Discover the best of German cinema, film, and television
Discover the definitive list of popular and critically-acclaimed movies and TV shows from Germany. Find your next binge-watch, streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
The cinema of Germany
German cinema has gifted the world two distinct golden ages, a legacy of staggering artistic innovation and profound intellectual depth. Its first revolution was German Expressionism in the 1920s. In the vibrant Weimar Republic, directors like Fritz Lang created masterpieces like Metropolis and M. With their haunting shadows and tilted angles, films like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari didn't just tell stories; they invented the visual language of horror and science fiction that Hollywood would adopt for decades. This creative fire erupted again in the 1970s with the New German Cinema, led by intellectually daring auteurs like Werner Herzog, who famously hauled a steamship over a mountain for a film, and Wim Wenders. This era of artistry was followed by modern international hits like the kinetic Run Lola Run and the Oscar-winning historical drama The Lives of Others. Now, Germany is at the forefront of prestige television. The mind-bending sci-fi epic Dark became a global phenomenon, while the stylish Weimar-era crime series Babylon Berlin earned worldwide acclaim, both building on a rich domestic TV tradition anchored by the beloved Sunday night institution, Tatort. What defines German screen culture is this masterful precision, a willingness to tackle the most complex ideas, and a legacy of visual innovation that has shaped cinema for over a century.
Best German series
Dark 2017
A missing child causes four families to help each other for answers. What they could not imagine is that this mystery would be connected to innumerable other secrets of the small town.
851899 2022
When mysterious events change the course of an immigrant ship headed for New York in 1899, a mind-bending riddle unfolds for its bewildered passengers.
73How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) 2019
To win back his ex-girlfriend, a nerdy teen starts selling ecstasy online out of his bedroom -- and becomes one of Europe's biggest dealers.
75Unorthodox 2020
A Hasidic Jewish woman in Brooklyn flees to Berlin from an arranged marriage and is taken in by a group of musicians -- until her past comes calling.
77Barbarians 2020
Three people's fates are interwoven in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 A.D., during which Germanic warriors halt the spread of the Roman Empire.
72Cassandra 2025
A family moves into a vintage smart home and discovers that it's under the control of a virtual assistant — who will stop at nothing to keep them there.
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Best German movies
Lord of War 2005
Yuri Orlov is a globetrotting arms dealer and, through some of the deadliest war zones, he struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent, his business rivals and even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, he must also face his own conscience.
76All Quiet on the Western Front 2022
Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.
77The NeverEnding Story 1984
While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.
76Downfall 2004
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
80Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 2006
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.
75The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2009
Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece
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