Michael haneke funny games interview

In Austrian director Michael Haneke’s notorious, horrific 1997 thriller Funny Games, a pair of young men terrorizes a family in their holiday home for unknown reasons.

Haneke rarely shows the duo’s acts of violence, but his grueling and bloody depiction of those acts’ respective aftermaths renders the movie utterly unforgettable — and about as far removed from the traditional Tinseltown actioner as is possible to imagine.

Now Haneke has directed an English-language remake of the film, which stars Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt, and hits screens on March 14.

Michael haneke funny games interview questions

EW.com spoke to the director (The Piano Teacher, Caché) — via an interpreter — about hating Hollywood violence; despising Natural Born Killers; and why, if you stick around until the end of Funny Games, there may be something wrong with you.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The new version of Funny Games is almost identical to the original. Why did you decide to make it?