MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 2,137 this week

Jakob the Liar (1999)

PG-13  |   |  Comedy, Drama, War  |  24 September 1999 (USA)
6.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 6.5/10 from 11,999 users   Metascore: 40/100
Reviews: 87 user | 68 critic | 25 from Metacritic.com

In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out near curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German ... See full summary »

Director:

Writers:

(novel), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

10 Best Action Heroes

We consulted IMDb's Highest-Rated Action-Family Films to came up with 10 scene-stealing action figures your kids can relate to, look up to, and be inspired by.

Visit our Family Entertainment Guide

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 23 titles
created 02 May 2012
 
a list of 28 titles
created 02 Aug 2012
 
a list of 29 titles
created 05 Oct 2012
 
a list of 35 titles
created 11 months ago
 
a list of 42 titles
created 7 months ago
 

Related Items

Search for "Jakob the Liar" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Jakob the Liar (1999)

Jakob the Liar (1999) on IMDb 6.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Jakob the Liar.
3 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Fathers' Day (1997)
Comedy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.1/10 X  

A woman cons two old boyfriends into searching for her runaway son by convincing both that they are the boy's father.

Director: Ivan Reitman
Stars: Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Being Human (1994)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X  

One man must learn the meaning of courage across four lifetimes centuries apart.

Director: Bill Forsyth
Stars: Robin Williams, John Turturro, Kelly Hunter
Patch Adams (1998)
Biography | Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

In the 1970s, a medical student treats patients, illegally, using humor.

Director: Tom Shadyac
Stars: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter
The Final Cut (2004)
Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

Set in a world with memory implants, Robin Williams plays a cutter, someone with the power of final edit over people's recorded histories. His latest assignment is one that puts him in danger.

Director: Omar Naim
Stars: Robin Williams, Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino
Comedy | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A Jewish ghetto in the east of Europe, 1944. By coincidence, Jakob Heym eavesdrops on a German radio broadcast announcing the Soviet Army is making slow by steady progress towards central ... See full summary »

Director: Frank Beyer
Stars: Vlastimil Brodský, Erwin Geschonneck, Henry Hübchen
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X  

When a Russian musician defects in Bloomingdale's department store in New York, he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined.

Director: Paul Mazursky
Stars: Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks
Jack (1996)
Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X  

Because of an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four times faster than a normal human being, a boy enters the fifth grade for the first time with the appearance of a 40 year old man.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Stars: Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin
Comedy | Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X  

A comedian who hosts a news satire program decides to run for president, and a computerized voting machine malfunction gets him elected.

Director: Barry Levinson
Stars: Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Lewis Black
Cadillac Man (1990)
Comedy | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.6/10 X  

Joe's a car salesman with a problem. He has two days to sell 12 cars or he loses his job. This would be a difficult task at the best of times but Joe has to contend with his girlfriends (... See full summary »

Director: Roger Donaldson
Stars: Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed
Seize the Day (1986)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

Tommy Wilhelm (Robin Williams) is a salesman. An honest, hard-working guy who has lost his job, his girlfriend, and left part of his sanity behind as he heads to New York to pick up the ... See full summary »

Director: Fielder Cook
Stars: Robin Williams, Richard B. Shull, David Bickford
House of D (2004)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

By working through problems stemming from his past, Tom Warshaw, an American artist living in Paris, begins to discover who he really is, and returns to his home to reconcile with his family and friends.

Director: David Duchovny
Stars: David Duchovny, Téa Leoni, Robin Williams
Drama | Fantasy | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

After dying in a car crash a man searches the afterlife for his wife.

Director: Vincent Ward
Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Éva Igó ...
Lina's Mother (as Eva Igo)
István Bálint ...
Lina's Father (as Istvan Balint)
Justus von Dohnányi ...
...
...
...
...
...
János Gosztonyi ...
Samuel (as Janos Gosztonyi)
...
...
Ádám Rajhona ...
The Whistler (as Adam Rajhona)
Antal Leisen ...
Edit

Storyline

In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out near curfew. While waiting for the German Kommondant, Jakob overhears a German radio broadcast about Russian troop movements. Returned to the ghetto, the shopkeeper shares his information with a friend and then rumors fly that there is a secret radio within the ghetto. Jakob uses the chance to spread hope throughout the ghetto by continuing to tell favorable tales of information from "his secret radio." Jakob, however, has a real secret in that he is hiding a young Jewish girl who escaped from a camp transport train. A rather uplifting and slightly humorous film about World War II Jewish Ghetto life. Written by Anthony Hughes <husnock31@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

ghetto | radio | german | nazi | hope | See All (39) »

Taglines:

He will make you believe. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing images | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

| |

Language:

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Una señal de esperanza  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,056,647 (USA) (24 September 1999)

Gross:

$4,956,401 (USA) (29 October 1999)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

(Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Armin Mueller-Stahl, who plays Dr. Kirschbaum (the Professor) was also in Jacob the Liar (1975) (upon which the 1999 film is based) as Roman Stahm, the brother of the character who was shot. See more »

Goofs

The German officer referred to as "Herr General" wears the insignia of an SS-Colonel. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Jakob Heym: Hitler goes to a fortune-teller and asks, "When will I die?" And the fortune-teller replies, "On a Jewish holiday." Hitler then asks, "How do you know that?" And she replies, "Any day you die will be a Jewish holiday."
See more »

Crazy Credits

Special thanks to the city and peoples of Piotrków, Poland, the city and peoples of Lódz, Poland and the city and peoples of Budapest, Hungary. See more »

Connections

Version of Jacob the Liar (1975) See more »

Soundtracks

Rakoczy March
Written by Hector Berlioz
Performed by Cleveland Pops Orchestra
Conducted by Louis Lane
Courtesy of Sony Classical
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Another solid performance by Robin Williams!
2 March 2004 | by (usa) – See all my reviews

Don't be put off by the negative comments. If you like the characters Robin Williams creates, and you like unusual dramas, you'll like Jakob the Liar. The film wanted to be Roberto Benigni and Life is Beautiful but never seemed to have the courage to go there, even with Robin Williams in the lead, until the last few scenes of the movie. However, being another Life is Beautiful is asking an awful lot. Life is Beautiful is one of the great films of all time. Having said that, Jakob the Liar is fiendishly good, creatively done, and Robin Williams does a fine job, even when Hannah Taylor-Gordon, who plays Lina, wasn't stealing every scene she was in. So, settle down and give this little movie a try. If nothing else, it's another solid performance by Robin Williams.


11 of 14 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
The end Bishant391
Good but so sad!!! poluuspavanka
Jews in German military uniforms? Marc-Kupper
school project Drimagirl12
This really doesn't belong here, but oh well... buried_in_the_hills
that song at the beginning and end LuckyGraveyardBoots
Discuss Jakob the Liar (1999) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page