Das Experiment (2001)

A man taking part in a scientific study finds the fine line between play-acting and reality has been blurred beyond recognition in this taut drama. Tarek Fahd (Moritz Bleibtreu) is a journalist who is temporarily making ends meet by driving a taxi when he sees an advertisement offering 4,000 marks to people willing to submit to a psychological experiment. Intrigued, Tarek offers to take part in the study and persuades one of his former editors to help him work up a story about his experiences. Recording the events using a special high-tech video camera hidden in his glasses, Tarek arrives for the two-week experim...
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ent to discover half of the volunteers will pose as prison guards and the other half will be their prisoners. Before long the behavior of the subjects suggests more than just make-believe; "inmate" Tarek, in particular, is unwilling to take abuse from the "guards" and makes no secret of his contempt, while Berus (Justus VonDohnanyi) begins playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Tarek. Tarek, meanwhile, begins escaping reality by fantasizing about Dora (Maren Eggert), a woman with whom he had a brief fling before taking part in the experiment.
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A drama based on a real experiment carried out in Palo Alto, California where a group of scientists gathered 20 people and had them carry out a psychological experiment for a cash reward. As part of the research project, the recruits were divided up into prisoners and guards. In a controlled penitentiary-like environment, "Prisoners" are incarcerated and ordered to obey the rules; "Guards" are instructed to keep order. They are thrown headfirst into a two-week long examination of the effects of assigned roles, power and control. That's what happens to Tarek, Prisoner # 77, an ex-journalist convinced he will emerg...
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e with a fascinating story. At first, the prisoners treat their roles with detached humor and playfulness, and the guards treat theirs with nervous unease. But within hours, small conflicts and petty disputes force all twenty men deeper into their assigned roles. As these trivial skirmishes quickly escalate, the guards must explore any possible means to keep the prisoners in line, without the use of force--but once a revolt erupts, tragedy strikes.
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In een onderzoekslaboratorium wordt een gevangenis gebouwd waarin 20 mannen worden geplaatst om gevangenen en bewakers te spelen. De gevangenen worden opgesloten en moeten een aantal regels opvolgen; de bewaarders moeten de orde handhaven zonder geweld gebruiken. Iedereen is vrij om te stoppen wanneer ze willen, maar als ze dat doen, geven ze wel hun loon op. In het begin is de stemming tussen de twee groepen jolig en ontspannen. Maar langzaam aan ontstaat er ruzie, en gaan de bewakers over tot drastische straffen om hun overwicht te bewaren.

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Based on the 1971 Stanford University simulation study of the psychology of imprisonment (otherwise know as the Stanford Prison Experiment), DAS EXPERIMENT is an intense psychodrama about a group of ordinary men who volunteer to take place in a paid two-week study on the mental effects of prison life. Following a series of intellectual and physical examinations, the men are separated into two groups--eight guards and twelve prisoners--and locked into a working prison, fully loaded with cameras to capture their every move. One of the prisoners, an undercover reporter named Tarek (Moritz Leibtrau of RUN LOLA RUN), ...
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uses every opportunity to provoke the guards and collect quotes for his story, but he consistently pushes the envelope too far. As egos are bruised and machismo is belittled, the guards resort to sadistic torture techniques while the prisoners formulate an escape scheme that is laden with vengeance. The experiment inevitably goes awry (even the moderators have utterly lost control) leading to a powerful climatic battle between good and evil.

Director Oliver Hirschbiegel keeps the film moving at a fast clip, effortlessly switching from the film to the prison cameras and even to a pair of 007-esque spy glasses worn by Tarek to reveal different angles of observation and offer the viewer a voyeuristic experience. DAS EXPERIMENT is an extreme thriller steeped in ultra-violence, murder, and suspense.
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