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THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX)Movie Reviews
Drama about the rise of the militant terrorist group the Baader Meinhof Gang in turbulent 1970s era Germany. Cast:Martina Gedeck, Moritz Bleibtreu, Johanna Wokalek, Bruno Ganz, Vinzenz Kiefer, Nadja UhlDirector:Uli EdelRelease Date:August 21, 2009DVD Release:March 30, 2010From:Vitagraph FilmsRating:RLength:2 hr 30 min
MARCH 30, 2010
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex), Very Good Reviews Key Cities
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) played in key cities to very good reviews. • Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "...a serious, well acted, and unromantic exploration of the rise and demise of a terrorist gang..." • And Mick LaSalle wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "...a thoroughly fascinating, true glimpse into the horrors that vanity and self-delusion can wreak..." More Reviews Below...
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...looks at the virus of leftist terrorism that swept West Germany beginning in 1970, but the film charts this phenomenon with a kind of nagging neutrality."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 106 words, 09/04/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (7 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...taut, unnerving, forcefully unromantic... The filmmakers lay out the historical and political context in which the faction took root but they don't try to dig deeply..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,125 words, 08/21/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...meanders but finds focus again... would have benefitted by being less encompassing and focusing on a more limited number of emblematic characters..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 786 words, 09/10/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...a fascinating hybrid of a film.... for those who want it, more serious implications are occasionally allowed to peek out from under these glossy covers."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 810 words, 08/28/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...there is some snap to a few action scenes, but this Bonnie-and-Klaus story never comes close to making its gallery of interchangeable killers sympathetic or interesting."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 320 words, 08/21/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The prison sequences and courtroom scenes dominate the final third of this ambitious sprawl of a drama, and once there, you really do feel the walls closing in..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 581 words, 09/11/09
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...sweeping, hectic... the film would have been immeasurably helped by the use of informational intertitles. The events are clear, but the psycho-politics are obscure."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 08/19/09
KEY CITIES (12 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a useful lesson in history and a haunting portrait of idealism hardened into the most extreme form of nihilism and violence."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 321 words, 09/11/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "For a thoroughly fascinating true glimpse into the horrors that vanity and self-delusion can wreak, take some time to see 'The Baader Meinhof Complex.' "(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 175 words, 09/18/09
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...fast, dense and long, a thinking person's political thriller that isn't afraid to dive into a dangerous subject and make it relevant to today."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 549 words, 10/16/09
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "You can't see the new film without bringing to mind the Gilo Pontecorvo masterpiece, often considered one of the 10-best movies ever made."(See all of Richard Nilsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 491 words, 10/02/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has a strong pulse, depicting both the lure of the radical life and the despair that comes when ideology gives way to human failings and needs."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 369 words, 09/11/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD(cg) "...swift, brutal, lurid, often overheated, occasionally comical... but it's also a serious, well acted, and unromantic exploration of the rise and demise of a terrorist gang..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 813 words, 09/11/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The film succeeds where so many political pictures have failed because of its concentration on the thriller aspects of the story."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 09/11/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Impressive in its scale and momentum, it's the kind of action-packed political melodrama that generates more heat than light."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 390 words, 09/11/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "At its best, the film plays like an unusually linear Jean-Luc Godard picture: all miniskirts, gunfire and polemics."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 183 words, 09/18/09
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...has been criticized as endorsing or condoning violence, but that assessment is unfair... If terrorism is to be eliminated, it must be understood, not oversimplified."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 317 words, 09/18/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...tracks the history of the German urban guerrillas also known as the Red Army Faction in the breathless, brainy docu-action form of classic political thrillers..."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 694 words, 09/25/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (4 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD "...sweeping, hectic... the film would have been immeasurably helped by the use of informational intertitles. The events are clear, but the psycho-politics are obscure."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 466 words, 08/19/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...taut, unnerving, forcefully unromantic... The filmmakers lay out the historical and political context in which the faction took root but they don't try to dig deeply..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,125 words, 08/21/09
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: VERY GOOD "I have seen this movie three or four times now... I find it impossible not to be plunged afresh into this engulfing age of European anxiety."(See all of Anthony Lane's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 678 words, 08/24/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...a fascinating hybrid of a film.... for those who want it, more serious implications are occasionally allowed to peek out from under these glossy covers."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 810 words, 08/28/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Boyd Van Hoeij, Daily Variety: MODERATE "An explosive performance by Johanna Wokalek gives some relief to an otherwise long and humdrum series of characters, blow-'em-ups and prison locations..."(See all of Boyd Van Hoeij's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 788 words, 09/29/08
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...a fascinating hybrid of a film.... for those who want it, more serious implications are occasionally allowed to peek out from under these glossy covers."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 810 words, 08/28/09
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: VERY GOOD "...taut, unnerving, forcefully unromantic... The filmmakers lay out the historical and political context in which the faction took root but they don't try to dig deeply..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,125 words, 08/21/09
15.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)'s reviews are separated by an average 15.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) (26 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)'s reviews cover 35.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 12,979 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 499 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 13 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)'s reviews on average broke 13 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) (26 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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