Funny Games
Writer: Michael Haneke
Cast: Susanne Lothar (Anna), Ulrich Mühe (Georg), Arno Frisch (Paul), Frank Giering (Peter), Stefan Clapczynski (Schorschi), Doris Kunstmann (Gerda), Christoph Bantzer (Fred), Wolfgang Glück (Robert), Susanne Meneghel (Gerdas Schwester), Monika Zallinger (Eva)
Keywords: Child With Gun, Cell Phone, Sailboat, Actual Animal Killed, Prayer, Invasion, Child In Peril, Controversy, Loss Of Child, Extreme Violence, Psychological Torture, Child Killer, Dead Children, Murdered Couple, Tied Up, Game, Talk To Camera, Original Story, Corpse, Murdered Pet, Kitchen, Family Relationships, Long Take, Kidnapping, Family In Danger, Chase, Dock, Mind Game, Home Invasion, Wetting Pants, Mother Son Relationship, Buddy, Young Boy, Actor Talks To Audience, Vacation Resort, Austrian, Humiliation, Post Modern, Physical Abuse, Bet, Screaming, Crying, Bag Over Head, Dog Killed, Loss Of Son, Vacation, Watching TV, Husband Wife Relationship, Car Stereo, Vomiting, Father Son Relationship, Child Shot In The Head, Loss Of Husband, Rifle, Drowning, Sadism, Murderer Duo, Remote Control, Sailing Boat, Serial Killer, Terror, Hostage, Egg, Murder, Glove, Lake, Torture, Murder Of Family, Violence, Child Murder, Psychopath, Breaking The Fourth Wall, Bloody Body Of Child, Rewind, Blood, Broken Leg, Dog, Duct Tape, Golf Bag, Golf Ball, Golf Club, Hair Dryer, Knife, Television, Independent Film, Twist In The End
Summary: Two seemingly well-educated young men, who call each other Paul and Peter among other names, approach a family on vacation. They are, apparently, friends of the neighbors, and, at the beginning, their true intentions are not known. But soon, the family is imprisoned and tortured in its own house violently, which the viewers are forced mostly to imagine and to share a certain complicity with the criminals. It might be some kind of game with the lives of husband, wife, son, and dog, but why are they doing it?
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Director Michael Haneke told producer 'Viet Heiduschka' during the production that if the film was a success, it would be because audiences had misunderstood the meaning behind it.
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Paul says the line "We're not up to feature film length yet" at exactly the 95-minute mark of the movie.
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Director Michael Haneke has said that he never intended 'Funny Games' to be a horror film. Instead his idea was to make a film with a moralistic comment about the influence of media violence on society. It's a subject that Haneke is quite passionate about.
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When the film was screened at Cannes in 1997 it shocked the audience badly enough that many viewers, including some film critics, walked out of the screening.
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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.
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SPOILER: The scene where Anna and Georg recover and free themselves after the criminals leave their house the first time is a single take lasting just over ten minutes.
Release Date: Wednesday, May 14, 1997
Gross: $107,734
Rating: 7.7
Votes: 11,420
Referenced in: Rosemary's Baby