IMDb > Funny Games (1997)
Funny Games
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Funny Games (1997) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4)
Funny Games (1997) -- Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.
Funny Games (1997) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   13,595 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writer:
Michael Haneke (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Funny Games on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 March 1998 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Ein Alptraum. more
Plot:
Two psychotic young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
4 wins & 5 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(47 articles)
A season of Haneke at the BFI
 (From Twitch. 25 November 2009, 5:48 AM, PST)

Liff 09: Review of Dogtooth
 (From QuietEarth. 16 November 2009, 4:39 PM, PST)

User Comments:
George: Why are you doing this to us? Paul: Why not? more (245 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Directed by
Michael Haneke 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Michael Haneke  writer

Produced by
Veit Heiduschka .... executive producer
Veit Heiduschka .... producer
 
Cinematography by
Jürgen Jürges 
 
Film Editing by
Andreas Prochaska 
 
Production Design by
Christoph Kanter 
 
Costume Design by
Lisy Christl 
 
Makeup Department
Simone Bachl .... assistant makeup artist
Waldemar Pokromski .... key makeup artist
 
Production Management
Helga Fuchs .... executive in charge of production
Werner Reitmeier .... production manager
 
Art Department
Karl Bech .... set joiner
Janko Boskovic .... set painter
Florian Peter Clodi .... set joiner
Gerhard Dhor .... set joiner
Peter Dörflinger .... sculptor
Kurt Drahovzal .... set painter
Peter Ecker .... prop buyer
Christian Eder .... set joiner
Frank Essler .... set painter
Harald Hajmböck .... set joiner
Kurt Jahn .... set joiner
Peter Kreiller .... set joiner
Peter Lenz .... painter
Norbert Nagel .... set joiner
Walter Nagel .... set joiner
Joseph Rihs-Bacherl .... set joiner
Rudolf Scheidl .... set joiner
Werner Schweitzer .... set joiner
Hans Wagner .... indoors property
Peter Wenhardt .... set painter
 
Sound Department
Walter Amann .... sound
Bernhard Bamberger .... sound editor
Hannes Eder .... sound mixer
Peter Paschinger .... sound assistant
Daniel Steinbach .... sound assistant
Hans-Walter Kramski .... foley artist (uncredited)
Bernhard Maisch .... foley recordist (uncredited)
Andreas Schneider .... foley artist (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Danny Bellens .... special effects
Willi Neuner .... special effects
Mac Steinmeier .... special effects
 
Visual Effects by
Cania .... digital artist (uncredited)
 
Stunts
Danny Bellens .... stunts
Willi Neuner .... stunts
Mac Steinmeier .... stunts
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Dopplinger .... lighting equipment
Adi Essl .... dolly grip
Stefan Gauss .... lighting technician
Volker Gläser .... second assistant camera
Susanne Habitzel .... lighting technician
Bernd Karoly .... lighting technician
Fritz Martan .... grip
Peter Steuger .... assistant camera
Walter Stöger .... chief electrician
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Katharina Nikl .... wardrobe
 
Editorial Department
Michael Katz .... post-production
Ulrike Lässer .... post-production
Gabriele Uhl .... assistant editor
 
Transportation Department
Andreas Djerdjev .... property driver
Thomas Messer .... property driver
Rudolf Schnogl .... production driver
Gunther Stark .... production driver
 
Other crew
Katharina Biró .... script girl
Jessica Hausner .... script girl
Philipp Kaiser .... location manager
Wolfgang Knöpfler .... production assistant
April Morley .... dog instructor
Gabriela Schuster .... production secretary
Alfred Strobl .... location manager
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Ölümcül oyunlar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Brincadeiras Perigosas (Portugal) [pt]
Funny Games (Poland) [pl]
Funny Games (Finland) [fi]
Funny Games (France) [fr]
Funny Games: juegos divertidos (Spain) [es]
Horas de terror (Argentina) (video title) [es]
Paraxena paihnidia (Greece) [el]
Violência Gratuita (Brazil) [pt]
more
Runtime:
108 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
According to director Michael Haneke, star Susanne Lothar would often have to force herself to cry for nearly 20 minutes before her takes. He said the scene in which she is forced to pray required 28 takes and Lothar was tremendously drained by the ordeal. It was the weakened reaction that Haneke wanted from her for the scene. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: When Anna and Georg are driving in their car, a reflection of a microphone between the front seats can be seen on the window. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
[subtitled version]
Anna: Björling... Suliotis?
Georg: Almost. Björling is easy.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Hills Have Eyes (1977) more
Soundtrack:
Cara Salva more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
16 out of 21 people found the following comment useful.
George: Why are you doing this to us? Paul: Why not?, 7 August 2007
10/10
Author: Galina from Virginia, USA

Watching "Funny Games" (1997) directed by Michael Haneke for the first time was an unforgettable visceral experience. It was the horror that really scared, devastated, and stayed with me long after the final scene was over. I can't easily recall another movie that made me go through the same emotions as the innocent victims in the movie did, to feel the same helplessness, hopelessness, despair, humiliation, and horror. I could not stop thinking of how illusory and fragile nature of happiness and safety is and how easy it is to shatter and destroy them. Is it a blessing or curse not to know what lies ahead and not be able to change the future? It's been several years since I saw the film but it still makes me shiver just to think about it.

"Funny Games" can be first mistaken for yet another conventional thriller where the good guys always win in the end and the evil is punished. Wrong, not by Haneke. He shocks you, he hits you in the gut, and then, he shocks you again. Haneke's is a true horror for his monsters don't look like the creatures from hell. No, "they are among us", they are nice and polite, well read, shy and ironic, they have the names from the new Testament, Paul and Peter, they talk with the soft refined voices but they are monsters nevertheless who have no regard for a human life and who want to play their sadistic funny games to the extreme.

"Funny Games" is a controversial film and I've read many reviews and comments that call it "a failure", accusing the film and its creator of not having said anything new or original on the connected subjects of violence, the media, and voyeuristic audience. It may not be a new or original subject Haneke dissects in his film but how he did it, his matter-of fact approach to the material and the seemingly unemotional manner affected me deeply, and I don't think I would ever forget this film.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Funny Games (1997)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Halloween Scene Cronenboy
Isn't using violence as a message against violence a bit contradictary? peterstrauss-1
Differences between Funny Games and Funny Games U.S.? margarida_saramago
Conversation in boat at the end. (Spoilers) PipiShortStockings_391
Totally overhyped maxjohnson1971
Remote Control heart-metal182
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