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The Reader [DVD] [2008] |
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Staring:
Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Jeanette Hain, David Kross
Director:
Stephen Daldry
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: £19.99
Our Price: £4.85
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Amazon.co.uk Review
What is the nature of guilt--and how can the human spirit survive when confronted with deep and horrifying truths? The Reader, a hushed and haunting meditation on these knotty questions, is sorrowful and shocking, yet leavened by a deep love story that is its heart. In postwar Germany, young schoolboy Michael (German actor David Cross) meets and begins a tender romance with the older, mysterious Hanna (Kate Winslet, whose performance is a revelation). The two make love hungrily in Hanna's shabby apartment, yet their true intimacy comes as Michael reads aloud to Hanna in bed, from his school assignments, textbooks, even comic books. Hanna delights in the readings, and Michael delights in Hanna. Years later, the two cross paths again, and Michael (played as an adult by Ralph Fiennes) learns, slowly, horrifyingly, of acts that Hanna may have been involved in during the war. There is a war crimes trial, and the accused at one point asks the panel of prosecutors: "Well, what would you have done?" It is that question--as one German professor says later: "How can the next generation of Germans come to terms with the Holocaust?"--that is both heartbreaking and unanswerable. Winslet plays every shade of gray in her portrayal of Hanna, and Fiennes is riveting as the man who must rewrite history--his own and his country's--as he learns daily, hourly, of deeds that defy categorization, and morality. "No matter how much washing and scrubbing," one character says matter of factly, "some sins don't wash away." The Reader (with nods to similar films like Sophie's Choice and The English Patient dares to present that unnerving premise, without offering an easy solution. --A.T. Hurley
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 "Well, what would you have done?", 2010-05-11
The story based on a popular novel "Der Vorleser" by Bernhard Schlink, takes place over several decades from the 1950's through the 1990's.
We start with a boy Michael Berg (David Kross) who is helped home by a streetcar ticket puncher Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet)when he contacts scarlet fever. After recovery, Michael goes to Hanna to thank her. One thing leads to another and they strike up a physical relationship. The relationship deepens and changes course when Michael discovers that Hanna likes to being read to. He ends up reading everything from the classics to comics. Then one day she disappears leaving Michael distraught.
Eight years later Michael rediscovers her. Only this time Michael is a law student and Hanna is on trial for war crimes and accused of voluntarily joining the SS. Michael could save her from prison but at the expense of revealing her secret. What would you do?
The story is not really about Michael (later played by Ralph Fiennes) and Hanna; it is more how the different generations in Germany come to grips with their history.
I have not read the book yet and am sure that this film is just a reflection of the story but it was played well enough to win an Oscar and nominated for many more.
I especially like the scene where Michael is reading Hamlet to Hanna. Hanna says that she does not understand it. Michael says (indignantly) it is a classic. She asked if he understands it and upon reflection, he says "NO".
I will not go into the aspects of the media as Blu-ray is the norm and does not need to be described.
William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Two-Disc Special Edition)
 lisgut, 2010-07-17
Excellent quality and fast delivery. However, the movie was a little disappointing mainly because of the slow development of plot and ending of the film.
A shame to the illiterate, 2010-05-24
Thought I'd wait for the background noise on this film to die down and for it to be placed in the discount bins before purchasing The Reader.
I approached it as a film that might be about books. About reading books. As it happened I found this to be the case. Though many famous and not-so-famous books are referred to and read from, it was the fervour I recall from starting to read books in my teens, which was well rendered in the film.
That fervour is still with me even if I now punctuate my life with a book rather than be as consumed by them as I was at one time. These days my concern is for those who can not read. And for the lowlifes who allow them to pass before them and be paid for doing so. Teachers.
If I refrain from giving The Reader five stars this is due to a rather pedestrian direction. The twists in the story do keep you interested and the soundtrack is as cool as the characters and their environment but there should be no room for lethargy for the audience. None.
The subject of guilt is the film's main concern. Where it lies, who's to blame and what should be done with its discovery. Fascinating to watch and reflect upon. "What would you have done?" someone asks the judge in court. Silence screams over seventy years. Very effective in attacking the average. Nobody chooses to be left out. You are left out by those around you. Guilt is a dirty business. Murdering millions of innocent human beings IS humanity's lowest point. How can the law cope with system failure? It's not the mothers and fathers but the teachers who are to blame. And the prisons often pick-up their failure.
Black and white answers are for kiddies.
Kate Winslet At Her Finest, 2010-08-31
This film brought together two of my favourite subjects, Kate Winslet and World War II. This is a haunting film that is split into three separate periods of time. I won't go into the storyline, that is easy enough to find out about, but Kate Winslet's performance is truly worthy of the Oscar she received for it.
During the early part of the film, Winslet has a love affair with a teenage boy, the awkwardness in their relationship is excellently portrayed and you feel uncomfortable watching this young man fall head over heels for a distant older woman. The horrors of Winslet's past comes into the open and the depiction of a woman performing inhumane acts in the genuine belief that she was only following orders is unnerving. The final part of the film shows Winslet, in her old age, childishly excited as she is contacted once again by the now older teenage boy.
David Cross and Ralph Fiennes provide excellent support and this film leaves you with a small but very real sense of what things were like during the war. There are a million war films out there but few are this thought provoking.
An intelligent story, with many layers., 2010-08-10
I avoided watching this film for quite some time because of my preconceptions about it. However, having just watched it, I have to say that it was significantly better than I had expected. Once you get past the first part of the film, which is the reason for the 15 rating, this film turns out to be a well thought out and well structured tale of guilt, cowardice, shame and attempted redemption. I hadn't read the book before watching the DVD, but having watched the film, I may well go on to read the book, as the film certainly gives the impression of being an adaption of a very intelligently written story.
Having recently watched both "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and "The Kite Runner", "The Reader" is the third film in quick succession that I have seen where a boy or young man fails to do the right thing because of fear of one sort or another, then tries to redeem himself. I'm hoping there won't be many more films like this in the near future, as after three I feel I have seen too many already. However, "The Reader" is a good film, with some excellent performances, particularly from Kate Winslet and David Kross. It won't be for everybody, but the underlying story is a good one, with a number of layers - from the other reviews I suspect that not everybody recognises all of the layers. Watch out for the line "What would you have done?".
Recommended, with the warning that the 15 rating is there for a reason.
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Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5017239196287
Format: Anamorphic, PAL
Label: Entertainment in Video
Manufacturer: Entertainment in Video
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Entertainment in Video
Region Code: 2
Release Date: 2009-05-25
Running Time: 118
Studio: Entertainment in Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2008 |
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