The Tunnel (Der Tunnel)

The Tunnel (Der Tunnel) (2001)

  • 84% of critics liked it
    (25 reviews)

  • 92% of users liked it
    (2,784 ratings)

The true story of Hasso Herschel inspired this epic Cold War drama from Germany. Harry Melchoir (Heino Ferch) was a respected German athlete when the Berlin Wall forcibly divided the nation in 1961. Unwilling to cooperate with the East German authorities, Melchoir escaped to West Berlin, along with… More

Play Trailer

Unrated, 2 hr. 40 min.
Directed By
Roland Suso Richter
Written By
Johannes W. Betz
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
Jan 1, 2001 Wide
On DVD
Oct 4, 2005
Home Vision Entertainment

Critic Reviews

  • Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

    It is the kind of superbly crafted, intelligent entertainment -- a classic suspense thriller -- that nowadays is as welcome as it is rare.

  • Michael Booth, Denver Post

    A true story few people will know, and it's told with a warm, crafty efficiency that makes for wonderful entertainment.

  • Ty Burr, Boston Globe

    It's a gripping great-escape yarn of the sort we don't see much anymore.

  • Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

    Either as history at its most inspiring or moviemaking at its most exciting, The Tunnel is a trip.

  • Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

    It's so well told that you'll be biting your nails until the film's final few minutes.

Read all 14 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Cynthia S


    Based on true events. A gripping drama about a group of people in the early '60s who try to break out their loved ones living in communist East Berlin..by digging a 145 meter tunnel under the Berlin Wall. I enjoyed this film so much that it didn't feel even close to being 2… More

  • familiar s


    Based on true events, this movie uses loads of general rules of fictionalization. While that surely made it look somewhat unauthentic, nevertheless, it also helped to keep me hooked to the movie. The project was almost always on the brink of destruction, but they manage to escape… More

  • Walter M


    [font=Century Gothic]"The Tunnel" starts in 1961 as the Berlin Wall is being built by East German authorities to stem the flow of emigration to the West. Engineer Matthis Hiller(Sebastian Koch) succeeds in escaping via the sewers but is separated in the confusion from his… More

  • Daisy M


    Based on a true story Der Tunnel was the story of a champion swimmer Harry who managed to escape from East Berlin to the West. Some of his friends made it also but some of their families are left behind. I was aware of the history of German situation after the WWII, when Berlin was… More

  • Grifty G


    Based on a true story about a group of Germans who hatch a plan to tunnel under the Berlin Wall to free friends and relatives trapped on the East side. I realized as I was watching this that although I had seen films about East Berlin, I hadn't really seen anything about the… More

Read all 6 featured audience ratings

Cast

See full cast

Trailers & Clips