The Reader (2008) official trailer HD
The Reader(2008)
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2008 · FILM
The Reader
Teen Michael’s yearning for affection draws him into a forbidden summer romance with enigmatic tram conductor Hanna, but her mysterious secrecy threatens to shatter his first love and leave him confronting the painful emptiness of abandonment.
“Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.”
DramaMysteryRomance
Synopsis
The film follows Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, becomes involved in an affair with Hanna, an older woman who later disappears. She reappears years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial, having served as a concentration camp guard toward the end of the war. Michael is the only one who discovers that Hanna is illiterate and realizes she is hiding this fact, potentially at the cost of her freedom.
Credits
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Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Director
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 45+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Claire SimpsonShot by Roger DeakinsScored by Nico MuhlyDesigned by Brigitte Broch
Box Office
2008 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.4× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$108.9M
Budget$32.0M
Worldwide gross$108.9M
break-even (2.5×)
US & Canada: $34.2M — 31% of worldwide · International: $74.7M (69%)
Opening weekend: $12K — 0% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $12K — 0% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Der Vorleserde
- El lectores
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Cast & Crew
45 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Kate Winslet
as Hanna Schmitz
Ralph Fiennes
as Michael Berg
Bruno Ganz
as Professor Rohl
David Kross
as Young Michael Berg
Jeanette Hain
as Brigitte
Lena Olin
as Rose Mather
Susanne Lothar
as Carla Berg
Alissa Wilms
as Emily Berg
Hannah Herzsprung
as Julia
Florian Bartholomai
as Thomas Berg
Karoline Herfurth
as Marthe
Friederike Becht
as Angela Berg
Supporting cast
19Volker Bruch
as Dieter Spenz
Matthias Habich
as Peter Berg
Alexandra Maria Lara
as Young Ilana Mather
Fabian Busch
as Hanna's Defense Council
Vijessna Ferkic
as Sophie
Donna Maloney
as … Costume Design
Burghart Klau Ner
as Judge
Sylvester Groth
as Prosecuting Council
Jurgen Tarrach
as Gerhard Bade
Moritz Grove
as Holger
Kirsten Block
as Female Judge
Margarita Broich
as Co-Defendant
Marie Gruber
as Co-Defendant
Martin Brambach
as Remand Prison Guard #1
Carmen Maja Antoni
as Prison Librarian
Heike Hanold Lynch
as Prison Guard
Linda Bassett
as Ms. Brenner
Ludwig Blochberger
as Student
Benjamin Trinks
as Holger's friend
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
4Other crew
7Parents Guide
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Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
MPA·RUSRe-ratedBBFC·15GBRe-ratedFSK·FSK 12DERe-ratedACB·MAURe-ratedEirin·R18+JPRe-ratedClassInd·16BRRe-ratedCNC·12FRRe-ratedICAA·18ESRe-ratedIFCO·16IERe-ratedKMRB·19KRRe-ratedCANADA·RRe-ratedCZECH REPUBLIC·18+Re-ratedHUNGARY·16Re-ratedMALAYSIA·18PLRe-ratedPOLAND·18Re-ratedPORTUGAL·M/16Re-ratedROMANIA·18Re-ratedSINGAPORE·R21Re-ratedSWEDEN·BtlRe-ratedTURKEY·15+Re-rated
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Trailers
The Reader (2008) official trailer HD
The Reader(2008)
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