RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy Sunday

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Gloomy Sunday (2003)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
84 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:64

Fresh:54

Rotten:10

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: Gloomy Sunday is beautiful, well-acted, and every bit as downcast as its title.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Nov 7, 2003 Limited

Box Office: $223,827

Synopsis: Set in pre-World War II Budapest, GLOOMY SUNDAY is a romantic melodrama that evokes the haunting melody of the same name, fabled to have caused over one hundred suicides in the 1930s. Before the... Set in pre-World War II Budapest, GLOOMY SUNDAY is a romantic melodrama that evokes the haunting melody of the same name, fabled to have caused over one hundred suicides in the 1930s. Before the dark days of the war, Laszlo (Joachim Krol), a Jewish restaurant owner, enjoys a successful business while happily living with his lover and the restaurant's sultry hostess, Ilona (Erika Marozsan). When they decide to hire a restaurant pianist they meet Andras (Stefano Dionisi), a brooding composer who quickly captures the heart of Ilona. However, her love for Andras does not diminish her feelings for Laszlo and the trio embark on an agreed-upon ménage-ŕ-trois that seems to be successful, at least on the surface. Andras's passionate love for Ilona inspires him to write "Gloomy Sunday" which becomes an overnight sensation and the restaurant's signature song. Ilona's beauty captures the heart of a third suitor, Hans Wieck (Ben Becker), a German customer who becomes a corrupt SS officer after the Nazi occupation of Hungary. Hans' friendship is a strategic necessity as the trio struggles to keep the restaurant open and Laszlo free from persecution while the threat of war looms. [More]

Starring: Joachim Krol, Stefano Dionisi, Ben Becker, Erica Marozsan

Starring: Joachim Krol, Stefano Dionisi, Ben Becker, Erica Marozsan, Andras Balint

Director: Rolf Schubel

Director: Rolf Schubel
Screenwriter: Rolf Schubel, Ruth Toma
Producer: Richard Schops
Studio: Menemsha

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Sep 12, 2006

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Gloomy Sunday
  • Gloomy Sunday, winner of major German film awards and an art-house favorite that ran 70 weeks in Boston, hits all the right notes with its poignant, glowingly shot tale set in Budapest during the Holocaust and, like Schindler's List and The Pianist, filled with the passion and pain of that tragic era. The song itself ? recorded by Billie Holliday and other greats ? is the stuff of legend, reportedly having a fateful real-life impact similar to that shown on screen. But it's love's power that is ultimately at the heart of this acclaimed film. And from the opening scene to the deft twist ending, that power is extraordinary.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Gloomy Sunday

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    With the Hungarian song "Gloomy Sunday" as its thematic centerpiece, this personalized story of Budapest during World War II becomes a satisfying romantic drama about four divergently different people.

    Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
    05/13/09
    Cole Smithey
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
    04/29/09
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Felix Vasquez Jr.
    Cinema Crazed

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Mark Halverson
    Mark Halverson
    Sacramento News & Review
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    07/28/08
    Derek Elley
    Derek Elley
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Undoubtedly deserves to be added to the ranks of the best Holocaust films ever made.

    Full Review Source: Princeton Town Topics | comment Comment
    05/02/07
    Kam Williams
    Kam Williams
    Princeton Town Topics

    It's old-fashioned, sometimes accomplished, syrupy and, at its intermittent best, absorbing.

    Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
    04/20/07
    Shawn Levy
    Shawn Levy
    Oregonian

    Like many European films, GLOOMY SUNDAY has crisp cinematography and gorgeous production design, not to mention that hauntingly melancholic titular tune. The principal actors, for the most part, are attractive and talented. The movie apes the traditi

    Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    01/11/07
    Ted Murphy
    Ted Murphy
    Murphy's Movie Reviews

    This strange movie has a hard time balancing all these elements, but the film's enormous passion overcomes its more obvious melodrama.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    10/05/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    It's hard to say which is more ravishing and alluring in the movie, Ms. Marozsan or the celebrated song.

    Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
    09/10/06
    John J. Puccio
    John J. Puccio
    DVDTown.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Time Out
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
    05/13/05
    Apollo Guide
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    It's intelligent, well-acted and beautifully photographed.

    Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
    05/12/05
    Richard Nilsen
    Richard Nilsen
    Arizona Republic
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A smoothly crafted, intermittently charming film . . . the dips and turns are predictable and the tense scenes surrounding unhinged or scheming Nazis have been done before.

    Full Review Source: Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) | comment Comment
    05/06/05
    Brian Gibson
    Brian Gibson
    Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

    It's a film worth seeking out, a good fit for a rainy Saturday or any other less-than-bright day of the week.

    Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
    04/18/05
    Eric D. Snider
    Eric D. Snider
    EricDSnider.com

    This is the kind of material you expect to find in a Lifetime cable-channel movie.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    04/15/05
    Jeff Vice
    Jeff Vice
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    It's a cracking good yarn, well-told and impeccably acted, especially by Król.

    Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
    04/14/05
    Mary-Liz Shaw
    Mary-Liz Shaw
    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

    A superior soap opera not unlike what Douglas Sirk might have churned out in the 1950s.

    Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
    12/03/04
    Joe Baltake
    Joe Baltake
    Sacramento Bee

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    05/02/04
    Marrit Ingman
    Marrit Ingman
    Austin Chronicle

    This film is both enchanting and sad, with the Holocaust as a background element that eventually moves to the front of the storyline with painful inevitability.

    Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
    04/29/04
    Lori Hoffman
    Lori Hoffman
    Atlantic City Weekly
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
    52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
    45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…
    19% 19% Transformers: Revenge …
    55% 55% Orphan

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    98% 98% Up
    88% 88% Ballast
    66% 66% The Merry Gentleman

    More New Releases…

    See All

    RT On Current TV

    The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

    Learn how you can be part of the show

    More...

    What’s Hot On RT

    60+ New Moon pics

    60+ New Moon pics

    You want Twilight images? We got 'em!

    What to Watch?

    What to Watch?

    Find out with RT's Holiday Movie Preview!

    Friday Harvest

    Friday Harvest

    This week's best pics, videos, and posters!

    New Posters

    New Posters

    Your next glimpse of Alice in Wonderland!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4
    111
    • Rachel McAdams Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Mania.com
    162
    • Danny Elfman Leaves The Wolfman Source: Cinemusic.net
    29
    • Oldboy Remake Rumored Dead Source: Latino Review
    20
    • Francis Lawrence Directing a Futuristic Sgt. Rock Source: Hollywood Reporter
    3
    • Can Avatar Make Money? Source: New York Times
    121
    • Robert Pattinson Says Breaking Dawn Could Roll in Fall 2010 Source: Collider.com
    38
    • Joe Johnston Talks The Wolfman Source: Ain't It Cool News
    8
    • Jason Schwartzman Talks Scott Pilgrim Source: Collider.com
    1
    • Weekly Ketchup: Abrams eyes Micronauts, Aykroyd as Yogi Bear
    102
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Total Recall: John Cusack's Best Movies
    93
    • Five Favorite Films with Roland Emmerich
    78
    • Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking
    44
    • RT on DVD: Up, the Ultimate Watchmen Cut, and More
    38
    • Weekly Ketchup: Rachel McAdams Reads for Spider-Man 4
    37
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Christmas Carol Tops, Precious Rocks
    34
    • Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee
    29
    • 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World
    28
    • Friday Harvest: Clash of the Titans, Kick-Ass, and more!
    22
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    4
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    4
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    15
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    15
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    8
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    28
    • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
    28
    • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
    14
    • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
    40
    • Michael Moore: The RT Interview
    139
    • Andrea Arnold talks Fish Tank - RT Interview
    4
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Gloomy Sunday at Rotten Tomatoes
    • Gloomy Sunday at AskMen

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    Best of Disaster Porn
    Best of Disaster Porn External Link

    Moviefone looks back at 7 films that have paved the way for movies like 2012.

    Actors with Famous Parents
    Actors with Famous Parents External Link

    BuzzSugar rattles off their 10 favorite current actors with celebrity pedigree.

    The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
    The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T External Link

    The AV Club looks back at a dance sequence from the only movie written by... Dr. Seuss?

    10 Questions - Ewan McGregor
    10 Questions - Ewan McGregor External Link

    The Men Who Stare at Goats star answers your questions on TIME.com.

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.