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Imagine you’re longing for a movie night out on the town, but you’ve already seen, or you’re just not thrilled by what’s showing at your local AAFES theater. Are you destined for yet another night of Netflix on the sofa? Not necessarily. While most cinemas in Germany show dubbed versions of English-language films, with a bit of digging, you just might find a film that speaks your language showing on the local economy. When poring over the movie listings, it’s useful to know what the following abbreviations stand for:
OV: Originalversion- this film is shown in its original language, without subtitles
OmU: Original mit Untertitel- this film is shown in its original language, with subtitles in German
OmeU: Original mit englischen untertiteln- this film is shown in its original language with subtitles in English
It’s important to remember that just because a film is shown in its original language, this does not necessarily mean the film will be shown in English. Art-house cinemas, in particular, tend to show films in a variety of languages.
Here is a selection of cinemas close to U.S. bases which regularly show movies in their original languages:
Heidelberg: Karlstorkino - Media Forum Heidelberg, 1 Am Karlstor; films here are shown in their original languages with German, or more rarely, English subtitles.
Kaiserslautern: Union-Studio für Filmkunst, Kerststr. 24; (under “programme”, choose 1 x Original in the drop-down menu)
Mainz: Capitol, Neubrunnenstr. 9, and Palatin, Hintere Bleiche, 6-8.
Mainz: Cinestar, Holzhofstr. 1. Love a surprise? On Thursday evenings at 8 p.m., the cinema shows a sneak preview of an original English-language film before its official debut on German screens. Admission costs 5.50 euros. There’s just one hitch. You’re not told in advance which film you’re about to be shown.
Nuremberg: CineCitta, Gewerbemuseumsplatz 3.
Nuremberg: Roxy Renaissance Cinema, Julius-Loßmann-Str 116.
Ramstein-Miesenbach: Broadway Kino, Merkurstraße 9. (a small red box in the top right-hand corner of the movie’s poster indicates if a film is to be shown in OV, its original language version)
Stuttgart: Corso Cinema International, Hauptstr. 6.
Wiesbaden: Cineplex Thalia, Kirchgasse 72 and Apollo Kino Center, Moritzstraße 6. (under “Filmreihen”, choose “English movie” from the drop-down menu)
