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IMDbPro

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

  • 2008
  • PG-13
  • 1h 34m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
269K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,793
202
Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
This is the theatrical trailer for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, directed by Mark Herman.
Play trailer2:16
7 Videos
60 Photos
Period DramaPrison DramaPsychological DramaTragedyDramaWar

Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has ... Read allThrough the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.

  • Director
    • Mark Herman
  • Writers
    • John Boyne
    • Mark Herman
  • Stars
    • Asa Butterfield
    • David Thewlis
    • Rupert Friend
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    269K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,793
    202
    • Director
      • Mark Herman
    • Writers
      • John Boyne
      • Mark Herman
    • Stars
      • Asa Butterfield
      • David Thewlis
      • Rupert Friend
    • 633User reviews
    • 144Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 7 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos7

    The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: Trailer
    Trailer 2:16
    The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: Trailer
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I'm Exploring
    Clip 1:02
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I'm Exploring
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I'm Exploring
    Clip 1:02
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I'm Exploring
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: Be Careful
    Clip 1:02
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: Be Careful
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I Want To Make A Swing
    Clip 1:00
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I Want To Make A Swing
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: This Is Not War
    Clip 1:01
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: This Is Not War
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I Want To Go Home
    Clip 1:02
    The Boy In The Striped Pajamas: I Want To Go Home

    Photos60

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    Top Cast27

    Edit
    Asa Butterfield
    Asa Butterfield
    • Bruno
    David Thewlis
    David Thewlis
    • Father
    Rupert Friend
    Rupert Friend
    • Lieutenant Kotler
    Zac Mattoon O'Brien
    • Leon
    • (as Zac Mattoon-O'Brien)
    Domonkos Németh
    • Martin
    Henry Kingsmill
    • Karl
    Vera Farmiga
    Vera Farmiga
    • Mother
    Cara Horgan
    Cara Horgan
    • Maria
    Zsuzsa Holl
    • Berlin Cook
    Amber Beattie
    Amber Beattie
    • Gretel
    László Áron
    László Áron
    • Lars
    Richard Johnson
    Richard Johnson
    • Grandpa
    Sheila Hancock
    Sheila Hancock
    • Grandma
    Charlie Baker
    • Palm Court Singer
    Iván Verebély
    • Meinberg
    Béla Fesztbaum
    • Schultz
    Attila Egyed
    • Heinz
    David Hayman
    David Hayman
    • Pavel
    • Director
      • Mark Herman
    • Writers
      • John Boyne
      • Mark Herman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews633

    7.7268.7K
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    Featured reviews

    9tomashaffenden-1

    Perfectly weighted film...

    I'm a man's man, and it takes something really exceptional to break my emotionless machine persona. This film ripped me apart and reminded me (and my partner) of humanity inside even the most hardened man.

    Perfectly weighted film in every way, from pace to acting and all framed with a wonderful score. The subtlety of the looks passing between the actors and a finale that ensured silence until the final credit rolled, makes this one of the best films i've seen in a long time.

    This is the first review I have never written and i cannot think of a better way to have opened my account.
    10sophie-l-chapman

    Amazing

    Although it starts of slow,you soon get wrapped up in the story and feel as if you are there. It's amazing to see the different points of view and the acting is so believable you feel as if it is all happening there and then. I have cried at films in the cinema before but this is the only film that has made me want to sob. When it finished and the credits started rolling, no one moved from their seats or said anything. We were all shocked, and when people did start to get up an leave the cinema, still no one said anything. It is the best film i have ever seen and recommend everyone sees it.

    Sophie x x x
    8sara-343

    Moving + doesn't put a foot wrong

    You don't often sit in a BAFTA screening and hear weeping behind you but even the most hardened cineaste would be moved by this look at the holocaust through an Aryan child's eyes.

    It is beautifully scripted, acted and shot too - with none of the anachronisms of taste and language that bedevil historically-set films such as The Duchess.

    A small, British movie with an unusual take on a ghastly and well-worn subject.

    PS - for parents: It's a 12A in Britain and I wouldn't take a child under about eleven. Nor would I let them go alone.
    10Niazbd

    A movie that everyone must watch

    I was sitting at the very back row of Cineworld, Dublin screen nine and struggling with my tears. I thought it would be extremely embarrassing if people see tears in my eyes. But I was so wrong! The lady sitting beside me was crying like anything. Finally we ended up with the move and it started showing casts on its black screen. But, not a single person moved from his seat or probably lost their (including myself) power to move. The only sound I heard was the sound of people's emotion. Guy sitting one row before me hugged his girlfriend who were crying like a little kid. The guy himself was also in tear. I saw a girl from Cineworld cleaning staff with horrifying red eyes. Everyone was spellbound there!

    I am talking about the movie THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, unexpectedly a too good movie. I didn't have a single clue about the movie itself and just tried to explore something new. Fortunately or unfortunately, Bruno (main cast of the movie), a young 8-years old kid who love to explore new world explored too much for us that made us all cry while leaving the cinema. I just don't want to spoil your entertainment by giving hints about the story. Rather, I would suggest you to watch the movie and discover some critical facts that sometime we forget in this heartless world.

    THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, a movie from an Irish writer and an English director; everyone must watch. If you tell me to rate, I would say, 1 to 10 scale is not enough to rate this movie. We better keep it above rating!
    9tpurcell-1

    One of the most affecting pieces of Cinema released in years

    There are more dramatic and more philosophical pieces of cinema dealing with this very emotive subject, but few deal with the horror, futility and falsehood of the "final solution" with such clear simplicity. We see the lead characters as both humans and monsters we see internal conflict and how they each come to terms with their conflicts, above all we see how futile their conclusions were.

    There will be the predictable comparisons with Schindler's List but you might also want to compare this movie to "The Counterfeiters" which also deals with the conflicts necessary to survive. Watching this movie I kept being drawn back to Primo Levi's book "If This is Man" the story of his time as a prisoner suffering from this evil.

    The great success of the film is its simplicity, it does not seek to over analyse but simply allows the development of the characters to tell the story.

    One of the contributers spoke of how he was in screen 9 (if I remember correctly) in Cineworld Dublin - I was in Screen 11 and I can had the same experience, the film ended and no one moved, all were in a state of shock, no, sorrow. This is not a film for young children, but older children and adults familiar with the evil addressed in this movie should go and see it. This movie deserves great success. I rate it 9 out of 10 and would have given it a perfect score except for some small technical questions, but none that take away from this fantastic piece of cinema - All associated with this movie should be rightly proud of there work and if any of you read these comments - Thank You!

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    Related interests

    Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)
    Period Drama
    Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
    Prison Drama
    Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    Psychological Drama
    Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea (2016)
    Tragedy
    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
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    War

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Bruno's parents are named Ralf and Elsa, but in the credits of the film they are listed as "Father" and "Mother." This is a tribute to the novel, in which the narrative focuses solely on Bruno's point of view.
    • Goofs
      At Auschwitz, (and other camps) there were double fences, 3 meters apart, around the compound. Too much distance for an outsider to touch an insider.
    • Quotes

      Shmuel: I wish you'd remembered the chocolate.

      Bruno: Yes, I'm sorry. I know! Perhaps you can come and have supper with us sometime.

      Shmuel: I can't, can I? Because of this.

      [points the electric fence]

      Bruno: But that's to stop the animals getting out, isn't it?

      Shmuel: Animals? No, it's to stop people getting out.

      Bruno: Are you not allowed out? Why? What have you done?

      Shmuel: I'm a Jew.

    • Crazy credits
      Quotation displayed before the opening titles: "Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows - John Betjeman"
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Quantum of Solace/Madagascar 2/Soul Men/Repo! The Genetic Opera/The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      Rhythm For You
      Written by Eddy Christiani and Frans Poptie

      Courtesy of APM Music

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    FAQ26

    • How long is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?Powered by Alexa
    • Is "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" based on a book?
    • How do Bruno and Shmuel meet?
    • If the movie is set in Germany, why do they have English accents?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 26, 2008 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • El niño con el pijama de rayas
    • Filming locations
      • Kerepesi Cemetery, Budapest, Hungary
    • Production companies
      • Miramax
      • BBC Film
      • Heyday Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $9,046,156
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $253,085
      • Nov 9, 2008
    • Gross worldwide
      • $40,416,563
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 34m(94 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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