Taking Sides

Taking Sides

New Yorker (2001)
Drama, Music
USA / English / Color / 108 min
7.1
Cast View More ↓
Harvey Keitel Major Steve Arnold
Stellan Skarsgård Dr. Wilhelm Furtwängler
Moritz Bleibtreu Lt. David Wills
Birgit Minichmayr Emmi Straube
Ulrich Tukur Helmut Rode
Oleg Tabakov Colonel Dymshitz
Hanns Zischler Rudolf Werner
Armin Rohde Schlee
R. Lee Ermey General Wallace
August Zirner Captain Ed Martin
Jed Curtis Colonel Green
Birgitt Minichmayr
Robin Renucci Captain Vernay
Daniel White Sergeant Adams
Thomas Thieme Reichsminister
Garrick Hagon Major Richards
Markus Heinicke Attendant
Aleksander Tesla Projectionist
Jarreth J. Merz US Soldier
Holger Schober Steve's Driver
Frank Leboeuf French Aide
Crew View More ↓
Director Szab, István Szabó
Writer Ronald Harwood
Producer Fritz Buttenstedt, Adam Betteridge, Yves Pasquier
Plot
A tale based on the life of Wilhelm Furtwangler, the controversial conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic whose tenure coincided with the controversial Nazi era. One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 30s, Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order--and justice--to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing. Orchestra members vouch for Furtwangler's morality--he did what he could to protect Jewish players from his orchestra. To the Germans, deeply respectful of their musical heritage, Furtwangler was a demigod; to Major Arnold, he is just a lying, weak-willed Nazi.
Editions
Barcode Format Region Release Edition
717119880446 1 2004-04-27
8715664011843 2007-03-05