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Heimat Details

1984 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 2563 members

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 cover art

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 Certificate 15
Genres Drama, World Cinema
Language DVD: German
Subtitles DVD: English
Released DVD: not available
Production year: 1984
Format DVD

Heimat (6 discs) (1984)

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  • Critics' reviews (2) of Heimat

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  • 5 stars out of 5

    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.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • 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

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of Heimat

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  • 15 out of 16 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    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.

      • Harvey from East Lothian
      • Posted 16 Jan 2005 15:49

  • Most recent members' review of Heimat

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  • 4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    A closer view on German History

    Edgar Reitz's Heimat series provides an unemotional account of German history after 1935 that it is not dominated by clichés and stereotypes. It examines everyday life in a rural German town and focuses on the characters living in a remote village in the "hunsrueck" hills. This series shows the human side of each protagonist, whose lives are predominantly determined by the challenges of rural life and hard labour.

    However, the true benefit of this series is, that it shows how National socialism and Nazi ideology made its way to the remotest corners of Germany. The series avoids making over simplistic judgements about the integrity of the protagonists, but rather shows the aspirations each individual had with the Nazi movement- some having oversized political ambitions, others seeking to escape the "political circus" by internal immigration.

    I can truly recommend this series to anyone, who has ambitions to understand German and European history beyond WWII battle grounds.

      • Splitti from London
      • Posted 19 Feb 2005 13:17

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      • 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 ...