The Good German

The Good German
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteven Soderbergh
Screenplay byPaul Attanasio
Based onThe Good German
by Joseph Kanon
Produced byBen Cosgrove
Gregory Jacobs
StarringGeorge Clooney
Cate Blanchett
Tobey Maguire
CinematographyPeter Andrews
Edited byMary Ann Bernard
Music byThomas Newman
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • December 15, 2006 (2006-12-15)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$32 million[1]
Box office$6 million

The Good German is a 2006 American neo-noir crime film. A film adaptation of Joseph Kanon's 2001 novel of the same name, it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, and stars George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Tobey Maguire. Set in Berlin following the Allied victory over the Nazis, it begins as a murder mystery but weaves in elements involving the American postwar employment of Nazi rocket scientists in Operation Paperclip.

The film was shot in black-and-white and is designed to imitate the appearance of film noir from the 1940s, although it also includes material – such as sex scenes and swearing – that would have been prohibited by the Production Code. Its poster is a homage to the poster for the classic film Casablanca (1942, also a Warner Bros. film), as is the closing scene at an airport. The DVD release presents the film in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio which declined in use from about 1953, though the theatrical release, and other DVD Releases, used the slightly more modern but still unusual 1.66:1 ratio.

The film received mixed reviews and grossed $5.9 million worldwide against a budget of $32 million.

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