

The Tin Drum
A savage, sweeping epic of society in chaos.
In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.
TMDB
7.0/10
564 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $3M
- Box office
- $17M
- Language
- German
- puberty
- adultery
- lolita
- suicide
- based on novel or book
- nazi
- dwarf
- gdansk, poland
- circus
- toxication
- germany
- married couple
Top billed cast












Behind the camera
Director
Music
Produced in
France, Germany, Poland
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- TheatricalR11 Apr 1980
CzechiaCZ
- Theatrical15+12 May 1994
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical152 May 1979
FinlandFI
- Theatrical2 Nov 1979
- PhysicalDVD21 Oct 2005
- PhysicalDVD, Director's cut21 Aug 2020
FranceFR
- PremiereCannes Film Festival18 May 1979
- TheatricalU19 Sept 1979
- PhysicalDIrector's cut (155mn), DVD/BD31 May 2017
GermanyDE
- Theatrical162 May 1979
- TV1 May 1984
ItalyIT
- Theatrical14 Mar 1980
JapanJP
- TheatricalR18+11 Apr 1981
NetherlandsNL
- Theatrical1224 Jan 1980
- Physical12DVD2 Dec 2004
- TV12RTL 59 Jun 2005
RussiaSU
- Theatrical (limited)Retrospective of producer Anatole Dauman (Moscow)3 Mar 1990
SlovakiaSK
- Theatrical19 Oct 2017
South KoreaKR
- Theatrical185 May 1988
Frequently asked questions
The Tin Drum was released on 2 May 1979.
Audience reviews
1- M
MoHA
5/1/2015
A smart movie powered by David Bennent's performance Oskar is a young man in World War II Germany who refuses to grow up when he was three years old. He deliberately let himself fall on a stair to injure himself and stop his growth. Oskar's refusal to grow and release his tin drum is an obvious metaphor about refusing the Nazi regime. This is made more obvious since he finally decided to grow and let go of his dru…
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