User Reviews

When Medical student Paula Henning (Franka Potente, of "Run Lola Run" fame") wins a highly coveted scholarship, she's understandable enthused. But strange experiments are being done on live sedated bodies somewhere on the premises. When she recognizes a corpse as the boy she met on the train there, she decides to snoop around. What starts of as a reasonably captivating little thriller derails completely by the third act and becomes a carbon copy of any other slasher film made, which is a shame as if the film just stayed on target, it would've been something special, as the acting was good into then and the camera-work was pretty good throughout.

My Grade: C

DVD Extras: Commentary with director Stefan Ruzowitzky; 2 Deleted scenes with commentary by director Stefan Ruzowitzky; Anna Loos - My Truth (music video); 2 & a half minute Make-up featurette; barely 5 minute Making-of featurette; Talent files; Production photos; Storyboard comparisons; Dubbed Teaser & Theatrical trailers; and Trailers for "Circus" (2000) & "Run, Lola, Run"

Before Franka Potente became famous with the Bourne trilogy she made this German movie. As a student in, you guessed it, anatomy she has to go to the most important school to learn that but there is a secret. Some people joined a kind of mason. She notices that something is terrible wrong in the school and she starts to investigate. Wrong. What happens next isn't really horror it's more some kind of thriller but you really have to watch it for the effects. A few years ago it was a hype to see the exhibition Kopferwelten. What you saw there is what we have here only they didn't used real bodies but it was so nicely done that it could be used in classes. It never becomes gory or even bloody, it is really the atmosphere that creates the movie. But it is one that you must have seen because, some people fears that it could happen to you....

You know how (especially US) horror movies start off with quite the shocker? Something scary and most likely bloody? Well in this case we have the exact opposite happening ... we get a class and a lot of jokes about death and other stuff. After that character introduction we get the scary scene ... the scene that might haunt you.

With an actor by the way whom I've come to learn and love in a comedy series - movies based on books. And he plays quite the funny character in them. But here he only has a small (guest) role if you want to call it that. The main focus is on Franka Potentes character and her ... well adventures. Her story and her experience - her will to achieve something and to become somebody ... she will get sidetracked and lose focus of her studies (which says something considering she says she is here to learn and not have fun) ... but it makes sense in the overall scheme of things.

Well played by all involved and a german horror movie that actually is quite scary. It has its good and bad moments of course, but overall I'd say it is more than a decent "teen-movie" effort. It may not have aged great (especially to those understanding what is being said), but it stays a really good movie overall.

Anatomie (Anatomy) is an entertaining and engaging film that falls short of delivering the discomfort that should be connected with the films subject matter. The idea of ethical ignorance in the medical science world is one that pushes the viewer towards discomfort, and the realism of the institutions ('Heidelberg') and the special effects make it a not-entirely easy film to watch.

However, the characters, the script, and the gloss of the film all seem too familiar with the Scream movies that repopularised this sort of genre. Sadly, then, whilst the subject is one to care about, the viewer is presented with another movie full of college student characters that we don't really get a chance to care about, unresolved subplots, and hammy stage-killings that have been reinventing themselves since the memorable Drew Barrymore opening scene in Scream several years back.

Steven Ruzowillzky makes a fair effort of the script and the direction, but pushes no boundaries other than the general theme. Whilst we are presented with an entertaining film with some reasonable performances, we are unfortunately left with the old feeling: nothing is wrong with this film, but nothing is extraordinary either.

An entertaining film, and an interesting chance to see how foreign filmmakers have been influenced by the post-scream 'horror' culture. 6 out of 10

Anatomie is a great horror/suspense movie.It's different from the horror teen movies which are always the same and very boring.Inded!The movie is very well produced and with a lot of creative and scary.I had never watched a german movie in my life ,and now I'll give more attention for them. Because this move deserves attention especially in the rest of the world.

Franka Potente is just superb and pretty.I think she's very cute and has a lot of potential.She's one of the most promisor actresses on hollywood.And now she's only success after she played `The Bourne Identity' and in the next `Try Sennteen'.She has potential!

The movie goes well until the end.In the final hours you'll be a little upset with the twists in the story and some facts not very understandable.But you'll survive!The autopsy scenes are incredible and horrible at the same time.Imagine you, seeing people stripping your body, your organs and muscles.It's just terrieble!But,I think that these things really happens with innocent people.Some `doctors' must go on the streets looking for beggars and deficient people to anatomize their bodies.I think that some institutions do these sort of things and it's really sad!

It's brutal and degrating the way that ,in the movie, doctors do the autopsy in common and nondead people.You can see that this motion picture isn't just to entertain us but for raise doubts about the medicine system in the world.These atrocious facts could be happening right now on your city , and you won't know anything.

This movie is essencial for those who want to follow the medicine carreer.It's a great database!And it worthwhile!

P.S.:Conclusion:Pay attention to the other countrie's movies cause it's not only North America that does it well!

I had never seen Franka Potente before The Bourne identity, and I fell in love with her immediately. So far, I have only been able to get my hands on one film featuring her, and it's a real winner for those that like mystery/suspense with a little gruesomeness.

No, it doesn't feature her bod, nor that of the incredibly beautiful German TV Star Anna Loos. Anna was hilarious with her "naughty" comments throughout. (As an aside, she is supposedly the lead singer of, or a member of a band called Leck mich am Arsch, which is also the name of a Mozart composition. You can have a lot of fun googling that bit of German.) She does do a song in the movie soundtrack.

She is a doctor doing some research and stumbles on an old German medical society that does autopsies on people while they are still alive, using some sort of paralyzing drug. Lots of suspense as they discover she knows who they are and come after her - sort of like Extreme Measures.

Also stars Benno Fürmann, who was in the superb Joyeux Noël, and who I am sure many will see in next year's Speed racer. Yes, it's not just Frake and Anna; there are plenty of German hunks for the ladies.

'Anatomy' popped up on Netflix the other day and so I decided to give it a go. I usually enjoy European films when I give them a chance. The plot of this movie is actually pretty messed up. It's very dark. And yet the film often has quite a light tone in contrast. An upbeat song will play after a really disturbing scene has just been on. And things will happen to characters that should really disturb them, yet they'll be very jovial in the next scene.

The film is not trying to scare you, so much as it disturb you. There are some tense sequences near the end that were used quite effectively however to keep you on the edge of your seat. The tone of the film never really settles on anything. It was as if they were having a hard time deciding exactly which type of a film they wanted to be.

As far as Netflix films goes it's worth a look if you come across it. It's probably not worthy of going out of your way to track it down however (should you be the one person in the world who doesn't have a Netflix account). Not bad, but a little forgettable. 7/10.

1st watched 6/24/2007 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Stefan Rujowitzky): OK thriller, but a little too predictable. This story is based in Germany, which is also where the movie is made. It is about a young medical student who gets a shot to go to a premiere school in Heidelberg and arrives seeing some strange things occurring. Someone she met on the train there and saved, shows up on the school's experimentation table and she's suspecting foul play right away. She does some investigation and the disappearance of her friend leads her to a secret society called AAA(and no it's not Alcoholics Anonymous) that has something to do with the anti-Hippocratic oath and is used to perform experimentations on live people that doctor's wouldn't normally be able to do. She finds out her grandfather(who was a dean at the school) was a big part of establishing it and it's pretty readily filled by members of the school. It's an interesting story but the problem with this movie is how quickly the audience is told what's going on and then it's kind of a horror movie with the heroine fighting off the bad boy of the group that's taking things to the next psychotic level. Although this movie was made in Europe, it plays to a young American audience with it's focus on gore, sex and the horror film premise(which is really it's big downfall) and explains why it probably made good money and spawned a sequel but doesn't necessarily make for a good movie.

ANATOMIE is a German horror thriller which main topic is an interesting issue: the ethic and the limits in medicine. The plot isn't very different from the typical horror flick but this specific thematic turns it a bit more interesting. In the film it's described a secret Masonic organization called A.A.A (Age Actabile Antihippocrate) - which I suppose to be fiction – that denies the Hippocrates's ideals of helping and healing. Medicine is a science, and it must be developed without caring about ethical thoughts they say. It's precisely this "implicit debate" what I found more attractive in this film and different from other flicks. I'm not telling it's completely original or brilliant, I just say it's a bit different, in good way... Apart from that it's a typical movie from the "psycho chasing victim type". It has nice suspense scenes, mainly in the last 15 minutes, but nothing outstanding... I score it 6/10.

Finally got to see this movie last weekend. What a disappointment..it barely reaches "made for TV" level. Given the list of actors, I would have expected something substantially more sophisticated. The movie lacks a good story, well, actually any story for that matter. It has no credibility, instead lots of predictability. Save yourself the money and the time.

I was very curious about Anatomy (aka Anatomie) and if I was going to see it, I was going to have to buy it since no video stores in my area carried the film. Since it was not a low-priced DVD, I did take a chance and thought I'd take a peek at other comments on IMDb. Many of the comments didn't give me enough hope of forking out lots of bucks for a film I had never seen nor had any clues about. I basically got the idea it was a sexy youth-oriented romp being compared to many cookie-cutter teen thrillers. Well, something in the back of my mind told me to ignore those types of comments and buy it! I did, and was I pleasantly surprised!

If it is going to be compared to any other films, I would say it's a variation of Coma and Extreme Measures. I couldn't see any comparison to films like Scream, Urban Legends, et al. Yes, the cast is young (that's because they're med students! At least they aren't the increasingly boring high school type characters), and yes, some are lusty (basically the character played by Anna Loos is, and it is handled quite tastefully in the German language version), but Anatomy is well constructed, there is a tense mood throughout, the sets are amazing, the makeup effects are a wow, and Franka Potente is very credible in her role. I found myself enjoying all of it despite a few gaping holes in the plot! The story of a student discovering a sort-of secret society doing autopsies on still-living patients is a rather creepy scenario and what happens to those patients afterwards is quite clever. Sure, you could ask why didn't she just GET OUT OF THAT TOWN? Okay, but then the film would be over within a half hour.

This was the first effort from the German part of Columbia Pictures, and it's actually quite an impressive one. There was a bit of care in the production and to actually offer some genuine thrills is an accomplishment. It is a bit mature in mind, as it doesn't resort to constant opportunities for sexual encounters(a breast fest) or juvenile drug jokes. Anna Loos' character, while often making sexual remarks and looking for some fun, was actually a nice touch--having a character that was a woman more intelligent than any of the men in the school. She found that sex was really just a distraction for her and the men rather lacking.

THE IMPORTANT STUFF: Watching this film in the original German language with English or French subtitles is the BEST way to enjoy it. I saw the theatrical trailers dubbed in English and was disgusted by the change it made in the film's tone. I have never seen a properly dubbed film in my life--they never can find voices that suit the film's actors or characters. Sure enough, I tried to watch some of Anatomy dubbed in English and the intelligence level of it dropped severely, making it seem more like a comedy. A good example is when one guy was freaked out at being cut open and screamed to be sewn back up--hearing it in German he sounded frantic, but dubbed in English he sounded like a comedian. Frankly, I'm sick of hearing people say they can't handle reading subtitles or watch a "letterboxed" film. Anatomy comes off as silly with dubbed voices that seem octaves too high for any of the people you see in the film, and Anna Loos' sexual comments then just sound like awful remarks right out of Fast Times At Ridgemont High. I wonder if the negative comments about Anatomy are from people who watched it dubbed, it just doesn't seem like the same film at all! This is not a cheap horror film and deserves to be viewed as it was created. Interesting to note that some of the English subtitles are different in scenes in the feature and the "making of" supplement.

As it turns out, I gambled and won with Anatomy. It's a competent thriller with likeable characters and doesn't try to go for cheap thrills.

I saw (unfortunately) the dubbed version on Encore.

Student Paula Henning (Franka Potente who was also in the cult favorite "Run Lola Run") stars as a serious medical student who gets into a prestigious school in Germany. But she soon discovers that some students go missing and the bodies they work on in the anatomy lab are incredibly fresh...

I was stuck seeing the dubbed version on Encore. It hurt a lot (the words not matching the lips got annoying real quick) but I still liked what I saw. The acting was good, it was beautifully photographed, it wasn't TOO gruesome and I was never bored. Even more refreshing was a likable heroine who fights back when the bad guys go after her. The (mild) nudity was, in a refreshing twist, male! A previous poster mentions Benno Furmann (who is excellent) showed his butt but I don't remember seeing it. Regardless this is a well done, scary and excellent thriller. From all I've read the original German language version is the best (I don't doubt that for one second) but the dubbed version is watchable. I give this a 7.

Okay, I had reasonably high expectations for this. The controversial subject matter was a good concept. As a horror fan I admit I was fascinated and very excited about this.

It turns out they had a great idea, but it was terribly executed. Let's see. This movie seems to run in 3 modes: Happy, Sex and Dark. The problem is that the movie never decides what it wants to be. The "Happy" parts I believe were meant to contrast with the "Dark" parts, but it doesn't work. The soundtrack is one of the reasons.

The movie transitions between these 3 modes very badly, I can't even begin to say how much the directing and editing suck. There's sex in the most unappealing and unerotic way. I'm not complaining but even for Horror standards they were unnecessary and filler.

The characters are all unlikeable with the exception of Paula (Potente). Her friend from Munich is a slut and possibly one of the most annoying characters in movies I've come across recently.

There's a bit of plot which I won't go into detail... It's not stupid and in more talented hands would make a good movie. There's even a nice twist and a cool conspiracy going on. Don't try to understand everything because there are giant plot holes here.

It's all so shoddily done that you don't care for the victims, the perpetrators, anyone. And to think this could have been great. I can say ONE good thing about it which is, the movie shed some light on today's unethical medical procedures. With genetics and controversial sciences advancing, this could have been a great philosophical film that raises and discusses these questions. But you won't find that here, just a series of scenes loosely pasted together with people and things that you don't care about.

Skip this and go watch Flatliners instead, you're welcome.

3/10

I liked this film a lot. The actors were great, particularly Potente, who is different in every role; Fürmann, who is also able to play anyone; and Loos, who spices things up (she is also a talented singer - she sings the song "My Truth", heard when one character cranks up the stereo in the lab).

Anatomie is a good horror flick, which pays attention to its characters. It is also very gory at times, and the set design is innovative. It is too bad they had to make a sequel, which is nowhere near the original.

On a side note, two other things definitely worth mentioning. The DVD is not dubbed, which makes for a better experience of the film. Also, make sure to keep watching after the final credits start rolling.

A horror picture set ultimately to parody but still in it's play out could scare a few of those that are frailed nerved or easily disgusted when they see whats under their skin. I laughed at it though. It was easy to decipher the true killer and his acting didn't help. This only led to Potente looking even better. Anatomie is not much of a horror picture for those foreign of the genre but those contained should get a few unintentional laughs and an interesting peak at German horror cinema. 6/10

Paula Henning (Franka Potente) one of the top German medical students is accepted into the medical school at the beautiful Heidelberg University.

As a grand-daughter of a former renowned medical scientist now retired she questions some of the unusual practices occurring at the Department of Anatomy. Working alone and often secretly at night, she takes specimens of human tissue from cadavers for microscopic examination. What she finds astounds her and sets her on a path of further investigation.

The screen play is designed to shock. A dissection room is eerie enough but when dead bodies begin to twitch, beware... Add to this unethical students using scalpels like lethal weapons and hyperdermic needles in reckless abandon. Further there is much blood and even a decapitation. This film is not for the faint-hearted. The department has developed an astonishing plasticising method of preserving humans as life-like specimens. These are shown in the film. A spooky atmosphere is generated because much of the action takes place in the laboratories and shadowy corridors at night.

Mention is made of some of the Nazi experiments on living human beings as if to justify the research work designed to help mankind. This adds even more horror.

After the frantic chases around the corridors, one is left with a pounding heart. And in the end one wonders what the people of Heidelberg think about their doctors in training - not a particularly reassuring thought. I wonder how many hospital appointments were cancelled after prospective patients saw this film.

This is by far the worst non-English horror movie I've ever seen. The acting is wooden, the dialogues are simply stupid and the story is totally braindead. It's not even scary. 2 out of 10 from me.

"Anatomy" tells of an attractive young female medical student who attends the University of Heidelberg where she discovers an ancient secret society of doctors who practice human vivisection. The film is an artful shoot with great anatomical props and a story which is a little more intelligent than typical American horror flicks where hockey masked hulks go around butchering teenagers. The video release I watched was also very well dubbed. Overall a cut above your average horror flick and an mildly thrilling and suspenseful watch for most. The last two words of the film are particularly telling.

Anatomie isn't very unique in horror genre, in fact it isn't even scary at all. It reminds me of its American cousins, horror slashers. It's just a copy of any other horror slasher and as a German movie it's just too American with nothing to add to it.

Actually Anatomie is too predictable and boring, its plot is not intact and consistent. It's got stupid scenes to it which don't even fit into a horror movie genre. Amusing sex scenes with pop music and topless women in underwear. Why do they need to have it all in just one movie? They should have made a cheap German adult movie instead.

I can't recommend this movie to anyone because it's just too boring.

I was shocked at how good this German version of films such as Scream was. Surpassing all the modern American efforts at slasher films.

It as what all those films don't. Likable characters, genuine mystery, suspense, graphic murders and a brilliant soundtrack.

This stylish horror film is one of the best of its kind to come out in years. German cinema is going from strength to strength just lately. Its a shame more people wont go to see such films because they are missing out. It is easily available on DVD so even if you hate subtitles I think you should see it. It will be one of the best horror films you will see all year.

I found the film quite good for what I was expecting. Although I weary, because I have a fear of injection needles, I sort of came to expect when they were coming. So if you're not into needles, blood, the human body, and some good medical fun, put this movie back and rent another. As the other user commented, I was also please at the German attempt at a slasher film. I'm an American who just moved to Germany to stay with a family and saw this lying on the shelf. I love psychological thrillers, and I'd say this is somewhere along those lines. A character falls into places and feels misconstrued. While trying to dig her way out and find some truth to a situation, things get a little sticky and other aren't so sure she's on the right track. So throughout the film you're kept on edge about who's anatomy you might catch a glimpse of and who's rounding the next corner.

There is an endless supply of trashy horror movies. It seems that people never get tired of trying to scare and thrill. Alas, very seldom these attempts succeed. This, unfortunate movie has almost no redeeming value. The story is highly predictable, most of the actors very uninspired, or just plainly miscast, special effects of very low quality. It took a lot of effort not to switch off the DVD and go to bed. With such a limited number of foreign movies issued in the USA, why in the world would anybody want to import this drivel. To top it all, apparently there is an "Anatomy 2 ", for those who have nothing better to do. I'd rather watch the paint dry.