Kafka (film)

Kafka
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteven Soderbergh
Written byLem Dobbs
Produced byHarry Benn
Stuart Cornfeld
Starring
CinematographyWalt Lloyd
Edited bySteven Soderbergh
Music byCliff Martinez
Production
companies
Baltimore Pictures
Pricel
Renn Productions
Distributed byMiramax Films (United States)
AMLF (France)
Release date
  • November 15, 1991 (1991-11-15)
Running time
98 minutes
CountriesUnited States
France[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11 million
Box office$1.1 million

Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film[1] directed by Steven Soderbergh, from a screenplay by Lem Dobbs. Ostensibly a biopic based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction (most notably The Castle and The Trial), creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere. It stars Jeremy Irons in the title role, with Theresa Russell, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Joel Grey, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness. Simon McBurney appears in his film debut.

Released after Soderbergh's critically acclaimed debut Sex, Lies, and Videotape it was the first of what would be a series of low-budget box-office disappointments. It has since become a cult film, being compared to Terry Gilliam's Brazil and David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch.[2]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Kafka". Film Notes.