The Experiment poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

The Experiment

2001 · Movie · 120 min
B

MEANRANK

71/100

Averaged across 11 ratings · 199.2K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 29 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

Google: Google retired the star ratings it used to show in search results, so this one no longer updates. More on where the numbers come from →

41–88 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Criticker on 41, highest is Rotten Tomatoes viewers on 88.

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Based on the Stanford Prison Experiment, volunteers are paid to participate in a two-week study where they are randomly assigned to be either prisoners or guards in a simulated jail. The experiment quickly descends into brutality and abuse as the guards embrace their authority and the prisoners suffer under the increasingly sadistic regime.

Details

Based on
Stanford prison experiment
Released
8 March 2001
Country
Germany
Language
German
Runtime
120 min
Box office
$13.8M
Awards
0 wins, 7 nominations

This title elsewhere

Moritz Bleibtreu

Moritz Bleibtreu

Tarek Fahd, Prisoner Nr. 77

Christian Berkel

Christian Berkel

Robert Steinhoff, Prisoner Nr. 38

Edgar Selge

Edgar Selge

Professor Dr. Klaus Thon

Andrea Sawatzki

Andrea Sawatzki

Dr. Jutta Grimm

Oliver Stokowski

Oliver Stokowski

Günther Schütte, Prisoner Nr. 82

Wotan Wilke Möhring

Wotan Wilke Möhring

Joe Maier, Prisoner Nr. 69

Awards & nominations

See all 7 →

0 wins from 7 nominations across 2 ceremonies

International Submission to the Academy Awards 2002 International Submission to the Academy Awards Germany Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Film Oliver Hirschbiegel Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Director Oliver Hirschbiegel Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Film Fanes Film Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Film Seven Pictures Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Actor Moritz Bleibtreu Nominee
14th European Film Awards 2001 Best Film Typhoon Films Nominee

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.