Heimat
1984
A living timeline branching across 64 years of German history commencing with the first world war, this compelling chronicle immerses viewers in the lives and lineage of small-town family the Simons like a steadily unfolding novel. Avoiding the tendency towards a simplified, good vs. evil account of history, Heimat, roughly .. Read more
| Starring | Marliese Assmann, Eva Maria Bayerwaltes, Helga Bender, Gabriele Blum |
|---|---|
| Director | Edgar Reitz |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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Heimat
A living timeline branching across 64 years of German history commencing with the first world war, this compelling chronicle immerses viewers in the lives and lineage of small-town family the Simons like a steadily unfolding novel. Avoiding the tendency towards a simplified, good vs. evil account of history, Heimat, roughly translated as "homeland," captures the coexistence of ordinary Germans in times of profound atrocities and radical socio-political transformation. The film's confrontational view of Germany's past has prompted introspection from audiences around the world, and the acknowledgement of past crimes against humanity as a shared scar that touches all of human history. Two years in the making, this epic series features 140 speaking roles and 5000 non-professional actors.
| Starring | Marliese Assmann, Eva Maria Bayerwaltes, Helga Bender, Gabriele Blum |
|---|---|
| Director | Edgar Reitz |
| Studio | PALISADES TARTAN |
| Run time | DVD: 15 hrs 24 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | German |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: not available Production year: 1984 |
| Format | DVD |
Heimat (6 discs) (1984)
Or you can rent each disc individually:
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Critics' reviews (2)
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It took over five years to shoot the 923 minutes that make up this monumental mosaic of 20th-century German history, and it was worth every second. Set in a village in the Hunsrück uplands, Edgar Reitz's masterpiece chronicles the life of the farming family into which Marita Breuer marries in 1919, paying as much attention to local detail as to the great events that shaped the nation's destiny. Wrongly dismissed in some quarters as high-class soap opera, it not only eschews cheap melodramatics, but also meticulously develops its characters, who are played with uniform excellence by the huge cast. Also shown in 11 parts on TV, this stunningly photographed epic (with monochrome being tantalisingly embossed with patches of colour) was followed by the disappointingly inferior Second Heimat.
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In this eleven-part film made for TV, Reitz portrays his country's difficult history from 1919 to the present day... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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14 out of 15 people found this review helpful
Excellent Epic
Heimat was a German TV series directed by Edgar Reitz.
It follows the fortunes of Scabbach - a fictional village - and in particular the Simon family during the period 1919 to the early eighties. We follow the family as they grow up, grow apart, find love and reunite after long absences. The story is played out against some important events; the first telephones, private cars, the first highway that bypasses the village, the rise of the Hitler Youth and the world wars. There are many interesting story lines woven through this epic, particularly as various family members set out to make something of themselves in the world.
The series is presented on six DVDs each containing one or more episodes. There is a mixture of black-and-white and colour, sometimes within the same scene. The Audio language is German, subtitied in English.
There are many moving and poignant scenes, this is well worth the marathon effort to watch. -
Most recent members' review
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3 out of 5 people found this review helpful
It is not SUPPOSED to be about Nazis
For those who want to watch a film about the rise of the Nazis, don't watch Heimat. It is instead about how actual people lived during that time, before, and several years after. The people of Shabbach and the Simon family are its main focus, and all the mundane, frustrating, amazing and downright bonkers and funny things that happen to them, as happens to any real family. That said it does not ignore the Nazis, but to give you an idea of how it deals with that, it focuses more on how people in the village start sporting 'trendy' moustaches and uniforms because it is the thing to do rather than they are all political animals. In fact they are just normal people and you can understand immediately how things happened they way they did for the Germans during this time.
Crucially this also does not paint 'good' characters or 'bad' - they are all flawed, again just like real people. A great series, and totally recommended. -
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