Occasionally I get a chance to watch films that are very difficult to review. Not necessarily because I don’t know what to say about them, but more because I realize they will only appeal to a very select audience. Such is the case with the 1979 German film “The Tin Drum”, director Volker Schlondorff’s surrealistic look at the rise of the Nazi influence during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a perpetual 3-year old. When I say a perpetual 3-year old, I actually mean that literally. Young Oskar Matzerath, who is both blessed and cursed with an astounding intellect at birth, one day makes the decision to not to grow up. He views the world as a chaotic place and lashes out by beating on a tin drum and a piercing scream loud enough to break glass. He lives for a time with his mother, who is in love with not one, but two men (one of which is her cousin). Over time, his mother slips further away from sanity and Oskar finds himself in the arms, quite literally, of his stepmother.

Eventually he becomes entranced by a group of traveling midgets and joins them and ends up performing for the German soldiers.

It sounds intriguing doesn’t it? Well, the reality of the matter is that it is an extremely intriguing film, filled with some very creatively simplistic imagery. But this is far from a simplistic movie. It is based on the novel by Gunter Grass, the story was for many years considered unfilmable. Admittedly, this isn’t too far from the truth. It wasn’t until the author was approached by Schlondorff that he agreed to let someone try. The end result was a movie that won the coveted Palme d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival as well as an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is cherished by some as a sort of coming of age film, while derided by others as being pornographic (more on that later).

I had heard a bit about the film before I sat down to watch the new Criterion DVD release, so I was prepared for something a little different. What I saw was a film that far surpassed my expectations in terms of sheer visual overload. The images used to tell the story range from stylistically gorgeous to shockingly stark. There are some scenes that are almost unwatchable, but only because of their content. For example the sight of Oskar’s mom (as she slips further away) eating a whole fish, head first, made me squirm a bit. But no matter how uncomfortable some of the imagery may have been, I couldn’t pick out a single scene I would have left out. Everything thing we see has an importance to the overall story.

I was also blown away by the performance of young David Bennent as Oskar. Though he may have been 12 at the time they made the film (a far cry from 3), he was wholly believable in the role. He has this incredibly haunting gaze that you just know has seen quite a few horrors. The only thing that took me out of the film for a bit was that I kept thinking I recognized him from somewhere. I knew that face. Then about a third of the way into the film I realized he had also played Honeythorn Gump in Ridley Scott’s “Legend.” That was a far cry from his performance here.

The new 2-disc DVD release is terrific. The transfer was very well done, and aside from a few blemishes is nearly perfect. As far as extra features go, well… when you have a Criterion DVD in your hands, you can generally expect to find more than you could ever bargain for. And a film like this needs to have a lot of extra features, if for nothing else but to help some people understand what they have just seen, or in the case of a commentary, what they are seeing. The commentary by director Schlondorff is far better than I expected it to be. He delivers the commentary in English and is full of anecdotes about the making of the film as well as his thoughts on why he shot certain scenes the way he did. It’s a long commentary (as the film runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes), but what he has to say seems very well thought out.

When you move into the 2nd disc, there are a few deleted scenes, unfortunately without sound. However, Schlondorff is on hand to explain the scenes. Normally deleted scenes aren’t that great, but considering the subject matter of the film, I found these to be quite interesting. This is followed up by featurette about the filming of the movie. This particular piece runs about 20 minutes and is full of pictures and storyboards. All in all it’s a really nice featurette. Then there are four very short bits that show pieces of various interviews that were done in and around 1979.

One of the features I found particularly interesting was a recording of the author, Glass, reading an excerpt from the novel. It is here that you can see that great care was taken by Schlondorff to ‘get it right’ in adapting it to film. You’ll also find the script pages for an unfilmed ending, with some additional comments by the director. Inside the DVD case, there is also an insert with a statement by Glass about adapting the novel to screen, as well as an essay by film scholar Eric Rentschler.

Now, I would also like to bring up one other feature that is perhaps one of the most fascinating. I mentioned earlier that “The Tin Drum” was derided by some as being pornographic. After watching the film, I cannot possibly consider these people any more ignorant than they most certainly are. There is a documentary on Disc 2 that focuses on an attempt a few years back to ban the film in Oklahoma. Because of the ‘love scene’ between Oskar and his step-mother, the esteemed (steamed?) members of OCAF (Oklahomans for Children and Families) got their ire up and went so far as to have someone arrested for renting the film from a local Blockbuster. It, of course went to court and all manner of hell broke loose. This particular little documentary is especially relevant today in the face of the FCC’s current attempt to (in a decidedly Nazi-like manner) keep the good people of the U.S. from making up their own minds as to what they should or should not see or hear. The documentary proves once again that the ignorance of a few still has weight in the face of even the most sensible of arguments. Normally whoever is unemployed and louder… wins. (Like a good movie critic I won’t tell you who won in this case, though)

“The Tin Drum” is a masterful piece of cinema that is full of disturbing images, but will certainly fulfill the evening of the most intelligent of movie viewers. (If you live in Oklahoma though…..)

Directed by: Volker Schlondorff
Starring: David Bennent, Mario Andorf, Charles Aznavour
Extras: Theatrical Trailers, Audio Commentary by Director and Co-writer Volker Schlondorff, Isolated Music Track Featuring the Score by Academy Award-winning Composer Maurice Jarre, Rare Deleted Scenes, “Volker Schlondorff Remembers The Tin Drum” - a 21-minute Audio/Video Montage, An Illuminating Collection of Video Interviews including Schlondorff, "The Platform" - a rare 1987 German Recording of Grass Reading an Excerpt From His Novel “The Tin Drum”, Reprinted Excerpt of the Screenplay's Original Unfilmed Ending, “Banned in Oklahoma” - a Documentary by Gary D. Rhodes Following the Child Pornography Lawsuit Revolving Around “The Tin Drum”, Production Sketches, Designs, and Promotional Art
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1) Enhanced for 16X9 Televisions, German Mono, German Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Criterion
Release Date: 518/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give The Tin Drum an A.