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Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Movie · 1997 · 15 people

Thomas Jahn directed Knockin' on Heaven's Door, a 1997 German road movie and crime tragicomedy, and wrote the screenplay with Til Schweiger. It takes its name from the Bob Dylan song, but the version heard in the film is by the German band Selig, who performed under the pseudonym Digital Elvis & Zero. With more than three million admissions it was the most successful German film of 1997. It has a cult standing among German films of the 1990s. In Turkey it opened as Cennet Yolcuları on 18 June 1999.

The film follows two young men, Martin (Til Schweiger) and Rudi (Jan Josef Liefers), who have simply drifted through life. In hospital they learn they are terminally ill. Noticing that Rudi has never seen the sea, Martin sets off with him, and with nothing to lose they steal a fast car. In its trunk are a million marks and a gun, and the car belongs to a gang. Moritz Bleibtreu plays the Arab character Abdul, and Huub Stapel plays Frankie Beluga. Rutger Hauer is also in the cast.

It was entered into the 20th Moscow International Film Festival, where Schweiger won the Silver St. George for Best Actor.

DirectorThomas Jahn
Production companyTouchstone Pictures

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Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Bleibtreu Film actor · 55 years old Abdul Corinna Harfouch Corinna Harfouch Actor · 72 years old Ward B Nurse Til Schweiger Hannes Jaenicke Jan Josef Liefers Leonard Lansink Rutger Hauer Thierry Van Werveke Huub Stapel Ralph Herforth Conny Froboess Christiane Paul Helen Duval Hark Bohm Jürgen Becker

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

In combining road movie and crime tragicomedy, the film leans on the most familiar patterns of both genres: heroes with nothing to lose, money in the wrong car and a gang on their tail. None of this is new, but having death as the ground the story stands on from the start puts a melancholy weight under the comedy. The script's simplicity is both its strength and its limit: the emotional goal is clear, while the gangster strand and the supporting characters stay mostly functional. Its cult standing in 1990s German cinema and more than three million admissions show how strongly this simple but sincere formula connected with audiences.

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

A fast stolen car, a million marks and a gun in the trunk, and a gang on the chase: a road movie could not ask for better fuel. The sense of pursuit gives the film constant energy, but the real engine is not explosions, it is the recklessness of two men who have nothing to lose. If you want pure action some stops may drag, yet the pace rarely drops.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Terminal illness, a stolen car, money and a gun on a road trip: the subject is not for children. The story is heavy, but it is a tragicomedy, so it tries to make you laugh while it saddens you. It works for older teenagers and university-age viewers, and is a good starting point for talking about friendship and how short life is. In a house with small children, it is better saved for another evening.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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