The Book Thief (film)

The Book Thief
A man being hugged by a girl, behind them a pile of books is on fire.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian Percival
Written byMichael Petroni
Based onThe Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyFlorian Ballhaus
Edited byJohn Wilson
Music byJohn Williams[1]
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
Running time
130 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United States
  • Germany
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget$19 million[3]
Box office$76.6 million[4]

The Book Thief is a 2013 war drama film directed by Brian Percival and starring Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, and Sophie Nélisse. The film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Markus Zusak and adapted by Michael Petroni. The film is about a young girl living with her adoptive German family during the Nazi era. Taught to read by her kind-hearted foster father, the girl begins "borrowing" books and sharing them with the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster parents in their home. The film features a musical score by Oscar-winning composer John Williams.

The Book Thief premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3, 2013, and was released for general distribution in the United States on November 8, 2013. The film received mixed reviews upon its theatrical release with some reviewers praising its "fresher perspective on the war" and its focus on the "consistent thread of humanity" in the story,[5] with other critics faulting the film's "wishful narrative".[6] With a budget of $19 million,[3] the film was successful at the box office, earning over $76 million.[4]

The Book Thief received Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for its score. For her performance in the film, Sophie Nélisse won the Hollywood Film Festival Spotlight Award, the Satellite Newcomer Award, and the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role – Female. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2014.[7]

  1. ^ "John Williams to Score 'The Book Thief'". Film Music Reporter. August 6, 2013. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Book Thief (12A)". 20th Century Fox. British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "The Book Thief". The Numbers. January 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "The Book Thief". Box Office Mojo. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference nem was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference latimes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference allmovie-releases was invoked but never defined (see the help page).