IMDb RATING
7.8/10
35K
YOUR RATING
Two terminally ill patients escape from a hospital, steal a car and rush towards the sea.Two terminally ill patients escape from a hospital, steal a car and rush towards the sea.Two terminally ill patients escape from a hospital, steal a car and rush towards the sea.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 3 nominations total
Willi Thomczyk
- Autoverkäufer
- (as Willy Thomczyk)
Featured reviews
The TV guide described the two leads in _KoHD_ as terminally ill gangsters, so when I came to watch it I discovered something quite different from what I had expected.
_KoHD_ is an excellent film that blends facets of gangster, buddy, road movie, comedy and drama genres together into a seamless whole. Initially, Martin and Rudi are, of course, hopelessly mismatched. As they travel towards the sea (their ultimate goal), the relationship between the two men begins to change. The nervous Rudi finds strength and confidence; Martin, on the other hand, who is initially by far the stronger of the pair, comes to rely more upon Rudi for strength and assistance.
Much have been made of the comedy in _KoHD_, and this is a major component - it is the humour that makes the film (which could have been utterly bleak) ultimately an uplifting experience. That being said, however, just when you forget that both men are dying you are reminded forcefully that they are both, as the title suggests, knocking on heaven's door. These two forces - the pathos and the comedy - provide a wonderful balance. Thumbs up.
_KoHD_ is an excellent film that blends facets of gangster, buddy, road movie, comedy and drama genres together into a seamless whole. Initially, Martin and Rudi are, of course, hopelessly mismatched. As they travel towards the sea (their ultimate goal), the relationship between the two men begins to change. The nervous Rudi finds strength and confidence; Martin, on the other hand, who is initially by far the stronger of the pair, comes to rely more upon Rudi for strength and assistance.
Much have been made of the comedy in _KoHD_, and this is a major component - it is the humour that makes the film (which could have been utterly bleak) ultimately an uplifting experience. That being said, however, just when you forget that both men are dying you are reminded forcefully that they are both, as the title suggests, knocking on heaven's door. These two forces - the pathos and the comedy - provide a wonderful balance. Thumbs up.
As a german and former huge fan of actor til schweiger it was very important for me to see this movie when it was released in 1997. I wasn't disappointed at all, because this is probably one of the best movies ever. It is so entertaining because it is including a lot of humor (probably a lot of german humor), action and drama. Also very good is the performance of Moritz Bleibtreu, who became well-known, because of his great play of a turkish-german gangster. But this is ,as far as Im concerned, only funny for people who understand german very well.It would be quite nice for american people to watch a REALLY good german movie, that is better as some hollywood movies counted together. If you have the opinion to see it , use your chance!
2 men who were sentenced to death by their doctors spent their precious remaining time together to experience something they never had chance to do before when they occasionally found a lot of money two stupid gangsters left.
This is a crazy comedy with good entertainment, and because we know the tragical end, so the highly contrast of the hilarious story really make me have a bittersweet feeling which is wonderful.
Their last wish is to see sea with their own eyes, a quite common wish but they never did before. We always think we have a lot of time to do things we want to do, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We never have the courage to do something derailed from our normal track of life, and gradually lost the aim and fun of it, living numbly and waiting to the final destination.
The cast is good and I Love Til Schweiger so much, really a charming role! Moritz Bleibtreu is outstanding as one of the moron gangster too.
I rarely watch Germany comedic films, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is an exception even it might be too crazy for some people, still need a good recommendation.
This is a crazy comedy with good entertainment, and because we know the tragical end, so the highly contrast of the hilarious story really make me have a bittersweet feeling which is wonderful.
Their last wish is to see sea with their own eyes, a quite common wish but they never did before. We always think we have a lot of time to do things we want to do, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We never have the courage to do something derailed from our normal track of life, and gradually lost the aim and fun of it, living numbly and waiting to the final destination.
The cast is good and I Love Til Schweiger so much, really a charming role! Moritz Bleibtreu is outstanding as one of the moron gangster too.
I rarely watch Germany comedic films, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is an exception even it might be too crazy for some people, still need a good recommendation.
This movie is not bad, but it is not to good either. I would classify it as a fairy-tale. Rudi and Martin, to about 30-years old man, have both cancer and flee out of their hospital. They make a journey to the sea und use their last days to fulfil their wishes.
By intention this movie is far from realism. For example, you never see symptoms of illness at Rudi, despite he is very sick of bone cancer. There are lot of gunfights, but no one dies or gets hurt. In one scene dozens of police cars chase the two guys. The two main gangsters, Henk and Abdul, are in their black suits a mixture of Tarantino-style guys and the typical german smalltown thug.
That makes the movie very light-hearted, but a bit stupid also. To me good fun for 90 minutes, but I would not look it a second time.
By intention this movie is far from realism. For example, you never see symptoms of illness at Rudi, despite he is very sick of bone cancer. There are lot of gunfights, but no one dies or gets hurt. In one scene dozens of police cars chase the two guys. The two main gangsters, Henk and Abdul, are in their black suits a mixture of Tarantino-style guys and the typical german smalltown thug.
That makes the movie very light-hearted, but a bit stupid also. To me good fun for 90 minutes, but I would not look it a second time.
10andlommy
After watching the movie for 11th time i decided to share what i think of it.
It is simply great. By great i mean the idea that is (supposedly) very deep inside. Perhaps it's about the ultimate goal, that everyone has and hasn't got time to fulfill it, and when the moment comes that makes one understand 'now is the right time'. Sometimes it's too late, sometimes one never understands it is time to change something, but for those two, life was a success. Quoting matrix (kill me), it's the "free your mind" style, when all problems go away and you can do whatever you want to do. It's actually a very thrilling experience, and hope this movie can inspire someone to change something in the rhythm of life they're currently living. I like movies that make you think different of things, and this surely is one that does so.
It is simply great. By great i mean the idea that is (supposedly) very deep inside. Perhaps it's about the ultimate goal, that everyone has and hasn't got time to fulfill it, and when the moment comes that makes one understand 'now is the right time'. Sometimes it's too late, sometimes one never understands it is time to change something, but for those two, life was a success. Quoting matrix (kill me), it's the "free your mind" style, when all problems go away and you can do whatever you want to do. It's actually a very thrilling experience, and hope this movie can inspire someone to change something in the rhythm of life they're currently living. I like movies that make you think different of things, and this surely is one that does so.
Did you know
- TriviaWas the most successful German movie of 1997 with 3,585,422 tickets sold.
- GoofsWhile Rudi sleeps with the whores the foot of the cameraman can be seen.
- Quotes
Martin Brest: In heaven, they're talking about nothing but the sea and how wonderful it is. They talk about the sunsets they saw, they talk about how the sun turned blood red before diving into the sea and they talk about how they could feel how the sun lost its power and the coolness from the sea and all that fire was only glowing inside.
- Crazy creditsThere is a short film sequence after the credits. It shows Bernd Eichinger being searched by a policeman. He carries some of the money that was sent to different people by mail in the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Inthierryview (2008)
- SoundtracksI Will Survive
By Freddie Perren (as Frederick Perren) / Dino Fekaris
Performed by U-Stay with Melina
Produced by Franz Plasa and Mahony Prod
- How long is Knockin' on Heaven's Door?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- DEM 4,300,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,710
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,731
- Aug 22, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $214,139
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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