FAQ for
Das Leben der Anderen (2006) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Das Leben der Anderen can be found here.

No. Das Leben der Anderen [English: The Lives of Others] is based on a screenplay written by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

This riddle joke is in German and could not possibly be translated into another language properly. Grubits asks about the difference between Erich Honnecker (the leader of East Germany) and a busy telephone line. The answer is really nothing says Grubitz, and tells the punchline "Aufhängen, neu wählen". This can mean two things. When talking about phone calls, it means "hang up and dial again", but in politics it means "hang him (i e kill him) and go to new elections".

Dreyman [Sebastian Koch] was using a rare untraceable typewriter that happened to have only a red ribbon in it. When Wiesler [Ulrich Mühe] moved the typewriter, he must have touched the red ribbon and gotten red on his finger/thumb. The red color then got transferred to the document that Dreyman saw. It was probably at that moment that Dreyman realized where the red smudge came from and that it was Wiesler who actually moved the typewriter and saved him. This also happens earlier when Dreyman types up his article about suicide - his own fingers smudge the typescript that he hands over.