It’s fairly common knowledge that German films are, shall we say, a bit difficult to watch. Stylistically, they often take chances with both narrative-wise and visually that Americans can find a bit alienating.
Nevertheless, there are a surprising number of German films that have been remade into English, some of them to significant financial and critical success. In the process of translating the films from their German context, however, there is often something lost, though it is often in the eye of the beholder whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. Here are ten English remakes of German films.
No Reservations (2007): 42%
This 2007 romantic comedy drama starred Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and was based on the 2001 German film Mostly Martha, or Bella Martha. Mostly Martha was a hit in , and Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 92% overall, with a consensus of "Mostly Martha may have a predictable plot, but it still feels charming and fresh, and the food will make you hungry."
The American remake- didn’t fare so well, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it 42% overall. The consensus for the American version was a less than stellar: "This romantic comedy may look good on paper, but it's too predictable and melancholy for the genre."
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005): 43%
The original 1920 version is perhaps one of the greatest German silent films. It’s been remade several times with varying degrees of faithfulness to the original — sequels, remakes that only share the name, stage adaptations, audio adaptations, albums — and success.
David Lee Fisher directed a horror remake in 2005 that followed the original 1920 version fairly closely, with added dialogue. Like so many remakes, it didn’t fare well. Even though it stayed mostly faithful to the original, American audiences and critics didn’t care for it, with an overall Rotten Tomatoes rating of 43%.
Funny Games (2007): 51%
Ten years after making the German-language version of the film, director Michael Haneke remade his own film, shot for shot, this time in English with American actors. Haneke had wanted to make the film in the US in the first place, but ended up setting the original in his native Austria.
Maybe a psychological thriller that appealed to a German-language audience wasn’t the best choice to remake for Americans- it bombed at the box office, making half of its already small budget. While some critics liked it, the consensus was split- a 51% overall.
City of Angels (1998): 58%
Changing the focus from experiences of West Berlin and love in the original film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin in ) to the human experience and love doesn’t seem to have done too many favors to the reception of the film.
The angel experiencing human sensations and desires in spawned a sequel in which former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev played himself and has been cited as one of the best films of the 1980s. The American remake, while a hit at the box office, didn’t fare so well with critics, with a 58% positive rating.
Love in the Afternoon (1957): 88%
As director Billy Wilder said, one of the curses of the film was that he “got Coop the week he suddenly got old.” Starring an aging Gary Cooper and a young Audrey Hepburn, the difference in ages of the romantic comedy's leads didn’t sit well with American audiences. It did much better with critics— it carries an 88% positive rating overall.
The story follows the womanizing Cooper and the young and inexperienced Hepburn as she tries to start a relationship with him while pretending to be older and more experienced than she is. The film did much better with European audiences, where it was released under the same name as the 1931 German version, Ariane.
The Parent Trap (1961): 90%
The 1961 Disney classic was based on a German novel, Lottie and Lisa, and the German film Two Times Lotte (Das doppelte Lottchen). Building on star Hayley Mills’ role in Pollyanna, it also featured Brian Keith and Maureen O’Hara as the parents of the twins.
It was well received both commercially and critically, and was nominated for two Academy Awards. The overall critical rating stands at 90% positive. It spawned three sequels in the 1980s and a comic book in 1961; Disney themselves made a remake in 1998 starring a young Lindsay Lohan.
Victor/Victoria (1982): 97%
This 1982 musical comedy starred Julie Andrews as the title character, an aging Robert Preston (most famous as Harold Hill in The Music Man), James Garner, Leslie Ann Warren, and John Rhys-Davies. It was a remake of a 1933 German film Viktor und Viktoria.
It was a critical darling in its American incarnation. The Henry Mancini penned score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, and the film was nominated for six other Oscars. Julie Andrews won a Golden Globe for her performance, and the film is currently rated 97% positive among critics.
Ripley’s Game (2003): 98%
Based on the third book in the Ripliad series by Patricia Highsmith and the 1977 German film The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund), Ripley’s Game starred John Malkovich as the titular Ripley— a somewhat less relatable anti-hero than the earlier film The Talented Mr. Ripley, with Matt Damon as the title character.
The film wasn’t released theatrically in North America, a decision Roger Ebert called “a shameful blunder”, also adding it to his Great Movies list and saying it was the best of the four Ripley movies he had seen— including its earlier German version. Other critics seemed to agree— it currently stands at 98% positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
People Will Talk (1951): 100%
Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz helmed this remake starring Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain. Based on a German play and a 1950 German film (Doctor Praetorius), this romantic comedy was known for its political overtones.
Mankiewicz used his involvement in the Joseph McCarthy-led communist hunts following World War II, as they fit in well with the plot of the film— the trial featured in the film closely matches the trials and hearings that were blacklisting many people in the entertainment industry when it was made. It currently has a perfect 100% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Bachelor Mother (1939): 100%
Bachelor Mother is a 1939 romantic comedy based on the 1935 film Little Mother (Kleine Mutti). Starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven, it followed a chain of mistaken identities revolving around an abandoned child.
It was a huge hit commercially, earning almost four times its budget, as well as critically, where it still holds a perfect critical rating. It spawned its own remake in 1956— Bundle of Joy, starring the then-recently married Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher; it also adapted multiple multiple times as radio play— two of which original star Ginger Rogers reprised her role for.
