Mimsy Were the Borogoves

Movie and DVD Reviews: The best and not-so-best movies available on DVD, and whatever else catches my eye.

Mimsy Review: The Tin Drum

Reviewed by Jerry Stratton, May 24, 1999

Special features

Storyboards5

A strange German fantasy taking place between World War I and the end of World War II, about a young boy who refuses to grow up.

RecommendationRent
DirectorVolker Schlöndorff
WritersJean-Claude Carrière, Günter Grass, Volker Schlöndorff, Franz Seitz
Movie Rating7
Transfer Quality6
Overall Rating6
Formats
  • Letterbox

“Die Blechtrommel”, or “The Tin Drum”, is an oddly disturbing movie. Young Oskar Metzerath (David Bennent) is born aware, knows from birth that he will receive a tin drum on his third birthday, and sometime later decides that growing to adulthood is a very bad idea and stops himself from doing so. He stays a child for something on twenty years, through World War II. He is in Danzig, and lives through the German takeover, both of Danzig and of Poland. During the war, he joins a troupe of others like him, who travel around France entertaining the German troops.

The DVD also contains some illustrations used in the production of the movie for storyboarding. They’re quite interesting, if mostly unreadable. It is interesting to watch the scribbles that guided the shots.

Recommendation: Rent

DirectorVolker Schlöndorff
WritersJean-Claude Carrière, Günter Grass, Volker Schlöndorff, Franz Seitz
Spoken languageGerman
SubtitleEnglish
Special FeatureStoryboards
More links

If you enjoyed The Tin Drum…

For more about war, you might also be interested in Cabaret, Casablanca, The First Casualty, and Republicans overreact to Mexican army visit.