Men in the City (German: Männerherzen; literally "Men's Hearts") is a 2009 German comedy film directed by Simon Verhoeven with Christian Ulmen, Nadja Uhl and Wotan Wilke Möhring. The film was followed by Men in the City 2 [de] in 2011.

Men in the City
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySimon Verhoeven
Screenplay bySimon Verhoeven
Produced byQuirin Berg
Max Wiedemann
StarringChristian Ulmen
Nadja Uhl
Wotan Wilke Möhring
CinematographyJo Heim
Edited byStefan Essl
Music bySimon Verhoeven
Wolfgang Hammerschmid
Rufus Martin
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 8 October 2009 (2009-10-08)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryGermany
LanguageGerman
Box office$22 million[1]

Plot

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Five men attend the same gym in Berlin. None of them seem to have anything in common, but all five have not enough confidence to meet or develop relationships with the opposite sex, and what it really means to be a man or what women expect of them. Günther Stobanski (Christian Ulmen) fails with Internet dating, music producer Jerome Ades (Til Schweiger) passes from a sentimental break-up story to another. Train driver Roland Feldberg (Wotan Wilke Möhring) snubs his wife Susanne Feldberg (Nadja Uhl). The girlfriend of Philip Henrion (Maxim Mehmet) becomes pregnant at a young age. Niklas Michalke (Florian David Fitz) is terrified by his impending marriage, while the singer Bruce Berger (Justus von Dohnányi) tries to pursue his singing career.

Cast

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Production

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Men in the city was financed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg Gmbh Film and German Federal Film Board Film Financier, and filmed in Berlin, Germany.

Writing and production credits

Themes

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The main theme of the film is the search for love and happiness, and the fear of being alone, but love is a battlefield and it's worth fighting for the woman you love.

Music and soundtrack

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Männerherzen
 
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released2009
Recorded2009
GenrePop rock

The film score and the soundtrack album for Men in the City was produced by Simon Verhoeven and was released on 9 October 2009 through Universal Music.[2] Verhoeven wrote and recorded the album together with the lead singer of the band Marshmellow Club, Rufus Martin.[2] Simon Verhoeven and Wolfgang Hammerschmid were responsible for the film score's composition and orchestration that involved about twenty musicians.[2]

The main theme song, "Wonderful", was written by British pop rock singer and songwriter Gary Go in January 2009 and released on 16 February 2009, as the first and debut single from his self-titled debut studio album. The single reached the Top 40 of the British,[3] German and Austrian music charts. Its music video was filmed on a Berlin rooftop and includes scenes from the film. Go also contributed to the song "Berlin" with a reinterpretation of his song "Brooklyn", featured on his debut album. BRIT Award-winning English singer-songwriter and guitarist James Morrison wrote and composed the song "Watch and Wait".[2]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Wonderful"Gary BakerGary Go 
2."This Feeling"Simon Verhoeven, Wolfgang Hammerschmid, Rufus MartinMarshmellow Club 
3."If You'll Be Mine" (originally from the 1998 album There's Something Going On)Stephen JonesBabybird 
4."In the City"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
5."North Bergin Avenue (Intro)"Verhoeven, HammerschmidSimon Verhoeven, Wolfgang Hammerschmid 
6."North Bergin Avenue"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
7."Get Sexy"Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine, Bruno Mars, Fred Fairbrass, Richard Fairbrass, Rob ManzoliSugababes 
8."Choking on a Marshmallow"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
9."Berlin"Gary BajerGary Go 
10."Watch and Wait"James MorrisonJames Morrison 
11."Don't Wanna Feel This Way"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
12."Love Theme"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
13."The Good Old Days" (originally from the 2003 album Shootenanny!)EEels 
14."Down in History"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
15."Stars in Your Head" Jerome Isma-Ae 
16."Choking on a Marshmallow (Original Version)"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinMarshmellow Club 
17."Tat Twam Asi" Beathotel 
18."I Need Music"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinBruce Berger 
19."Alle Kinder dieser Erde"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinBruce Berger 
20."Sag mir warum"Verhoeven, Hammerschmid, MartinBruce Berger 
21."Tommy's Theme"Verhoeven, HammerschmidSimon Verhoeven, Wolfgang Hammerschmid 
22."Nik's Return"Verhoeven, HammerschmidSimon Verhoeven, Wolfgang Hammerschmid 
23."Roland's Destiny"Verhoeven, HammerschmidSimon Verhoeven, Wolfgang Hammerschmid 

Charts

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Release

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Men in the city was first released in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland on 8 October 2009. The film was screened on 23 October 2010 at the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival in San Francisco, United States.

Home media

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The DVD release of the film was premiered on 2 December 2010 in Russia.

Film distributors

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  • Ster-Kinekor – theatrical distributor
  • Warner Bros. Pictures International – foreign theatrical distributor
  • Independent Distributors – foreign theatrical distributor
  • Beta Film – theatrical distribution sales

References

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  1. ^ "Men in the City (2009)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Musik" [Music] (in German). SimonVerhoeven.com. 2010-11-07. Archived from the original on 2011-10-28.
  3. ^ a b "The Official Charts Company - Gary Go".
  4. ^ "Chartverfolgung (Männerherzen OST)". Hung Medien. AustrianCharts.at.
  5. ^ "Chartverfolgung (Wonderful)". Hung Medien. AustrianCharts.at.
  6. ^ a b "Gary Go - Wonderful". lescharts.com.
  7. ^ "Charts Surfer - UK, German and French charts". charts-surfer.de.
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