Babylon Berlin

This is an exceptional TV series. It has all the elements to make it an award winning piece. Great complicated characters that work well with each other, mystery, intrigue, excitement, shell shock, suggestive, authentic and genuine. Who new that Germany had the ability to produce a show like this that would compete with BBC period series. It is well written and the cinematography and sets really take you back to what it could have been in Berlin 1920s. The poverty, life, rich, poor, politics, morality, ethics and corruption are all part of the story. I have the benefit of being able to watch this with English subtitles or I would have missed the opportunity to really enjoy this show. Unfortunately, whom ever translated it, their English is not the first language and at times the sentences are backwards in English which is normally when someone is translating verbatim but I get the gist of it. If you like time pieces and or like shows such as Endeavor, George Gently, Trapped, Modus and similar then you are likely to enjoy this program.

This series are one of the best I've ever seen. First of all because they are educational. They tell us about how life was under the Weimar Republic (the democratic regime in Germany between 1919 and 1933). I am tired of all those cliches about Germany as fascistland, ignoring the rich history this country had before authoritarianism.

In Germany 1929, the country is falling apart because of the great depression combined with the crippling punishment of Versailles treaty, plus almost all adult males are crippled because of WWI or heavily shell shocked, with seizures and convilsions that prevented them of working or actually leading normal lives. Starvation, homelessness, drug use and prostitition (male, female and transvestite ) are essentially the only way many families resort in order to feed their children and older relatives. Heroin addiction is a menace, and that despair is driving people to embrace any charlatan, demagogue or ideology that promises bringing them a better future (which at the time, was not fascim yet, but Bolshevism, with Trotskyists and Stalinist competing and fighting each other).

Despite all that hopelessness and misery that Germans were enduring, there is an incredible cultural scene happening in Berlin, where the nightlife is intense, American Jazz musicians and dancers achieve success, the arts (Cinema, design, architecture, music) is evolving, there is a lot of beauty and reckless sex happening. Decadence is the word to describe the atmosphere, where a caste society lives another planet, with country clubs, mansions and servants, while the plight of the majority is simply ignored. It almost feel like the Blade Runner society.

It is not mentioned in the series, but at the time, Albert Einstein was a professor in Berlin, and Fritz Lang was the king of Cinema, Walter Gropius founded Bauhaus by that time, Vladimir Nabokov was living there, in short, the great Europeans minds flocked to Berlin in the late 1920s. So what you appreciate in the series is this dicotomy. How a society with so much brilliance, talent and efficiency could have rebuild itself slowly and become a prosperous nation, but later the population made wrong choices and followed the call that ended up in a disaster that they will never recover. I was in Berlin 2 tears ago, and saw how damaged the city is and felt so sorry for them and their curse.

The series gives us some contex that help us understand how many people, mostly good intentioned, ended up supporting a system in 1933 that was almost non existent in the 20s (fascism). Their regime at the time was democratic, with a free press, a legal system, parliament, etc.

Babylon Berlin is not only politics. It is also thriller, romance, drama and action. The main actors Gereon and Lotte are very charismatic and you cheer for them all the time, because they come from disfunctional families, but they try to do the right thing all the time. It is almos impossible not to fall in love with Lotte.

The rest of the cast is also very good looking, but still keeping the beauty standars accurate with the early 20th century. Their nude bodies are beautiful, but never arousing. The nakedness is constant, but never out of place. And people smoke all the time, whic is also accurate. There is almost no scene without a cigarette.

I hope most people enjoy just like I did

I watched this after listening to an NPR review. I love history, but crime and violence Is not my usual genre. This is such an amazingly shot series with twist and turns through out the plot that I have become fully addicted up to epi 8( even with the subtitles). A dark story during dark & violent times in 1929 Berlin, it is full of sad situations, the afternath of war on it's vets and population, corruption, decadence and interesting characters. Perhaps a lesson for current times, but when have we ever learned from the past? This series deserves all the accolades & awards it's been given.Give it a go, you won't be sorry.

There really aren't enough adjectives to describe Babylon Berlin, an incredible German television series. And I have to echo what the other reviewers say, watch it in German with English subtitles.

This is 1920s Berlin, and the show immediately pulls you into that world, that atmosphere of the Weimar era.

This was a time of great upheaval in Germany - there is poverty, no work, and yet Berlin is a city of great art and hedonistic pleasure. The story focuses on a police inspector, Gereon Rath, who comes to Berlin to break a pornography ring. Along the way he meets a part-time prostitute, Charlotte Ritter, who also works as a stenographer, and he teams up with another officer, Bruno Wolter, as his partner.

This is Berlin during a time of political unrest, the rise of National Socialism (Nazis) and other far-right groups.

Some of the scenes in this series are so stunning they demand repeated viewings - most notably the nightclub scene in season 1, one of the most thrilling things I've ever seen. That's the only one I'll mention so I won't give anything away. But you can't beat Babylon Berlin for edge of your seat excitement and tension.

Impeccably filmed, impeccably directed, impeccably written, impeccably acted, featuring some amazing characters, Babylon Berlin is a must see.

I was quite aware of the history of German film making which excelled up until the 40's. Babylon Berlin has shown me that the German film industry is not in limbo anymore, but is now making a major comeback with such wonderful mini-series as this one.

The cinematography, acting, set designs are just superb.

I can not get enough of this great series.

To the directors, actors and film crews I want to thank you all for this masterpiece and keep up the good work.