Frank Beyer’s Oscar Nominated Jakob The Liar Getting 4K Upgrade
The Holocaust Drama Joining The Masters Of Cinema Range
It’s considered one of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made and Eureka Entertainment agree. In February they will give new life to Jakob The Liar, Frank Beyer’s Oscar-nominated East German masterpiece of Holocaust cinema, as a 4K restoration arrives on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK as part of The Masters of Cinema Series.
Directed for DEFA by Frank Beyer (Trace of Stones) and adapted from the novel of the same name by Jewish author Jurek Becker, Jakob the Liar was the only East German film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. Starring the prolific Czech actor Vlastimil Brodsky (Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea), it follows the members of a Jewish community in German-occupied Poland.
In a Jewish ghetto, Jakob Heym (Brodsky) is ordered to report to a police station by a Nazi watchtower guard, where he overhears a radio broadcast suggesting that the Red Army is closing in on Poland. He tells friends and neighbours that the Germans might be losing the war, but they refuse to believe that he could have survived an encounter with Nazi officials. To make his story plausible, he claims to illegally possess a radio – and soon finds himself spreading false reports that he has supposedly heard on the airwaves, if only to give his community hope in the face of unimaginable horror.
One of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made, Jakob the Liar is also one of the finest films DEFA ever produced – and a significant influence on a cycle of prestigious Holocaust films produced by Hollywood in the 1990s, chiefly Peter Kassovitz’s later adaptation of Becker’s novel starring Robin Williams.
“Forceful, funny, and poignant” – The New York Times
LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
Limited edition of 2,000 copies | Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Carly A-F | 1080p HD presentation from a 4K restoration of the original camera negative and interpositive by the DEFA Foundation | Original German audio | Optional English subtitles, newly revised for this release | Lessons of the Past – new interview with Jewish studies scholar Sue Vice on Holocaust cinema | Jurek and Jakob – new video essay by film and literature scholar Mary Going on Jurek Becker and DEFA’s adaptation of Jakob the Liar | A Diary for Anne Frank (Joachim Hellwig, 1958) – DEFA documentary on the story of Anne Frank | Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing on Jakob the Liar by Sebastian Heiduschke, author of East German Cinema: DEFA and Film History | * All extras subject to change
1974 | GERMANY | 100 minutes | HISTORICAL DRAMA / WAR| 1.37:1 OAR | Language GERMAN | REGION B
Jakob The Liar will be released in the UK and Ireland on 4K Blu-ray from 16th February 2026 [Pre-order now].
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