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Das Experiment
2001
DAS EXPERIMENT, a German film about a group of 20 men who are asked to participate in a psychological test with the promise of a monetary award, centers on Tarek (Moritz Bleibtreu) a reporter who wants to write about the event and so volunteers. When he is locked in a strange prison, not to emerge for 14 days, he worries that .. Read more
| Starring | Friedrich Wildfever, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski |
|---|---|
| Director | Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| Genres | Thriller, World Cinema |
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Das Experiment
DAS EXPERIMENT, a German film about a group of 20 men who are asked to participate in a psychological test with the promise of a monetary award, centers on Tarek (Moritz Bleibtreu) a reporter who wants to write about the event and so volunteers. When he is locked in a strange prison, not to emerge for 14 days, he worries that he made a bad choice.
| Starring | Friedrich Wildfever, Christian Berkel, Oliver Stokowski |
|---|---|
| Director | Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 54 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Thriller, World Cinema |
| Language | DVD: German |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 21 Apr 2003 Production year: 2001 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Taking its inspiration from an experiment conducted at Stanford University in the early 70s, which showed that power corrupted, this merely exploits the opportunity for action-movie violence.
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Most helpful member's review
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40 out of 40 people found this review helpful
A Fascinating and Disturbing Film
Based on a real psychological experiment at Stanford University in 1971, using a group of male students, the mood of this film captures the sense of disorientation and loss of reality that was experienced by the original volunteers. Acts of humiliation present a violent and effective method for stripping individuality and asserting power over prisoners. The psychological transformations into masochistic and submissive roles are fascinating when you consider that that the only real distinguishable difference between the characters, is that by a random selection process, some are labelled ‘wardens’ and others are labelled ‘prisoners’. The levels of violence, brutality and humiliation in the film seem extreme but in the original experiment, humiliation tactics were also extreme – prisoners were also made to wear chains round their ankles and stockings on their heads at all times! The film’s conclusion is carefully constructed and appears to bear an implicit reference to the real prison riot of San Quentin (which occurred the day after the Stanford experiment was prematurely halted), in which guards and informant prisoners were tortured and murdered during the prisoners’ escape attempt. This film is a sensitive study into power relationships within an altered reality and is masterfully crafted to build tension and invite the viewer to question the character’s morality and ethical codes. Far more relevant and interesting than the bland reality TV shows we are plagued by these days…highly recommended!
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Das Experiment
This is an interesting, but ultimately disappointing film. It quickly turns from intriguing, to just plain unrealistic and eventually to really rather dull. Most will get more from actually reading about the real experiment on which the film is VERY loosely based, rather than watching this.
The Director's Chair has an excellent review of this film: http://www.thedirectorschair.co.uk/film/dasexperim ent.shtml
I wouldn't say don't watch this, but just don't expect it to be a deep though-provoking piece. It despenses with that very early on, leaving you with something more akin to an action flick. -
News and features
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