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Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart ... see more see more... , Boyd Gaines , Siobhan Fallon , Robert LuPone , Linda Moran , Susanne Lothar , Ulrich Mühe , Arno Frisch , Frank Giering , Stefan Clapczynski , Doris Kunstmann , Wolfgang Gluck , Christoph Bantzer , Susanne Meneghel , Monika Zallinger

Notoriously nihilistic filmmaker Michael Haneke revisits one of his most controversial works in this remake of 1997's Funny Games starring Naomi Watts and Tim Roth. When a family of three arrives at t... read more read more...heir remote summer cabin for a quiet getaway, the sudden arrival of two psychotic men sets the stage for a harrowing life-or-death struggle that offers savage commentary on the use of violence in entertainment. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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54% liked it

28,342 ratings

Critics

51% liked it

138 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Michael Haneke

Release Date: March 14, 2008

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DVD Release Date: June 10, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (6,443)

  • danperry17
    May 23, 2012
    danperry17
    Unless Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes was a shot-for-shot remake - I forget, I haven't watched it in a while - I don't think I've ever watched such a beast, let alone one made by the same filmmaker as the original. I mean, what's the point, exactly? Perhaps a wider appeal in Ame... read morerica/the English-speaking world, which traditionally resists reading subtitles...?

    Unfortunately, I don't really like Tim Roth, (he's no Ulrich Muhe, not even close), and after seeing the original, there's not much punch in the remake, nor even any subtle corrections to strengthen what was already there. I'll give it a decent rating, though, because other than the Roth vs. Muhe question, it's hard to find much difference. Personally, I'd watch the original, because it was made when it needed to made, when its point might have been strongest - plus, on that DVD, you get the interview with Haneke that's crucial to understanding just what the heck is going on. Whichever version you choose, though, you'll get a chilling story that points out exactly how calmly we approach violence on film - and why, perhaps, we shouldn't.
  • 5oclockcoffee
    May 11, 2012
    5oclockcoffee
    Didn´t expect such a disappointement from Michael Haneke, whose most movies I admire.
    Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet don´t convince.
    Hitchcock´s "Rope" is much a better example of psychotic guys and cold murder.


  • katykern8261
    January 16, 2012
    katykern8261
    Directed (and written) by Michael Haneke, Celluloid Dreams, 2008.

    Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Brady Corbet and Michael Pitt.

    Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

    Question: Do you like it when a story is told in a unique and brilliant manner? Of course you do. How about whe... read moren the story is about two young males who like to play mind games, torture and....oh wait, almost gave a little too much away. Well, I just finished watching Funny Games (the American version) and feeling a little guilty for liking this film.

    I have to remain vague in this review. As you can see Funny Games is a thriller and a really good one. Trust me, you think you will know how the story ends, but the fact that this movie takes storytelling to a whole new level. And as a storyteller myself, especially about movies, I loved how this movie ended up playing its own mind games. Unfortunately, I felt a little sick to my stomach during and after watching Funny Games. Again, I can't say why.

    Let's see, what can I tell you all about this film? First, it was remake of an 1997 Austrian film of the same name. Second, the director/writer Michael Haneke, directed both films - shot-for-shot. Although the actors used in each film were cast differently. Third, it is a very sadistic story...okay, did I just lose you all with that point?

    Okay, here's the gist (somewhat): a well-to-do family drive to their summer home on Long Island for a relaxing weekend. They stop to say hello to some neighbors, who behave strangely but they continue on to their home all ready to start their vacation - golfing and boating. Their dog runs around gleefully saying hello to the mother, father and son. They unpack and prepare for the weekend; a neighbor stops by with a white-gloved "friend" and help put their boat in the water. This "friend" ends up staying and another white-gloved "friend" shows up asking to borrow 4 eggs for a neighbor.

    From this point everything just starts to go wrong. So, so wrong. I mentioned something about torture and that is what the rest of the story is about. These two young men (white-gloved "friends"), who revel in the enjoyment of causing pain and suffering (mental and physical) to others, may end up being the most evil characters I have witnessed on screen in a long time. Actually Michael Pitt, one of the young fellows, is definitely the scariest characters ever and almost gave me nightmares with the final shot of the movie.

    Now all this talk may not make you want you to run out and rent Funny Games; however, the method the director used to tell this story was nothing short of brilliant. It will make you feel sick to your stomach, although a lot of the violence is not really on screen. And some typical tricks with thrillers that you expect aren't used (sort of) and you almost end up begging for those tricks that usually end up making the story typical. See, mind games.

    That's it - I can't say anymore.

    My favorite part: The remote control, but then again, it should be my least favorite part. You'll see why.

    Rating: R
    Length: 111 minutes

    Review: 7 out of 10
  • aSpaceCowboy
    October 14, 2011
    aSpaceCowboy
    I'm trying to figure out where this film starts to exceed the running time of the original Funny Games. Sure it's only a few minutes longer, but this remake feel like a slightly sped up version of Haneke's 1997 psychological thriller. Some nuggets of dialog have either bee... read moren altered or taken out. Paul refers to Peter as Tom and Beavis, the superior titles of famous cartoon characters. Having not seen the original you wouldn't know that. Peter would in turn refer to Paul as the opposing characters Jerry and Butt-Head. Just an example of how this feels shorter, but is the longer film.

    It's not even a complaint that the dialog is changed around a bit. This is why Funny Games U.S. moves a little faster (here's the complaint) because it forgets to explain itself. It leaves out certain elements from the original and goes straight to the punch. I feel, that this film is better looked on its own and not compared to 90's version. If you compare you see how much more flawed it is. Without that comparision of "what's left out?" the movie manages to engage the right audience it's looking for and just tell it like it is during these funny games our protagonists are playing.

    Nothing's ever explained, but if you give this flick another viewing you see how meant to be a merry-go-round of ambiguity. You see that Funny Games is about these two disturbed nutbags hitting wealthy, isolated families for their own amusement...and nothing more.

    [fit in somewhere] Another area of complaint is how forced the performances seem based on the dialog. For instance, when Naomi waits behind a tree to avoid a passing car, but the second it goes by she wails and screams and waves her arms trying to get to stop. Another example was the egg scene early on in the beginning. Naomi is supposed to be getting fed-up with Brady's character and she goes from calm to really pissed off. This was also a problem area in the original, but not so much as the most spotly occurence would be when Paul asks Ann[e] for eggs after Peter had already ruined both handfull of eggs.

    One fatal flaw is one of those moderized chnages exclusive to this version. In the original Georg[e] and Ann[e] had one house phone slipt between the two of them. Here, they each have they're own cell phone. But wait, we see that during the first egg scene that Ann[e]'s cell gets knocked into the sink water damaging it. When they think they're left alone an hour later in the film, Ann[e] notices that the cell is working a little, but not well enough and tries to dry it off more with a hairdryer. Still like the original.

    Here's the difference and the flaw. Where has Georg[e]'s phone been this whole time? He says that it's in the car outside. With neither of the tormentors around, why didn't Ann[e] just go and get it? If it wasn't so odd of a move it would have been a cliche right out of any typical horror/slasher B-movie. But, to keep to the original this little "thing" needed to be passed by. Just another issue with modernization and how it can kill an adaptation.

    In conclusion, you can't really complain how this turned out if you had seen the original because other than the couple of tidbits I mentioned it's a shot-for-shot remake. It's not a bad film. It's just misunderstood.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    October 7, 2011
    MidnightMadwoman
    God, this film is excrutiating. There is so little that actually happens, it happens to slowly and there is no pleasure to be gotten in watching it. I'm sure that's the point of this film, but if that's true then Funny Games misses the point of cinema as a whole. Unpleasant and p... read moreointless things happen at a pace that would lose a race to molasses. There were entire sequences that I watched on fast forward and it did nothing to break up the pace of this film. Is there anyone reding this that WOULD like to spend fifteen minutes watching Naomi Watts hobble across a living room with her hands tied behind her? Ten minutes watching Tim Roth take a hair dryer to his cellphone, or another ten minutes watching Brady Corbet awkwardly try to borrow a dozen eggs? I have no idea why someone would think that this movie is worth watching. The editor completely let us, the audience down. Rent this, watch it on 132x speed, call it a short film, then watch Saw instead.
  • TheGame90
    September 18, 2011
    TheGame90
    Well this movie just kicks the Hollywood standards in the nuts. No one tells them how to make a movie. And that's a very nice alternative to everything else you see. I thought it was a little slow...many scenes that could have been cut down. Great performances by all actors. Fant... read moreastic ending that just shatter all your hopes....And the extremely crappy song in the movie fits so absolutely perfect that it becomes extremely great.
  • bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    July 28, 2011
    bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb1
    I really enjoyed this movie a lot. Its a very dark movie that relies on suspense not violence to be scary and terrifying and i like that. A very good movie with a weird point that isnt entirely clear but in my opinion makes it better.

    Grade: B+
  • FrizzDrop
    May 19, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Not meant to be simple shock value and/or torture porn, Funny Games has no cut and clear message. Instead of just being a home invasion featuring psychopathic killers with their own warped agenda, Funny Games is a film dissection. It overviews the idea of good versus bad, a singu... read morelar victim winning out, and some of the more obvious movie cliches. Going against these ideas makes for a very strange set of events, killers speaking directly to the camera, various deaths in a twisted game, and an anticlimactic ending. Because the killers had no intention and the film lacked a varied plot, I personally could not engross myself in the bland story. It's good to watch and then discuss with other film viewers, but overall the intention and message were not enough to hold interest, though immaculate.
  • Deano78
    April 3, 2011
    Deano78
    A strange film with not very much plot or explanation as to what is going on, although some might like this more because of that. It's a very gritty, raw, rather bleak film as a couple of psycho's decide to play games with a family in the holiday home. Just need to watch a comedy... read more after to lift your mood!
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    February 13, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    Absolutely terrible. Watched this one after the original so it was boring and annoying to watch. There was literally no original creativity gone into this. Even the acting was terrible! (I normally love Naomi Watts but this was ridiculous). Don't even bother with this. Original a... read morell the way.

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Critic Reviews

David Ansen
March 20, 2008
David Ansen, Newsweek

That this relentless barrage of psychological and physical torture is extremely well made and powerfully performed -- Watts hurls herself into her physically demanding role with heroic conviction -- s... Full Review

Richard Roeper
March 17, 2008
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

The fact that it features fine performances, talented direction and some moments of genuine suspense only makes the end product that much more grotesque and appalling.

David Edelstein
March 17, 2008
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

Haneke's assault on our fantasy lives is shallow, unimaginative, and glacially unengaged -- a sucker punch without the redeeming passion of punk. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
March 14, 2008
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

In addition to being borderline unendurable, Funny Games is inexplicable, and I don't mean in any philosophical sense. Who thought the world needed a shot-for-shot English-language version of Mr. Hane... Full Review

Claudia Puig
March 14, 2008
Claudia Puig, USA Today

While Haneke is attacking our culture for being drawn to violent fare, he is also relishing in presenting it to us, in prolonged and detailed fashion. Full Review

Peter Howell
March 14, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

The performances are outstanding across the board. The direction and writing are masterful. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
March 14, 2008
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

not what it appears to be on the surface. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
March 14, 2008
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

There's no denying Austrian director Michael Haneke's skill as a filmmaker, but Funny Games is just a vile cinematic exercise. Full Review

Roger Moore
March 14, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's a pity the movie is so smug, gimmicky and heartless. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
March 14, 2008
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

Michael Haneke hates you. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Anna Farber: Why don't you just kill us?
    • Peter: You shouldn't forget the importance of entertainment.
    • Anna Farber: He only wants to have a game.
    • Peter: Funny game.
    • Paul: We're not up to feature film length yet.
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