Good German, The (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: May 28, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Steven SoderberghRelease Date(s)
2006 (April 15, 2025)Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures (Warner Bros. Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: D-
Review
Made in the style of 1940s melodramas, and buoyed by considerable star power, The Good German is a noir mystery set amid intrigue in Berlin at the end of World War II.
On the eve of the Potsdam conference, where Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill will meet to discuss strategies of a post-war world, both the Americans and the Russians are already beginning their arms race. The most valuable people to this endeavor were German physicists who had been working on the V-2 rocket and other advanced weaponry. Both countries want these scientists. The United States has offered them immunity for war crimes if they immigrate to America and work for the military.
War correspondent Jake Geismer (George Clooney), a journalist with The New Republic magazine, arrives in Berlin to cover the peace conference. He hopes to reunite with his former mistress, the German national Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett). He discovers, however, that Lena has compromised herself, including to Jake’s American driver Tully (Tobey Maguire). Tully has mastered navigating the political climate to enrich himself by selling information to both the Russians and the Americans.
When Tully’s body is found, a bullet in his head and his uniform stuffed with money, the U.S. military show no interest in investigating what looks like a murder. Only Jake, sensing a story bigger than the death of one small-time crook of a soldier, attempts to get to the bottom of the crime. As Jake pursues leads about Tully’s murder, Lena’s role emerges and he sees her as more than just another victim of the war.
Lena’s husband worked on the German V-2 rocket. He has disappeared and so have all of his papers on the project. Both the Americans and the Russians are scheming to discover his research records, and him if he’s still alive, and will stop at nothing to get them.
Clooney is a magnetic actor and box-office gold. His performance as Jake, however, is surprisingly dull. Jake is an honest, ethical American reporter in the midst of clandestine, political, literally cutthroat competition, yet Clooney doesn’t seem to know how to play certain scenes. His expression hardly ever changes from one of casual objectivity. It’s only when he and Blanchett are on screen together that some heat is generated.
Maguire, in a role atypical for him, is surprisingly good at playing evil. His baby face and soft-spoken manner serve him well as Tully, leaving the audience utterly unprepared for his shocking behavior in subsequent scenes. Tully’s innocent repartee with Jake as he drives him to his hotel contrasts sharply with his later brutality to men and women. Maguire dominates the early part of the film.
Blanchett’s character is enigmatic. Director Steven Soderbergh wants to keep Lena a puzzle as long as possible, so it’s sometimes hard to grasp her relevance the tale. Blanchett nevertheless commands the screen as Lena, looking weary and beaten down, simultaneously conveying dignity, pride, and mystery. She’s often peering out of shadows, looking both desperate and frail, and practically oozing sensuality and danger.
Steven Soderbergh filmed The Good German entirely on interior sets and studio backlots, exactly the way it was done in the 1940s. He shot in black & white using a full-frame, square aspect ratio, and only lighting devices appropriate to the era. Despite departures from 1940s mores—overt sex scenes, strong language, and graphic violence—the film effectively captures the period, but the plot has its problems.
Paul Attanasio’s screenplay often has a documentary feel, but is also sentimental, occasionally brutal, with an underlying cynicism about war and its collateral victims. The story is told through shifting points of view. Each of the main characters have a turn doing a voice-over. What’s missing is emotion. In Casablanca, a film from the same era that The Good German is emulating, there’s a strong emotional connection between Rick and Ilsa. Soderbergh never gets that feeling from his stars. In fact, much of the film is downright dull despite the luminous marquee names and the director’s efforts to make the picture look as if it was recently shot in the 1940s. It’s a noble but shaky attempt to revive vintage moviemaking techniques, and comes off on par with typical bottom-of-the-bill B pictures from the mid-1940s.
The Good German was shot by Steven Soderbergh himself on 35 mm film (Kodak Vision2 500T 5218) using Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 cameras and Panavision normal speed MKII lenses, converted to black-and-white and finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate, and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Warner Bros. Entertainment debuts the film on Blu-ray for the first time. Director Steven Soderburgh went to great lengths to utilize techniques and styles common to the 1940s. Rear projection is used to simulate live action behind actors, glamour lighting with romantic shadows is reminiscent of how stars of an earlier era were shot, and rain-soaked sidewalks and an airport tarmac reflect light, giving the image the look of an impressionist painting. Soft focus is used, especially on Cate Blanchett, adding to her aura of mystery. Stock World War II footage is interspersed with contemporary footage.
The soundtrack is English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. Dialogue is clear and distinct. Cate Blanchett’s German accent and delivery often seem to channel Marlene Dietrich. Sound effects include body pummeling in a fight, a jeep’s engine, ambient noise from crowds, and general hustle and bustle. Thomas Newman’s score contains hints of sadness, despair, and wistful romantic longing, and avoids overwhelming the narrative. However, it lacks the commanding assertiveness of a Max Steiner or Erich Wolfgang Korngold score.
The only bonus material on the Blu-ray release from Warner Bros. Entertainment is the film’s theatrical trailer (2:25).
The Good German is an interesting cinematic experiment, but clarity and emotional integrity have been subordinated to style, making for a rather cold picture. Because we know that Clooney and Blanchett have been so good in other films, it’s disappointing to see them in one that isn’t worthy of their talents.
- Dennis Seuling