I know this sounds a little racist, but…
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Oskar Werner
animalgirl5000 — 17 years ago(September 13, 2008 09:29 PM)
In Fahrenheit 451, did anyone else get the impression that he looked like a Nazi? Blonde hair, blue eyes, German accent I mean, really! He looked like a Nazi! And I know how incredibly racist that sounds, but it's tru5b4e!
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SmallTownSim — 17 years ago(September 27, 2008 06:28 PM)
That's a pretty stereo-type observation and yes- it sounds- uh- terrible. If you knew something about Werner's life in Germany, you probably wouldn't have thought that or at least put it in printed type
I believe he had it rough at that time- as did any German citizen who didn't follow the Nazi belief-system and it's said that he (again like many German citizens) hated the Nazis- which is one reason he took the roll of Colonel (can't remember the name) in the movie, "Decision Before Dawn."
Hey! Im playing Sims 2, holding my WebKinz, creating creatures with Spore & playing e-Dolz. OKAY?! -
inspectors71 — 17 years ago(April 05, 2009 09:01 PM)
Part of his casting was his charisma and intensity. Your understanding of the word racist doesn't apply here; you were observant. A handsome Teuton added to the impression that this future was being run by Fascists. Remember, Fascists don't necessarily have to look like Hitler Youthsometimes they are jihadists, sometimes they wear business suits in the White House (with "Hope" buttons on their lapels instead of flags).
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landser-2 — 16 years ago(May 17, 2009 12:53 AM)
Just to clarify a couple points, Oskar Werner is in fact Austrian, not German. In Decision Before Dawn he played Corporal Karl Maurer, not a colonel.
As for animal girl's nazi comments, I wouldn't say you sound racist, just a little ignorant. -
lokisrdeye — 16 years ago(January 01, 2010 09:13 PM)
So happy that we live in a time of such marvelous political correctness that you can not state the opinion that you find that two things111c appear similar, because one of them is evil, without being told your opinion is wrong, perhaps we should burn books as well because they say things we do not agree with.
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pewparoothepewparoo — 15 years ago(July 27, 2010 05:21 PM)
Werner's being cast was kind of the point. The firemen looked like storm troopers and Nazis when they were on the job; Nazis also burned books, remember. The Cyril Cusack character holding up a copy of Mein Kampf to be burned drives it home, too.
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generalusgrant — 15 years ago(December 07, 2010 02:50 PM)
The OP misuses the words "racist" when describing the appearance of Werner in Fahrenheit 451. He does look like a Nazi in this role, which is the stereotypical blonde, blue-eyed "Aryan" look. While Nazi is a pejorative term, it's not "racist" to describe someone as looking like one. It's like calling Ronald Reagan a Republican and thinking that is "racist."
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generalusgrant — 13 years ago(February 09, 2013 02:22 PM)
What a ridiculous and obtuse thread. It's not "racist" to characterize Oskar's looks as "Nazi." The correct word is "sterotypical," and it's utterly true that he looked like the "stereotypical Nazi," especially when he was young. Just check out "Decision at Dawn" and tell me he doesn't look like the perfect SS man. Why do you think he was cast in the role? Would Victor Mature have been cast as "Happy" in that movie? No! He didn't fit the physical description.
It's utterly immaterial that Werner was virulently anti-Nazi in his real life, that's extraneous from the OP's observations. Millions and millions of German/Austrian young men from that era LOOKED like the stereotypical Nazi. So what? That's their culture and heritage. I'm blonde haired and blue eyed and look like a "Nazi." Doesn't mean I am one. -
EllisFowler — 9 years ago(November 07, 2016 12:11 PM)
+1. And to the observation that Werner was Austrian, not German, I'd point out that a surname like "Bschliemayer" (or, for that matter, "Werner") lends support to the fact that "Austrian" and "ethnic German" are far from mutually exclusive.