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Jacob the Liar

Play trailer Poster for Jacob the Liar 1977,  1h 40m,  Comedy/ Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 100% 5 Reviews Tomatometer 85% 500+ Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Based on the lauded novel by Jurek Becker, this dark comedy focuses on Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský), a Jew living in a Polish ghetto. When Jakob is temporarily detained by German officers and overhears news on their radio that the Russians are advancing on Nazi forces, he is thrilled at the prospect of freedom. In order to convince others of the news, Jakob pretends that he has a radio of his own -- a serious crime in the ghetto -- and begins making up stories to maintain his deception.

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Dec 15, 2010
B
This East Germany bitter-sweet comedy about a Polish ghetto in WWII was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar but didn't win. Go to Full Review
Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Jan 10, 2005
3/5
Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) Feb 24, 2004
3/5
Jules Brenner Cinema Signals Nov 11, 2003
3/5
Wesley Lovell Apollo Guide Apr 23, 2002
76/100
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Jacob the Liar

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Frank Beyer

Director

Vlastimil Brodský

Jakob Heym

Erwin Geschonneck

Kowalski

Manuela Simon

Lina

Henry Hübchen

Mischa

Blanche Kommerell

Rosa Frankfurter

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Jacob the Liar

Jacob the Liar (1974) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Based on the lauded novel by Jurek Becker, this dark comedy focuses on Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský), a Jew living in a Polish ghetto. When Jakob is temporarily detained by German officers and overhears news on their radio that the Russians are advancing on Nazi forces, he is thrilled at the prospect of freedom. In order to convince others of the news, Jakob pretends that he has a radio of his own -- a serious crime in the ghetto -- and begins making up stories to maintain his deception.
Director
Frank Beyer
Distributor
MacMillan Films
Production Co
Filmové studio Barrandov, VEB DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Fernsehen der DDR (DDR-FS), Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe Johannisthal
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 24, 1977, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Oct 19, 1999
Runtime
1h 40m
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