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Playing for Time

1980 · 150 min

A harrowing, slow-burn immersion into a concentration camp, where music becomes both a lifeline and a source of moral anguish, demanding emotional endurance.

Directed by
Joseph Sargent, Daniel Mann
Genres
Drama, Music, History
Starring
Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, Maud Adams
Overview
When a Jewish songstress is plucked from the stage and sent to Auschwitz, she and other musicians find themselves assigned to a terrible task—using their talents to soothe fellow prisoners who are sentenced to die in the gas chambers.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Joseph Sargent, Daniel Mann
Genres
Drama, Music, History
Starring
Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, Maud Adams
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • survival
  • guilt
  • morality
  • music
  • friendship
Places
  • prison
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror4
Humour1
Realism8
Romance0
Tension7
Darkness9
Complexity6
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, music, history, tv movie
Directed by
Joseph Sargent, Daniel Mann
Written by
Arthur Miller
Starring
Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, Maud Adams, Christine Baranski, Robin Bartlett, Marisa Berenson, Verna Bloom, Donna Haley
Music
Brad Fiedel
Cinematography
Arthur J. Ornitz
Runtime
150 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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