Manta, Manta (1991) User Reviews (13)

oldschool streetracing in it's purest form

[SickSik · 7/10 · 7 February 2003]

This is the ultimate film for a true carlover. Though lots of people might disagree on this point with me. Yes it's a german flick, but hey what the heck, it doesn't even matter if you understand anything said in this film, the racing is just so cool. It is a compilation of true oldschool streetracing. Sure the plot ain't all that, it's just all about the cars, which are simply affordable for most people and that makes it all the more interesting! I've seen enough fancy films with unaffordable monstercars, Manta Manta is just the real thing.

I'll have to agree with some people on this forum that this movie is probably the MOST interesting for german or Dutch people.

if you ever get the opportunity to get your hands on this film, be sure not to miss it. Just give it a try and you'll be surprised!

The real Manta (Manta) movie

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 31 May 2021]

I watched a different Manta movie a while ago, thinking it was going to be this one ... I was wrong, which I realized while watching the other one. It is quite inferior to this one. While this also has characters that are hard to sympathize with - and calling them silly would still give them more IQ credit than they deserve, this can be fun to watch.

I was especially surprised about how good Til Schweiger is in this one ... I don't usually praise his acting work ... then again, the "role" seems to be destined to be played by someone like him, so I guess it was a good fit. Manta is a car that many people made and still make fun of ... and you can see why, when you watch the movie ... but they are also people - the ones driving the car that is! So sit back and enjoy the craziness ... if you can.

Great fun when you're 30+

[r_uldal · 7/10 · 25 October 2007]

This is one of my all time favorites. Growing up with the Opel Manta as the car to have, I've even owned a few my self. One of my buddies actually bought "Berti's " manta from the film.

Anyway. The movie is extremely goofy, and Germans don't always know how to put in funny elements into a film. That taken aside the movie is still goofie. But think back. 1991! What kind of close did you where back then, and what colour was your hair ? And then there is the whole Manta Manta thing.. Thats why the movie is worth to watch. It actually has some car chases that are quite good, and the guy doing the stunts eventually came to do some of the car stunts on The Fast and the Furious.

The scene where Berti's Manta drives under a lorry was replicated some 10 years later in TFATF..

For me this movie is a walk back memory lane. The movie might be a eye roller if you're under the age of 25, or over the age of 45 but the ones that remember the late 80's and early 90's will definitely get a good laugh or two :o)

simplistic or is there more to it?

[allard-nl · 17 January 2002]

This film is probably only worth watching if you're from Western Europe. If you're not from there you miss the main point of the movie, portraying and maybe even exaggerating stereotypes.

The car the movie's title refers to, the infamous Opel Manta, is a car that has achieved cult status in Germany and is according to the general opinion mostly driven by 'socially unadjusted' people. Then again, if you look at the movie in a deeper perspective it might have a little more to it. You could see it as a movie about people with ambitions, (the mechanic that goes to university), setting your priorities straight (the main character that decides not to enter the race when he hears his girlfriend is pregnant) or about character (the 'loser' type that wins the final race).

Flawed cult movie about cars and their unique brand of drivers

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 19 February 2015]

"Manta, Manta" is a 1991 film directed by Wolfgang Büld. So far, he has been known mostly for sleazy school girl movie, car-related films like this one and some movies about punk. For writer Stefan Cantz, it was the first movie of his career. It did not look too different for Til Schweiger and Michael Kessler at this point. Both are very famous now in Germany and Schweiger even abroad, but at this point they were almost complete nobody. Schweiger played in the "Lindenstraße" back then. Tina Ruland was still unknown as well, but this movie and other films later on propelled her into the league of super blondes from the German acting industry. All 3 of them were in their mid-20s.

There is actual lots of stereotypical action in this film. Manta drivers are depicted as lazy, smelly, uneducated, horny, with stupid girlfriends who always work as hairdressers. Who cares if a Manta driver loses his job only to chase a girl in his Manta instead of working. All the guys' car action was as uninteresting to me as the girls' beauty contest. So the final race for 10,000 bucks was not exactly a truly memorable highlight of the movie. Admittedly the music wasn't too bad and I enjoyed hearing some classics. Schweiger, a trashy German poor man's James Dean at this point, plays the alpha Manta driver, Ruland his girlfriend and Kessler is a chaotic guy who wins the final race though and also gets a (not so) hot girl. Today, Schweiger is not only one of Germany's most known actors, but also directors and writers. Kessler is among Germany's most famous comedians and only Ruland does not really have a great career anymore as she was always more famous for her looks than her acting skills.

What I found slightly unrealistic is that the bitchy radio girl suddenly is interested in the not so stereotypical young Manta guy, but oh well. There's more wrong with this film than only this. At the end everybody gets their girl, Schweiger's character even gets a kid soon probably and all are happy when the Scorpions German reunion music kicks in. Looks like it was used in every movie shortly after 1989. I preferred the outro song for sure. Trashy song, but a bit of an earworm. Still, not a great film at all. Not recommended and only worth watching for nostalgic value. I don't know if there are still any Manta drivers existing almost 25 years later.

portrays stereotypes just right

[clanpainless · 8/10 · 22 May 2001]

i can really understand that this film isn't rated very high, when you're not from holland or germany you won't understand this movie. it's primarely based on stereotypes / people that live in these countries. if you know people like this you'll see that every stereotype in the movie is portrayed just right! i love this "cult" movie.

Best parodie to a livestyle

[leemhuis · 10/10 · 1 August 2001]

Manta manta is one of the funniest films I ever saw. The film is a parody description of a parallel world that has existed in Europe in the eighties and nineties. And may be still: It's the world of Opel Manta drivers, of man called 'Mani' and blonde women, often hairdressers called 'Ushi'. All sharing one passion:

OPEL MANTA

funny if u know the 80s

[ostergaard · 10/10 · 12 February 2002]

This is a real cool and funny movie if ur european and where young in the 80s.

As the title says the story is about guys (girls) who drive opel manta (B model).

The dialog is good and theres great action.

Fabulous Crap

[Crap_Connoisseur · 8 February 2006]

"Manta, Manta" is lame and embarrassing in so many ways. What kind of derelict comes up with the idea of making a film about Manta obsessed German villagers and actually allows the hero to drive around in a pink, blue and yellow car? "Manta, Manta" is so cringe-worthy that it will give you wrinkles. And yet, I simply can't get enough of this addictively stupid, piece of crap. Even the ridiculous soundtrack is a guilty pleasure.

"Manta, Manta" represents the cinematic debut of Til Schweiger, after his run on "Lindenstrasse". He plays Bertie, a Manta driving idiot who challenges a Mercedes driving yuppie to a race, much to the annoyance of his peroxide blonde girlfriend, Uschi. Uschi, in turn, is asked to take part in a wet t-shirt competition by a Ferrari driving stranger who mistakes her for a prostitute as she waits for the bus. The plot becomes even more ludicrous when Bertie's friend Gerd falls in love with a radio reporter on an anti-Manta crusade.

This film is the reason why I became a Til Schweiger fan. He displays some of his future potential and definitely looks like a movie star, but his performance here is dreadful to the point of being hilarious. Bertie's drunken trip to the anti-Manta radio station is a fantastic low in modern German cinema. It's amazing to see how far Til has come since this trash - well, with the exception of "Driven", which is really "Manta, Manta" with better cars but without the charm.

In addition to the chance of watching a young and clueless Til, the movie also offers some great car chases and some of the worst fashion ever captured on film. I am fully aware that "Manta, Manta" is utter crap but that has never stopped me from enjoying it. Fans of bad movies and undiscerning rev-heads will be glad to have spent 87 minutes of their time with Bertie and his loser friends.

The 'fast and the furious' from the early 90's.

[rac-panis · 10/10 · 10 March 2006]

If you're looking for a complex movie with difficult plots about you'd like to have deep going psychological discussions with graduated people you might wanna skip this one. Buf if you are in for a good laugh (and understand German since I believe there are no translations available) and want to have a insight look in the life of car tuning lovers of the early '90s this is great stuff. If you are into 'pimp my car' this is also worth watching - you'll see a lot of street-racing cars 'pimped' in the way it was fashion in the late '80s and early '90s in Europe. The theme is quite simple: a - not so clever - guy called Berti with a Opel Manta (a low budget European sports-coupe from the '80s which was very popular to 'pimp') gets competition in a street race from a guy with a fast Mercedes, and another slick guy with a Ferrari tries to get his hands on Bertis girlfriend. It looks like he's going to loose everything - but of course the good guy wins and there's a happy end.So the whole thing is quite predictable but it's packed in a humorous way with a blink-eye to the way people of the Manta-driving social class were living in that decade (like the shot from the street where Berti is living, and everybody's washing his car on Saturday morning and goes to the soccer game on Saturday afternoon). To catch those blinks you'd might have to have an understanding of the European culture and the way of living. Personally I the returning element of the DJ who's telling Manta jokes on the radio, like: Was geht 'n Manta fahrer durch den Kopf wenn er mit 180 gegen ein Mauert brettert ? Der Heckspoiler ! (What's on a Manta drivers head when he collapses with 180 km against a wall ? The rear spoiler !) So grab a few six packs of beer and invite some car loving guys to watch this one....

Fun stuff error

[istanbulemre · 10/10 · 25 August 2007]

In the "Fun Stuff" section writes:

"Factual errors: When Berti drives a race against a VW Golf, both drivers pull the handbrake and press the pedal to burn some rubber. This is not possible, because the Opel Manta is a rear wheel driven model, and the handbrake also brakes the rear wheels."

This "so called" error is not an error actually. I own one of these cars and i modified the handbrake system so that it controls the front brakes. Works perfect for burnout. And I did the modification BEFORE I saw the film. So the German might have done the same thing in 1991.

And if anyone knows where i can find a genuine DVD with English subtitles please let me know.

Great cultmovie

[kilgates · 16 April 2002]

This movie is extremely amusing, and might be more amusing to the dutch than to the germans. Part of the fun is the recognition of stereotypes: these guys really exists in Holland, Germany and probably Belgium, although they are often ruder and less sympathetic than the ones in the movie.

in hindsight

[voigaswolpertinger · 21 April 2024]

So first of all, what do people expect from a car tuning/racing comedy from the beginning of the 1990s? I hope not, Francis Ford Coppola worthy acting and family dinners that drag on for half an hour. Take it with a grain of salt, for what it is.

As part two , which I never expected, just hit the streaming services (in this case SKY), I felt like watching the original, to prepare. And it paid off well. Being born in 1980, the first film was part of my youth and we watched it a couple of times, having drinks and laughing about it all. What I did not remember, was the deeper sense of it, and Klausi being the not obvious hero.

Honestly it is not an eight star movie, but considering the bad reviews and harsh words that it got by some of my peer critics, I felt like being generous.

An absolute cult classic for anyone from a german speaking background born around the time.

Thanks for the memories really.