Themes: Members of the Clergy, Crimes Against Humanity, Assassination Plots
Main Cast: Martin Doblmeier, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Adele Schmidt, Richard Mancini, John de Gruchy
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
Plot
Culled from an array of archival footage, on-location shooting, dramatic narration, and interviews with family, friends, and historians, the documentary Bonhoeffer strives to recreate the life of the theologian who openly railed against Hitler's growing stronghold on Germany and beyond in the years leading up to World War II. A devout Christian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer organized the Confessing Church in the early '30s, urging his following to join forces with the Jews in fighting the Third Reich. Bonhoeffer's efforts reached their zenith when he and others mounted assassination attempts on the Führer. Klaus Maria Brandauer gives voice to many of Bonhoeffer's writings, and Desmond Tutu and John de Gruchy are among the film's interviewees. After being rejected from the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, Bonhoeffer was screened at local churches in and around Park City, attracting attention from distributors, and eventually, a limited U.S. release in the summer of 2003. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Eberhard Bethge; Otto Dudzez; Geffrey Kelly; Ruth Alice von Bismarck; Marianne Liebholz; Victoria Barnett; John Conway; Christian Gremmels; Clifford Green; Desmond Tutu; Bishop Wolfgang Huber; Inge Sembritzki; Rev. Henry Mitchell; Josiah Young; Winifred Maechler; Peter Hoffmann; Christoph van Dohnyani; Albrecht Schonherr
Credit
Adele Schmidt - Associate Producer, Janna Wickland - Associate Producer, Kristin Fellows - Associate Producer, Janna Morishima - Associate Producer, Martin Doblmeier - Director, Matthew B. Kelly - Editor, Timothy Finkbiner - Editor, John Keltonic - Composer (Music Score), Dennis Boni - Cinematographer, David Goulding - Cinematographer, Peter Schulz - Cinematographer, Jorg Plica - Cinematographer, Adele Schmidt - Research, Janna Wickland - Research, Carren Kaston - Research, Matthew B. Kelly - Sound/Sound Designer, Ulf Herrmann - Sound/Sound Designer, Klaus Oesterwind - Sound/Sound Designer, Martin Doblmeier - Screenwriter, Dominck S. Bono - Supervising Sound Editor, Mary Ann DiLillo - Supervising Sound Editor, Cynthia Bono - Supervising Sound Editor
