Rating: 
Summary: Swing Kids
Review: Swing Kids is a movie about a group of kids who get caught up in the Nazi mess in Germany in the late 1930's. The boys are Peter, Thomas, and Arvid. They are all friends who love swing music. Although the trouble really starts when Peter and Thomas decide to steal a radio from a bakery women who got it from the Nazis. The Nazis had taken the radio from some Germans who helped Jewish people. Peter gets caught and is forced the Hitler Jugend and Thomas decides to join because Peter is his friend. Thomas starts to become a Nazi and Peter still hates them and this starts to cause trouble in their friendship. Then Peter is at a swing party and Thomas is one of the HJ's that are going to stop it. This is all I can tell you, you'll have to watch the video to find out what happens.
I liked the movie because it was very realistic in depicting life during the late 1930's. It is also realistic in how scared everyone is of the HJ's and the Nazis. The action was also really neat like in the part where Peter beats up the HJ with an umbrella. The music in it that include songs by Duke Ellington and Count Basieh the music seems to fit the time period well. The setting is also good. All in all it's a good movie except for a few details.
I really didn't like the ending because it really didn't answer much. It might have been better if Peter ran away and joined the Allies. I also didn't like the way the over dramatized parts like when Peter found out what was in the boxes he was delivering. I also didn't like how at the beginning they portrayed the Gestapo man as a nice and good person. Other than this it's a great movie
I think it's a lot like Anne Frank because you can see both sides of the story and how it was very hard for both Jews and Germans. It also shows that they both were very alike in just not knowing what to do and when to do it. It also showed that the kids just wanted everything to go back to the way it was and shouldn't have been thrown into the hatred that Hitler created and the terror he made.
Rating: 
Summary: Must-have for anyone seriously interested in movies.
Review: I came across Swing Kids purely by accident when I was zapping away one night. The movie intrigued me; Rebel kids in a WW2 setting of Nazi Germany, dancing at government-banned parties, and listening to banned (swing) records. One of them gets forced to join the Hitler-jugend, and since then gets despised by most of his friends, except for his best friend, who actually joins as well, as to offer his support. They end up on opposite sides; one gets indoctrinated by the Nazis, while the other still strongly opposes the whole concept.I am NOT going to spoil the plot any further, but ever since I saw this very movie (about two years ago or so) I have been trying to add it to my collection. This movie would be one of my top-3 in my (already huge (approaching 200 now)) collection, following up Lord of the Rings and Pulp fiction. The cast is awesome, their action is extraordinary, the music is excellent (anyone know any dancing schools in Holland that teach Swing-Dancing?), and the story is just great.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!
Review: Hey there!
I first watched this movie in my grade 9 or 10 class, I fell in love with this movie! I don't know if its the music or the actor's but its' just an amazing movie, I think that it captures those times quite appropriately. I'm also a fan of Robert Sean Leonard! and of course, Jazz music!
Thanks!
Rating:
Summary: A proof that critics' opinions are not worth a nickel...
Review: Swing Kids is not the greatest movie ever made, but it comes pretty close. When I first knew the sypnosis I was immediately drawn to it because this movie is brave and original enough to depict a very small footage (almost a well-kept secret) of WWII. Aside from the messages of freedom and friendship and standing up for what you believe in, Swing Kids also shows what propaganda could do to the young and innocent minds. It brilliantly takes us into the heads of the German people and their basic attitudes at that time, presented by 4 main characters: the torn-in-between Peter, the brainwashed Thomas, the aware Arvid, and the indifferent Otto. The movie also realisticly portrayed the Nazis not as the stereotypical mean and grumpy oppressors, but as wolves in sheep's clothing who eventually could brainwash the Germans by sweettalking and buttering them up with pride and patriotism. THOSE are the things that make Swing Kids a superior movie. Of course, who could ignore the occasional dance scenes that add a bit of fun to the movie, but are not too distractive. The acting from the cast is brilliant, but the most outstanding member here is Christian Bale. He had the hardest part, in which he had to play a good guy turned bad. This role requires immense subtlety during the transformation, so we don't realize he had changed until the last scenes. Bale, who is a master at subtlety and portraying two-sided characters, delivered this brilliantly! I have read some other customers' reviews, and they make me laugh at the stupidity of the people who were so quickly to trash this movie. One person bashed this movie because it leaves out the suffering of the Jews; 1) The title of this movie is SWING KIDS, not Schindler's List, it never promised you anything about the Holocaust. 2)The story takes place in freaking 1939, when the war hasn't even started yet, and the Jews were just STARTING to be rounded up. And also, I see absolutely nothing wrong with using swing music as a metaphor for freedom and defiance, because it WAS dangerous to listen to swing in Germany. Sure, at the beginning, these kids really just thought Hitler was a looser because he didn't like swing, but through that they saw something much more serious: if he could take away our music, our souls, God knows what else he would take.
Rating:
Summary: cool movie
Review: Katherine Quick
6-14-02
English 5th
SWING KIDS MOVIE REVIEW Swing Kids is a story of propaganda. But the kids who didn't believe in the propaganda of Hitler becoming a superior power are known as swing kids. After two characters, Thomas and Peter, try to steal a radio for a friend, Peter gets caught and has to join the HJ's (Hitler's Judgeds). Then Thomas joins to stick by his friend. Their friendship begins to fall apart. The reason, believing and not believing in the propaganda. The part in the clubs where the music was playing and kids were dancing was the best part in my point of view. I really that. It's amazing the way that they move, in the dances. Another great part was the fighting in the clubs, between the Nazis and the swing kids. I hate Nazis so I really liked it when the Swing Kids beat some of the up. It's hard to think of some dislikes because I really like the movie. I didn't like it when Thomas turned his back on Peter because they were supposed to be best friends. But NO the stupid HJs' screwed with Thomas's brain and made him believe that the Jews were bad! Why would you turn around and hurt a true friend like that? Swing Kids and Anne Frank are similar in that they are both talking about Jews and Nazis. Swing Kids is in the Nazis point of view and Anne Frank is in the Jews point of view, during the Holocaust. They both have teenagers as the main charecter.
Rating: 
Summary: What are these people thinking????
Review: Ok - I just had to write this review because there were so many rave reviews of this film. COME ON PEOPLE!!!! A movie about kids swing dancing to defeat the Nazis????? Even that one sentence sounds bad. Yes Kenneth Branaugh and Christian Bale are two of my favorite actors but they both need to be embarassed by this horrible film. This is ludicrous. What is hilarios about AMAZON.com is that you can put in any bad movie and see people who LOVE it. Just put in HOWARD THE DUCK as an example. Some of these people should not even watch movies!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film of swing and moral struggle
Review: Anyone who has stepped on to the dance floor with a live swing band playing knows just how well Swing Kids captures the electricity of a night of swing. Anyone who has strapped on their best duds an hour earlier knows the romance and anticipation captured perfectly as Peter Muller (Robert Sean Leonard) dresses for his last night of swing. This movie was in no small measure part of the impetus for the swing revival in the mid 90's, and I personally get "in the mood" for a night of cuttin' rug with Janis Siegel's incredible rendition of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" from the film. But what makes this film truly superlative is its honest dealings with ordinary Germans' motivations for complacency towards or participation in Nazism. In Nazi Germany it was in everybody's best interest (save the Jews) to play along. From Peter's mother who just wants her to children live happily and avoid the terrible fate of their father to Thomas Berger (Christian Bale) who finds acceptance and encouragement for the first time, they do so for the reasons that would tempt each of us sorely. The horrible truth of the Holocaust is that, like the Germans, very few of us possess the selflessness and moral courage it would have required to oppose the evil tide of Nazism. Swing Kids is almost alone in its portrayal of this chilling truth among Holocaust and World War II films. Robert Sean Leonard's portrayal of this moral struggle for understanding and courage is very moving. (Of course, there's noone better at playing angst-ridden. c.f. Dead Poet's Society.) As he dances his last dance, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, the world spinning around him, he finds a rare kind of release that is perhaps found only on the dance floor. And yes, his brother's cries, "Swing Heil! Swing Heil!", in the final scene give me a lump in the throat every time. For all these reasons and more, Swing Kids is an excellent film. Shame that there are no extras on the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: it dont mean a thing if you aint got that swing
Review: this ones got the groove, the drama, the comedy. nice swing music and sometimes the actors are a little bit cheesy but it works out in the tearjerker end, not that I cryed. the cast includes Robert Sean Leonard(My Best Friend is A Vampire,The Last Days Of Disco), Christian Bale(American Psycho, Laurel Canyon), Frank Whaley(Swimming With Sharks, Pulp Fiction), Jayce Bartok(Spider-Man, Suburbia), Barbara Hershey(Beaches), Kenneth Bragnagh(Rabbit Proof Fence, Much Ado About Nothing), Noah Wyle(tvs E.R., The Myth Of Fingerprints). a good old fashioned movie
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Summary: Interesting historical subject
Review: This movie gives a new angle on Pre - WW2 German society. The title's 'Swing Kids' are German youngsters who were interested in British and American slag & fashions. Since Germany's official policy towards America & Britain wasn't very sympathetic at the time (to say the least), Swing hangouts were routinely searched for by HJ's ("Hitler Junged" - Hilter's Youths), Swing Kids were targeted by them, and Swing music was hard to find. The movie's three main characters are caught in the struggle between Swing music and the pressureto join the HJ's. Arvid, who is partially paralized, and is therefore 'unacceptable' by the Nazis, is a rabid Swing fan (which a large part of is a rebellion against the people who won't accept him). Peter is struggling with his father's 'disappearance' (he was taken by the Nazis a few years before the events of the movie). Thomas is just looking for acceptance, which he doesn't seem to get from his family or friends, so he willingly turns into a HJ - just to satisfy his need. The friends split up, turn against each other, and each goes towards his tragic end. The story in itself is predictable, but since the performances of the actors are quite good, and the period and subject matter of the films are not your obvious WW2 movies, it is a very enjoyable one (even just for knowldge's sake).
Rating:
Summary: Swing Kids
Review: Swing Kids is a phenomenal movie. As a person who loves both swing/jazz music, and is fascinated by the effectiveness of nazi propaganda, this movie addresses both issues, whilst submerging it against the back drop of pre-war germany and it's effect on Germany's youth. It tests the friendship of two long time buddy's, and is both inspirational as it is moving. Although old, it is one of the few movies that is worth watching these days.
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