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Tunnel, The
Avatar / Home Vision Entertainment

Tunnel, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 72 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.0 out of 10
based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Heino Ferch, Nicolette Krebitz, Sebastian Koch, Alexandra Maria Lara, Claudia Michelsen, Felix Eitner, Mehmet Kurtulus, and Heinrich Schmieder

Based on the true story of the biggest underground escape attempt from East to West Berlin, The Tunnel is a cracking slice of old-fashioned, widescreen entertainment. (Roxie Releasing)


GENRE(S): Drama  |  Family/Kids  |  Foreign  |  Mystery  |  Suspense/Thriller  
WRITTEN BY: Johannes W. Betz  
DIRECTED BY: Roland Suso Richter  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: October 4, 2005 
Theatrical: April 29, 2005 
RUNNING TIME: 160 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Germany 
LANGUAGE(S): German (with English subtitles) 

Original title "Der Tunnel"

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Anyhow, either as history at its most inspiring or moviemaking at its most exciting, The Tunnel is a trip.
Read Full Review
90
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment — a classic suspense thriller — that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare.
Read Full Review
80
LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Director Roland Suso Richter gives a raw, frank but sophisticated account of the excruciating logistics of this great escape, and the appalling, inspiring blend of betrayal and courage that attended the group's herculean efforts.
Read Full Review
80
Variety Derek Elley
A cracking slice of old-fashioned, widescreen entertainment.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Good old-fashioned movie storytelling that steadily builds, over the course of nearly three hours, to a white-knuckle conclusion that satisfies on nearly every level.
Read Full Review
75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Though the film is as long as the escape route, Richter's brisk direction keeps us riveted through the suspenseful finish of his vivid history lesson.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Jonathan Curiel
So many twists and turns, it seems like fiction.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Marta Barber
There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film.
Read Full Review
70
The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
The Tunnel boasts the kind of plot that would seem ridiculously implausible if it weren't based on a true story.
Read Full Review
70
The New York Times Laura Kern
The film convincingly portrays the devastating, life-altering hardships and restrictions that the residents of the divided Berlin endured.
Read Full Review
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Well-cast and sporadically gripping.
Read Full Review
63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Director Roland Suso Richter maintains tension for 2 1/2 hours, even though the resolution is almost surreal.
Read Full Review
60
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Genuinely gripping, balancing the travails of constructing the tunnel against the characters' stories with considerable skill.
Read Full Review
50
Village Voice Matt Singer
Director Roland Suso Richter skillfully wields the wall as a metaphor for isolation, but his pacing needs work: He cuts from an emotional death to a rowdy scene of sex on a kitchen table. Well, that's one way to mourn.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

John H. gave it a2:
Really disappointing. I expected a serious, thoughtful European film treatment a la Costa-Gavras and got a schlock Hollywood Action Thriller a la Bruce Willis (starring a B.W. look-alike no less.) After a modestly interesting beginning things get progressively sillier until we enter James Bond territory and you're wondering how the film got there and whether its worth your while to continue watching it. Very slick, very commercial and very vapid stuff !!

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