias Hartmann	...	Max Morlock (Im Endspiel)
Christian Leonard	...	Karl-Heinz Metzner (Auf der Bank)
Gotthard Lange	...	Alfred Pfaff (Auf der Bank)
Dirk Szczepaniak	...	Berni Klodt (Auf der Bank)
Matthias Sellmann	...	Fritz Laband (Auf der Bank)
Thomas Stodulka	...	Herbert Erhardt (Auf der Bank)
Jens Busch	...	Hans Bauer (Auf der Bank)
Michael Herkendell	...	Richard Herrmann (Auf der Bank)
Alexander von Moers	...	Uli Biesinger (Auf der Bank)
Thomas Geerlings	...	Heinz Kubsch (Auf der Bank)
Markus Mozin	...	Heinz Kwiatkowski (Auf der Bank)
Torsten Rother	...	Paul Mebus (Auf der Bank)
Henrik Bemboom	...	Ferenc Puskas (Die Ungarn)
Guido Berghoff	...	Nandor Hidegkuti (Die Ungarn)
Joris Gratwohl	...	Jozsef Zakarias (Die Ungarn)
Andreas Kontra	...	Gyula Grosicz (Die Ungarn)
Michael Wurst	...	Jeno Buzanski (Die Ungarn)
Michael Borzek	...	Mihaly Lantos (Die Ungarn)
Jörg Bednarzyk	...	Jozsef Bozik (Die Ungarn)
Martin Limberg	...	Gyula Lorant (Die Ungarn)
Markus Haupt	...	Zoltan Czibor (Die Ungarn)
Claas Junge	...	Mihaly Toth (Die Ungarn)
Jochen Keller	...	Sandor Kocsis (Die Ungarn)
Joachim Kappl	...	Adi Dassler
Andreas Obering	...	Herbert Zimmermann (as Andreas 'Obel' Obering)
Uli Weidenbach	...	Albert Sing
Rainer Mohr	...	Masseur Deuser
Peer Jäger	...	Ahrens
Christian Tasche	...	Tiburski
Jürgen Mikol	...	Kneipengast
Axel Häfner	...	Bohse
Felix Vörtler	...	Pfarrer
Samuel Finzi	...	Zsepesi
Pierre Siegenthaler	...	Krüger
Jürgen Leinemann	...	Ruhpoldt
Heinrich Hadding	...	Journalist Holzmann
Martin Horn	...	Beamter (as Martin Hörn)
Klaus Schreiber	...	Moderator
Manfred Lohmar	...	Kumpel 1
Francesco Vaccaro	...	Kumpel 2
Stefan von Moers	...	Niersbach
Joachim Floryszak	...	Schiedsrichter Ling
Chabib Lhougeine	...	Linienrichter
Rainer Jupe	...	Linienrichter
Jakob Jenisch	...	FIFA Präsident Rimet
Christine Linnemann	...	Carola
Christoph Eller	...	Peter
Stephan Hennen	...	Lutz
Andre Schwittay	...	Lang
Mike Hausmann	...	Mischa
Jan Hermans	...	Bari
Alexander Schwarz	...	Rainer
Patrick Ertz	...	Aki
Marco Spitzlay	...	Molden
Hans-Georg Gregor	...	Dekorateur
Ansgar Dorenkamp	...	Soldat
Carsten Hahn	...	Polizist
Willi Müller	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Anke Daude	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Robert Niederprüm	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Matthias Niederprüm	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Karl-Günther Schmitz	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Johannes Röttgen	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Udo Müller	...	Kapelle (Musikverein Friesheim)
Nico Gerhard	...	Brunos Band
Paul Greco	...	Brunos Band
Axel Hilgenstohler	...	Brunos Band
Moritz Vierboom	...	Brunos Band
Volker Kunz	...	Pianospieler
Christian Salzmann	...	Alphornbläser
Emil Schläppi	...	Alphornbläser
Hans Peter Schupbach	...	Alphornbläser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jürgen Rißmann	...	Funktionär
Bernhard Marsch	...	Extra at Final Cup Match behind Sepp Herberger (uncredited)
Christiane Passoth	...	Schuhverkäuferin (uncredited)
Verena Zimmermann	...	Putzfrau (uncredited)

Directed by
Sönke Wortmann

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Rochus Hahn		writer
Sönke Wortmann		writer

Produced by
Stefan Gärtner	....	co-producer
Benjamin Herrmann	....	co-producer
Hanno Huth	....	producer
Alicia Remirez	....	co-producer
Stefaan Schieder	....	line producer
Tom Spiess	....	producer
Sönke Wortmann	....	producer

Original Music by
Marcel Barsotti

Cinematography by
Tom Fährmann

Film Editing by
Ueli Christen

Casting by
Anja Dihrberg
Heinrich Hadding
Bernhard Karl

Production Design by
Uli Hanisch

Set Decoration by
Manfred Lohmar

Costume Design by
Ursula Welter

Makeup Department
Antje Bockeloh	....	additional makeup artist
Jutta Geißel-Burkhardt	....	makeup artist (as Jutta Burkhardt)
Diana Hein	....	additional makeup artist
Bettina Krantz	....	additional makeup artist
Christa Lamberz	....	additional makeup artist
Silke Lisku	....	additional makeup artist
Astrid Mariaschk	....	additional makeup artist
Isabella Wiley	....	wig maker (as Isabella Gasser)
Hildegard Winter	....	additional makeup artist
Heike Wolff	....	makeup artist
Gerd Zeiss	....	makeup department head

Production Management
Miki Emmrich	....	production manager
Manuela Groh	....	production supervisor
Antje Paul Leinberger	....	executive in charge of production (as Antje Paul)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolfgang Groos	....	first assistant director
Ulrike Schürhoff	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ilka Adler	....	assistant props
Birgit Esser	....	set dresser
Stefan Isfort	....	property master
Andrea Kessler	....	property master
Joachim Monninger	....	construction coordinator
Daniel Peeck	....	stand-by carpenter
Monica Rottmeyer	....	art director: Switzerland
Dagmar Wessel	....	assistant set decorator
Petra Maria Wirth	....	illustrator
Petra Maria Wirth	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Günther Friedhoff	....	adr recordist (as Günter Friedhoff)
Hubert Henle	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Dirk Jacob	....	sound designer
Matthias Lempert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Markus Münz	....	sound recordist
Jörn Poetzl	....	foley artist (as Joern Pötzl)
Philipp Sellier	....	foley recordist
Kuen-Il Song	....	sound editor
Marita Strotkötter	....	sound office coordinator
Kai Tebbel	....	sound editor
Mark Wegner	....	sound
Arno Wilms	....	sound
Malte Zurbonsen	....	adr editor
Malte Zurbonsen	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Andreas Korth	....	special effects
Benjamin Kotter	....	special effects (as Ben Kotter)
Daniela Schmidt	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Nastuh Abootalebi	....	digital effects artist
Roger Beck	....	systemadministator: das werk
Philipp Danner	....	compositing artist: Das Werk
Philipp Eckel	....	shake artist: das werk
Tom Fährmann	....	digital grading creative director
Tom Fährmann	....	visual effects creative director
Thomas Hansen	....	digital compositor
David Hofmann	....	visual effects
Oliver Kirchhoff	....	3D technical director
Oliver Kirchhoff	....	CG artist
Oliver Kirchhoff	....	matchmove artist
Nir Loewenberg	....	cgi artist
Alexander Nowotny	....	technical director: Das Werk
Paul Poetsch	....	senior compositing artist
Henning Raedlein	....	visual effects producer
Abraham Schneider	....	lead compositing artist
Dominik Trimborn	....	visual effects producer: Das Werk
Frank Wegerhoff	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
David Aitchison	....	lighting technician
Hartmut Doering	....	gaffer (as Hartmut Döring)
Sven Fink	....	focus puller: second unit
Andreas Hulzer	....	grip
Wolfgang Krautter	....	best boy electric
Erwin Lanzensberger	....	Steadicam operator
Bernd Mayer	....	dolly grip
Jürgen Olczyk	....	still photographer
Oliver Rudolf	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Athar Husain	....	casting assistant
Eva Moor	....	casting trainee
Susanne Pfeiffer	....	casting assistant
Carmen Senz	....	casting: bit parts and extras
Stephan Senz	....	casting: bit parts and extras

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jochen Eggert	....	wardrober
Antje Meyer	....	wardrober
Elena Wegner	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Meike Oppermann	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Peter Fuchs	....	scoring mixer
Nic Raine	....	conductor

Other crew
Sebastian Fröhlich	....	production assistant
Manuela Groh	....	production coordinator
Heinrich Hadding	....	making-of
Jasmin Hardt	....	assistant location manager
Christian Heinz	....	location manager
Barbara Krieger	....	continuity
Dirk Limbach	....	researcher
Miliane Nani Meimeth	....	production assistant
Frank Meter	....	location scout
Meike Oppermann	....	production coordinator: Little Shark Entertainment GmbH
Elke Sasserath	....	location manager
Sandro Silva	....	set manager
Matthias Wallinger	....	material assistant

Thanks
Reinhold Beckmann	....	special thanks
Horst Eckel	....	special thanks
Karl-Heinz Heimann	....	special thanks
Dieter Kosslick	....	special thanks
Joachim Krannich	....	special thanks
Heinz Kwiatkowski	....	special thanks
Harald Landefeld	....	special thanks
Jürgen Leinemann	....	special thanks
Gerhard Meixner	....	special thanks
Björn Merse	....	special thanks
Wolfgang Niersbach	....	special thanks
Michael Novak	....	special thanks
Michael Pfad	....	special thanks
Helmut Rahn	....	special thanks
Guido Schmitz	....	special thanks
Gerhard von Halem	....	special thanks
Fritz Walter	....	special thanks
Ottmar Walter	....	special thanks
Michael Weber	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Little Shark Entertainment GmbH
• Senator Film Produktion
• Seven Pictures

Distributors

• Buff (Sweden)
• 1More Film (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Elephant Picture (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Filmcoopi Zürich (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Bavaria Film International (worldwide)
• Eagle Pictures (2004) (Italy)
• Manga Films (2006) (Spain) (DVD)
• Orlando Films (Israel)
• Universal Pictures (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Das Werk (visual effects)
• Flash Art GmbH

Other Companies

• Ruhr Sound Studios  sound post-production
• Senzai-Cast  casting

Also Known As:

The Miracle of Bern (International: English title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Swiss German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG | Spain:7 | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:All | UK:PG | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:Livre

Filming Locations:

Beek, Duisburg, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company:

Little Shark Entertainment GmbH

Trivia:

While the Lubanski family part of the story is completely fictional, many historic details related to soccer (letters, game results, three players stealing away from training camp, on-the-spot-reports, Adi Dassler etc.) are historical accurate.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In one training scene, we see a scoreboard mounted on a standard 20ft-container. But standard 20ft-containers were not available in 1954.

Movie Connections:

References Gladiator (2000)

Soundtrack:

Ja, so fängt es immer an

A good and entertaining film

I just watched "Das Wunder von Bern" and I must admit it is really a good film, not only for football fans (for you Americans: we Europeans say football for soccer). The film is not just a sports drama but deals more with the atmosphere in post war Germany and with the problems and aspirations the people had during that period and what the winning of the world championship by the German national football team meant for the regular people.

Actually this atmosphere is covered excellently. The film shows that the people were still recovering from WW2. There are heaps of debris in the streets from houses destroyed during air raids and many men are still kept as POWs so that the women have to take care for the family. The children play football with a makeshift ball, and most people don't seem to have much money. Everything is shown in subdued colors which really contribute to this mood. Although the story is set in Essen, a city in the main industrial and mining region of Germany, it could have happened everywhere in Germany.

The colors only change during the scenes in Switzerland, where the world championship took place. In fact those scenes are shot in bright and friendly colors. And also the settings are quite different from those in Essen: whereas the location in Essen consists of small apartment buildings, narrow streets and those aforementioned subdued colors, everything in Switzerland seems to be posh and spacious.

Even though the actors are not exactly great names in German cinema, they are quite good. As far as I know the actors who play the members of the German national football team were cast not only for their acting skills but also for their ability to play football. Thanks to that aspect the football scenes are quite convincing (although the spectators in the football stadium in Bern look really fake).

What I really liked though was the fact that the filmmakers used the original radio commentary from reporter Herbert Zimmermann, which is legendary. Every German football fan knows the important parts of his commentary by heart.

All in all a good and entertaining film, although I didn't really like the ending.