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Movies / On DVD / The Tunnel
The Tunnel

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The Tunnel (2005)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:21

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: The Tunnel is both a tension-filled thriller and a riveting history lesson.

Runtime: 2 hrs 47 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Based on incredible true events, THE TUNNEL tells the story of Harry Melchior, a champion East German swimmer at odds with the Communist government under which he has already been imprisoned for... Based on incredible true events, THE TUNNEL tells the story of Harry Melchior, a champion East German swimmer at odds with the Communist government under which he has already been imprisoned for his beliefs. Though required to remain in East Germany after his release from prison, Harry narrowly escapes just as the Berlin Wall is being completed. He successfully flees the oppressive Communist regime, but his beloved sister and her family are unable to join him. Harry is determined to rescue them, and aided by his best friend— engineering genius Matthis Hiller — the idea of the tunnel is born. The project, however, is fraught with complications. Harry and Matthis first rent an abandoned building right next to the Wall, but struggle with the massive logistics and costs of their task. Quickly realizing that it will take years to complete the tunnel on their own, they enlist several helpers, all motivated by the prospect of rescuing their own families and friends. However, with additional helpers comes more risk...for any new member could be a potential traitor. The pacing is brisk and tensions rise as the threat of the tunnel collapsing weighs constantly on the protagonists' minds. They worry that their tunnel could open in the wrong place, or worse, that the brutal East German police will discover their plans for escape. Matters are complicated even further by the arrival of the beautiful 'Fritzi,' whose passionate chemistry with Harry upsets the dynamics of the team. An interesting, factual side note: the NBC television network became involved in this project and actually helped finance the tunnel's construction. The network originally planned a fictional film about tunneling through the wall, then scrapped this idea to record the real heroes as they completed their nine-month long mission. It was broadcast as an NBC White Paper in 1961. -- © Home Vision Entertainment [More]

Starring: Heino Ferch, Sebastian Koch, Alexandra Maria Lara, Nicoleete Krebitz

Starring: Heino Ferch, Sebastian Koch, Alexandra Maria Lara, Nicoleete Krebitz, Uwe Kockish

Director: Roland Suso Richter

Director: Roland Suso Richter
Screenwriter: Johannes W. Betz
Producer: Ariane Krampe, Nico Hofmann

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Reviews for The Tunnel

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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This true story about one of the many tunnel escape attempts under the Berlin wall in the 60s provides all the excitement of an escape movie, given extra depth and resonance by its real life genesis... a superb film

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/03/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/31/08
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Richter makes wonderful if obvious use of the wall and the tunnel as built-in metaphors for our struggle for human connection and dread of helplessness and change.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/23/05
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

Well-cast and sporadically gripping.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
09/22/05
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment -- a classic suspense thriller -- that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/15/05
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/15/05
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
09/03/05
Boston Phoenix

A true story few people will know, and it's told with a warm, crafty efficiency that makes for wonderful entertainment.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
09/02/05
Michael Booth
Michael Booth
Denver Post

It's a gripping great-escape yarn of the sort we don't see much anymore.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/02/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

The Tunnel proved to be too exciting for mere broadcast

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
09/01/05
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

Either as history at its most inspiring or moviemaking at its most exciting, The Tunnel is a trip.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/19/05
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post

It's so well told that you'll be biting your nails until the film's final few minutes.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/18/05
Michael O'Sullivan
Michael O'Sullivan
Washington Post

There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
06/24/05
Marta Barber
Marta Barber
Miami Herald

Overlong and a bit overcooked...but it’s also properly grueling.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
06/23/05
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

Based on a true story from the late 1950s, this thrilling drama looks at the extraordinary lengths taken by a group of West Berliners to dig a tunnel under the city's barbed-wire border with East Berlin.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/10/05
Jonathan Curiel
Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle

riddled with slow pacing, melodrama and viewer fatigue

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
06/01/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Filmcritic.com

Director Roland Suso Richter maintains tension for 2 1/2 hours, even though the resolution is almost surreal.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
04/29/05
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

Richter's brisk direction keeps us riveted through the suspenseful finish of his vivid history lesson.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
04/29/05
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
New York Daily News

Genuinely gripping, balancing the travails of constructing the tunnel against the characters' stories with considerable skill.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
04/29/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Roland Suso Richter's darkly atmospheric film recounts the effort of a group of people to dig a tunnel under the Berlin Wall.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
04/28/05
Laura Kern
Laura Kern
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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