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The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz

  • 2000
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz (2000)
Dark ComedySatireComedyDramaFantasyMystery

A man comes to London, uses a strange force to take over different men's identities, and creates chaos.A man comes to London, uses a strange force to take over different men's identities, and creates chaos.A man comes to London, uses a strange force to take over different men's identities, and creates chaos.

  • Director
    • Ben Hopkins
  • Writers
    • Thomas Browne
    • Rob Cheek
    • Ben Hopkins
  • Stars
    • Tom Fisher
    • Ian McNeice
    • Tony Maudsley
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    1.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ben Hopkins
    • Writers
      • Thomas Browne
      • Rob Cheek
      • Ben Hopkins
    • Stars
      • Tom Fisher
      • Ian McNeice
      • Tony Maudsley
    • 16User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 2 nominations total

    Photos

    Top cast49

    Edit
    Tom Fisher
    Tom Fisher
    • No…
    Ian McNeice
    Ian McNeice
    • The Inspector
    Tony Maudsley
    Tony Maudsley
    • Taxi driver
    Will Keen
    Will Keen
    • Cuthbert
    Andrew Melville
    • Minister of fish
    Matthew Causton
    • Gallows Nelson
    Toby Jones
    Toby Jones
    • Civil servant
    Asif Kapadia
    Asif Kapadia
    • Gwupigrubynudny-landians
    Kris Krishnamma
    • Gwupigrubynudny-landians
    Jamille Jinnah
    • Gwupigrubynudny-landians
    Sophie Bevan
    • Journalist
    Kiki Kendrick
    Kiki Kendrick
    • Eileen
    Trevor Thomas
    • Schlauch
    Amelia Curtis
    Amelia Curtis
    • Yvonne
    Tilly Blackwood
    Tilly Blackwood
    • Underworld secretary
    David de Keyser
    David de Keyser
    • Exhumed rabbi
    John Ramm
    • Ivul Gurk
    Janet Henfrey
    Janet Henfrey
    • Janice Waily
    • Director
      • Ben Hopkins
    • Writers
      • Thomas Browne
      • Rob Cheek
      • Ben Hopkins
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews16

    6.81.2K
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    Featured reviews

    6thomasacker

    Apocalyptic comedy/art-house

    This black and white film was shot on a low budget in London. It is quite funny, but occasionally in fact often very odd. I think the oddness may have been because the production was German and they have a different sense of humour over there or alternatively it may have been because the director was just having a laugh with his Art School mates.

    Very funny in places though. I enjoyed it.

    Apparently I have to write more so I will also say that the film uses old testament themes to play out an apocalypse in contemporary London. Much of this is quite interesting however according to my mum "the film could have done with better editing". I would say this is accurate
    10haapaq

    Surreal Adventure

    How do I describe this one of a kind masterpiece?

    I could tell you to throw the work of David Lynch, Monty Python, Stanley Kubrick, Guy Maddin, and Maya Deren into a blender, and you might have an idea as to what this film will be like.

    This film is extremely clever, and very thought provoking. However, one can also enjoy loud bursts of laughter throughout this film as well. The comedy is very fresh and even irreverent at times, making it a great dark comedy for those who like a more intellectual film rather than a box-office hit.

    This film is not for narrow minded people. If you can't sit through a film that requires constant thought, you're best to just stay away and prevent people from bashing a great film.
    10sashamalchik

    A great mind-trip

    This movie defies description, categorization, genre placement. There is simply almost nothing like it - a clever mind trip that relentlessly weaves the plot in a neck-breaking-paced surreal, absurdest, postmodern apocalyptic story with a great soundtrack, trippiest image sequences, great sense of humor, and deep paranoia and darkness. Despite using seemingly gimmicky effects and tricks, very low budget and mostly black-and-white shooting, this movie feels so well done and so well narrated, they don't hinder it at all as they would many other movies - instead, as if on the height of its "genre", this movie absolutely flourishes with them, as the very best silent movies do on their own unhindered by the absence of sound. A must see, but also definitely a "not-for-everyone-er".
    6LunarPoise

    even the bollards

    Ben Hopkins in The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz presents a Kafkaesque take on London on the verge of apocalypse. Ian McNeice is a million miles from Bert in Doc Martin, reveling in the role of the blind police inspector trying, through psychic means, to make sense of it all. His enjoyment of the role is infectious. There are some genuinely funny set-ups here, carried off by a cast not afraid to go for high camp. The comedy works most of the time, but when deeper meanings are the target the film is a little hit-and-miss. Shot ultra-low budget, it looks like a very slick student movie, but has enough laughs and surprises to overcome its aesthetic limitations. The films big achievement is to present London in a fresh, and vaguely frightening, way. More of interest to aspiring lo-budget filmmakers than a general audience.
    critiquer

    Big cabbage of a movie

    As the movie started, I have expected somehow good picture, an intriguing mix of art and expressionism. And I've got all of that, but in the very bad way. The movie starts very promising (accelerated crowd in London with techno soundtrack + first blust of Tomas) but that's where ends everything nice and reign of absurd starts. And it made me starting to hate the movie, and left me confused and angry. I'm not a huge fan of art movies but I could watch anything while it has a logical story to follow. And, the most important, while it is tasteful. This movie isn't! It has a short story of the end of the world with many unconnected and unnecessary scenes which spoil the whole movie. I am a huge fan of Monty Pyton. It isn't very logical but it is very tasteful. This movie is mainly a BAD TASTE.

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    Related interests

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in Fleabag (2016)
    Dark Comedy
    Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
    Satire
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      'Gwupigrubynudny' means in polish 'stupid-fat-boring'.
    • Quotes

      [After establishing that the children in general are at fault for the state of the nation]

      Ivul Gurk: Well, well, we could, ah, talk forever - is there a solution?

      Tomas Katz: Yes! I have it here. It's a tuning fork. I acquired it through the Sunday Times recent innovation feature.

      Ivul Gurk: Tuning Fork of Annihilation: Broadcast a melodious hum of this durable stainless steel tuning fork across the airwaves and cause the destruction of all domestic televisions and the death of all children who hear it. Wow, what will they think of, next?

    • Crazy credits
      After the names of the production companies in the opening titles, the words comprising the sentence "A Film Found Beneath A Stone" flash sequentially onto the screen.
    • Connections
      Referenced in Lindenstraße: Fremdes Terrain (2000)
    • Soundtracks
      Die Wallfahrt Nach Kevlaar
      Musical Text from by Heinrich Heine

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 11, 2001 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Germany
    • Official site
      • ED Distribution (France)
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • Latin
      • Hebrew
      • Polish
    • Also known as
      • Девять жизней Томаса Катца
    • Filming locations
      • Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • G2 Films
      • Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion (GFF)
      • Strawberry Vale Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $8,488
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 27m(87 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White

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