User reviews

Not being much of a crime story fan, it was by sheer accident that I watched the first episode at all.

But it quickly earned my attention. Spectacular camera work, beautiful nature setting, a thrilling story and brilliant characters. Watched the whole series with my wife and we both thought it was excellent.

My personal favorite, as I love Austria and the Austrian accent, of course was Nicholas Ofczareks portrayal of detective Winter. He has most of the greatest moments. Add some great music by Wolfgang Ambros - and there you have a surprisingly perfect package that Sky produced.

Breathtaking scenery... Winter had a solid performance from every perspective A must watch if you're a fan of a dark thriller

Der Pass would have to be in the running for best catch-a-serial-killer series this year, and maybe this decade. Shot in the Alps, it never shies away from using the topography to great effect, both with locations and cinematography. There's some interesting characters. I would have preferred detectives without shady backstories and secret relationships for a change, but it seems we the public have to live with that trend a while longer. Certainly the back stories here do add a definite dramatic element and consequence to the investigation, so at least it's all part of one package. Loved the lead male detective dressing like an anti-Oscar Wilde! Loved the lead female detective dressed in red, which really added a symbolism. Der Pass never lets up on the suspense and the surprise. The killer is certainly high functioning, and fully engages attention. The soundscape was awesome too, modern and sophisticated, at an appropriate level, and here and there a good German song. Perfect for a binge.

I don't know about you ,do you notice small details? I do.Those small details defines craftsmanship. This show is made with love,its clearly visible.The creator put their heart and soul in it. From the mystical cinematography to Hans Zimmer's cryptic background score ,from each and every cast member doing their best to near perfect portrayal of a psychopath,this show excells at everything. Them germans know how to touch viewers heart by their art . Looking forward to season 2.

Gideon and Ellie I ll never forget them. The change in contrast & chemistry between these two is one of the best on screen friendship i have ever witnessed,congrats on winning best drama series of 2020.

Excellent production with beautiful cinematography. Have been very wary of Sky-productions in the past, because they simply were not good. This one is a bit of a slow burner in the beginning, but quickly gains steam. Has everything a good thriller needs: mulit-layered protagonists, a little bit of mistery, great score and decent writing. Really nice surprise and a great series for the winter months.

If there's one show you should definitely watch it's Der Pass, my god what a suspenseful show and the acting from Nicholas Ofczarek is Oscar worthy 👏 I can't wait for more seasons to follow.

The show and the myth it delves into are great but all in all I can sum this up with one simple thought.... whether made in Germany or in America have a series with Winter walking around scoffing at everyone and everything and causally eating meals during extremely intense interrogations and I am ALL IN!!!

This is a wonderful noir European crime drama. Exactly what I love. Very dark and atmospheric. The characters are nuanced and damaged the scenery is beautiful and ominous at the same time. That being said I do have one major complaint about the show. In my area at least, and I live in the US, This program is only available in dubbed version. I hate dubbing and always opt for subtitles., but this is probably the worst dubbing I have ever seen. It really took me out of the story and almost ruined it for me. The voices were completely inappropriate for the characters and honestly it sounded like the same two people doing all the voices. I persevered and watched the whole thing but honestly it was painful at times. I wish people would understand that the original voices convey the story so much better than silly inappropriate American voices. And that we aren't so stupid that we can't follow along with subtitles.. if it weren't for that I would have given a higher rating.

Absolutely fantastic. Multilayered story and characters developing over time. Dangerously addictive story.

"Der Pass" is a European crime drama with a dark soul, as cold as its setting.

The story itself is intriguing but i do feel it became a little loose, as it headed into the last episode.

The mythology tie in is clever too but again it felt less and less relevant to the overall tale, as the story unfolded.

Acting is generally excellent and cinematic's top shelf.

In short a solid, moderately believable series, but not without some limitations in terms of the plot elements, that are supposed to bind the tale together.

7/10 from me.

Based on the original format The Bridge it is imho a great adaptation. Like the series The Tunnel which bases also on the same story - and I appreciate much - this series impresses with charismatic actors, beautiful recording locations within the Alps and an incredible sountrack like i've never heard befor in a tv series. I'm not a fan of german tv series - although I'm a german myself - but I can say that this series will be one of my 2019 favorites.

Actors, story, camera and look are really great. I would love to see a season two.

I really like gritty dark crime series and they happen to be my favourite genre. This show is a copy cat in atmosphere, mood etc... to the danish/Swedish crime series and it is good. The really big complaint I have though is there are too many dead animals in scenes. This seems to be the rave theses days is to sprinkle dead animals into tv series. I find it disgusting unnecessary and upsetting. I get that characters on shows are hunters but IMHO that does not mean writers have to be so tasteless in showing us the results of this appalling excuse for a sport! Hunting for food because you have to eat is a different matter but I still do not want to see the dead animals in the show. It makes me angry and sad as animals are helpless creatures and truly it is totally unnecessary to show them dead and slayed out/skinned/hanging from hooks/being tortured etc...

Top show, main characters evolve nicely throughout. Before you know it your invested in their destiny. Captivating... Well done..!

I enjoyed this series from start to beginning. The acting is great, I love that they did not try to cover the Austrian aeccent. The story is intriguing and surprises more than once. Overall a 10 because normally I find series from the genre rather dull - this one however got me hooked!

This series is absolutely amazing! I have a tendency to look for dramas that feature a cop who has a dishevelled appearance and questionable background who carries a load of baggage with them. This series fits that bill perfectly! DCI Winter is a perfect character, well acted, and absolutely engrossing. Ellie, the other cop, carries her own sort of emotional baggage that complements her partner's issues perfectly. The story was spot on, keeping me on the edge of my seat right to the end, the second series did not fail to deliver either. I don't know what it is with German and Polish TV dramas at the moment, but they deliver in bucketloads. More, more, more!!!

The pilot (the first two or three episodes actually) was great but sadly the series crashes in the end: too many characters, too many subplots, too many hints given and not developed. And that end... that stupid end. Unforgivable

What a suprisingly muder hunt. Great actors, great soundtrack (I mean Hans Zimmer, enough said) great shots and scenery. Totally worth the watch.

Oh no I thought, "Its the Bridge in the hills".

I was so wrong.

Another great drama from our European friends, and no sex scenes yet it still works!

Shall watch the second series.

It's a good TV cop drama with interesting characters, well produced and acted. It's involving with its many characters. Unfortunately it's one of those shows that wants to give us something different and consequently sacrifices good story telling to pull it off. It reminds me of the second season of True Detective where tension and momentum just fizzle away toward the end and doesn't pick up again.

Have those people never seen a single cop show before ? I read lots of reviews and so decided to watch the first series. Started good, nice shots, odd storyline which I'm a fan of, then it got tedious and a bit of a slog.

I found it difficult to continue, but I'm the type that likes to see something through, I need the end result. Sadly, as with some of my actual relationships in life, it didn't work out for me and I feel I invested too much time in it. I had series 2 lined up, but I'm going to find something else instead I reckon. After I just finished S1, I came back here and scrolled down to eventually find some negative, and more honest reviews. And yes, that ending, dear oh dear.

Worth watching if you can't find anything else at all. Oh I really enjoyed the Bridge and stayed away from the other 'remakes' of that show, well until now I realise. Sorry, it just didn't fulfil me.

The producers are the same who did DARK, which is an excellent recommendation. Excellent mood and beauty of mountain landscapes on the border between Germany and Austria. Great actors, they simply "do the job". Strong, addictive, sharply confusing thing requiring attention of the viewer .

While the script is not a stand out, this show is illustrative of how the way you present it goes a long way. There's some satisfying and unsatisfying subversions of the genre but it's mostly a straight forward story.

What made it excellent is its consistency and commitment to telling a realistic, sometimes lacklustre story via fantastic editing, structure, performances, and especially cinematography. It's just a complete pleasure to consume and feels innovative for the genre, which tends to dwell in realism while sometimes struggling to make that aspect of it interesting. The jump cuts, flashbacks, shot compositions - all of it makes every part of the story compelling television.

If another season had an even more intelligent script with a more pronounced/interesting thematic through line, I think this could reach True Detective s1 status. It has a lot of potential.