The German (2008) User Reviews

A good action short

[cremebluray · 8/10 · 24 December 2015]

I watched it for the action scene and it was amazing. It was better and more realistic than so many old films and so many foreign films. Compare this to the Russian "Nochnye lastochki" and the latter's flight scenes look like the work of a film student.

The cockpit shots, the dogfight, the squadron vs squadron, the dashboard shot, the camera work, the sound, etc. It might be the best dogfight I've ever seen on film, despite it lasting for barely 3 minutes.

It's a good watch, but too short to have a meaningful story or a higher score.

With a good story, a full-length story I mean, I have no doubt that this crew could've made the best aviator/pilot films ever. If this were a trailer, I'd be counting the days to see the full film, but alas, this is all there is to it.

Beautiful computer work; realistic aviation sequence

[wlb · 9/10 · 18 February 2012]

A realistic dog fight - you hear the purr of the RR Merlin and the different noise of the DB603 - with an unusual ending.

I have heard both and the director went out of his way to get some realism. See why the Luftwaffe pilots called the sound of the DB-603 "The stone crusher" .

I got this as a web address floating on the internet - http://player.vimeo.com/video/31202906?autoplay=1 Quite a nice production - although I question how both got to "this end" - without spoiling it I cannot say more.

Watch it and you be the judge. I enjoyed it so much I bookmarked the address.

Exciting Short WW2 Film

[whhaiber · 9/10 · 14 November 2013]

I caught this short film while exploring videos on Youtube. The CGI of the dogfight between the Messerschmitt Me 109 and Spitfire was phenomenal! Very exciting! Totally realistic! The battle continues on the ground as "the German" tries to escape into the woods after both planes are brought down, with the RAF fighter pilot in hot pursuit! Shots are exchanged between the two pilots and the British pilot captures the enemy. Tense moments follow as the German pleads for his life and the Brits blood begins to cool as he marches his prisoner to soldiers coming to his aid. But wait! The soldiers are troops of the Irish Free State! Whoops! We're in neutral Ireland! "Off to the Internment Camp with the both of you" (paraphrasing)! Didn't see that coming! Very clever climax to and exciting dogfight sequence! I saved it to my Youtube favorites, and if you WW2 film buffs, so will you!

Good history lesson does not equal good movie

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 28 July 2016]

"The German" is an Irish, English-language short film from 2008, so it will have its 10th anniversary soon. The writer and director is Nick Ryan and here he collaborated with Oscar nominee Ruairi Robinson. It is the story of two men, both pilot fighters, who fight during the days of Worlf War II, first in their planes, then in a forest. I must say I cared little about the plane action early on, but what came afterward lacked realism entirely. Nobody dies despite the broken plane. He actually finds the German guy in the forest. He does not kill him in the forest. And outside, a group of Irish officials was nearby. All of this to happen is so unlikely that I cannot take the film seriously. I liked the text we get to read at the very end though as it tells us about a historic context that many (including myself) did not know. But of course, this cannot make up for the previous mediocrity. Don't watch.

Very good, short film!

[dawidos-39121 · 10/10 · 23 September 2020]

It could be actually pretty good full movie. I mean it's full, short film, but I feel I could watch it two more hours, maybe? I love WW2 fighter aircrafts, so this film is one of my favorites. And if I compare this film's CGI to, for example, 2018's "Air Strike" CGI with Bruce Willis, which estimated cost was $65.000.000, it's safe to say "The German" is much, much much better. And its CGI is 12 years old now! It's amazing! See for yourself.