{ "id": "ep30qxd6hg", "slug": "komm-su-er-tod", "title": "Komm, süßer Tod", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films", "label": "2000–2004 films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002", "label": "Released 2000 to 2002", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery", "label": "Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Komm, süßer Tod (Come Sweet Death) is a 2000 Austrian crime comedy by Wolfgang Murnberger, the first film adaptation of Wolf Haas's Brenner novels, starring Josef Hader as ex-detective Simon Brenner, an ambulance driver drawn into a murderous rivalry between Vienna ambulance services.", "snippet": "Komm, süßer Tod (Come Sweet Death) is a 2000 Austrian crime comedy by Wolfgang Murnberger, the first film adaptation of Wolf Haas's Brenner novels, starring Josef Hader as ex-detective Simon Brenner, an ambulance driver drawn into a murderous rivalry between Vienna ambulance services.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.crime-thriller-mystery.2000-2004-films.yr-2000-2002", "markdown": "# Komm, süßer Tod\n\n**Komm, süßer Tod** (English title: *Come Sweet Death*) is a 2000 Austrian crime comedy directed by Wolfgang Murnberger, based on the novel of the same name by Wolf Haas, with Josef Hader starring as the ex-detective Simon Brenner[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/). The story follows Brenner, now working as an ambulance driver in Vienna, as he is drawn into a violent rivalry between two competing rescue services and a string of murders[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/). It was the first screen adaptation of Haas's Brenner novels and is regarded as the start of a new type of Austrian crime comedy[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf) • [3](https://info.filmarchiv.at/program/film/komm-suesser-tod/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title / English title | Komm, süßer Tod / Come Sweet Death[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/) |\n| Director and screenplay | Wolfgang Murnberger; screenplay by Murnberger, Wolf Haas, and Josef Hader, after Haas's novel[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/) • [4](https://hader.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod/) |\n| Lead cast | Josef Hader (Simon Brenner), Simon Schwarz (Berti), Barbara Rudnik (Klara), Nina Proll (Angelika Lanz), Karl Markovics (Jäger)[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/komm-suesser-tod_c637f194c43b4bfab949bcadb54dd7d7) |\n| Release | Austria 15 December 2000; Germany 20 September 2001[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/) |\n| Format and length | 35 mm color, 108 minutes[3](https://info.filmarchiv.at/program/film/komm-suesser-tod/) |\n| Music | Sofa Surfers[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/) |\n| Austrian admissions | 232,009[6](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAfter an affair with the wife of his superior, the Vienna police officer Simon Brenner is dismissed after 19 years of service and takes an unambitious job as an ambulance driver with the \"Kreuzretter\" service[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/komm-suesser-tod_c637f194c43b4bfab949bcadb54dd7d7). Because the city of Vienna pays for every patient delivered, rescuing the injured becomes a fight between the Kreuzretter and the rival \"Rettungsbund\": whoever arrives first collects the fee[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/komm-suesser-tod_c637f194c43b4bfab949bcadb54dd7d7). The rivalry is fought with every available means, including patients being \"stolen\", blood-bank chiefs bled, and ambulance drivers artfully eliminated[7](https://tv.orf.at/program/orf3/deroesterr26586.html).\n\nBrenner's return to detective work begins when two lovers, in mid-kiss, fall to the ground, struck by a well-aimed shot[8](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2001/films/komm-s%C3%BC%C3%9Fer-tod). A second murder follows, this time of a Kreuzretter colleague, and when the police arrest the wrong man, Brenner intervenes[9](https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20000510_OTS0241/komm-suesser-tod-sani-taeter-so-gesehen). Together with his colleague Berti, a conscientious objector doing his civilian service as a driver, and his old love Klara, he uncovers the truth behind the ruthless competition between the rescue organizations and places himself in danger[5](https://www.filmportal.de/film/komm-suesser-tod_c637f194c43b4bfab949bcadb54dd7d7) • [10](https://tv.apple.com/at/movie/komm-su%C3%9Fer-tod/umc.cmc.wqw1163y6yatiwyl0rllxfoa). In the end the perpetrators are exposed or dead, and Brenner, though battered, emerges victorious as a detective[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf).\n\n## Source novel and the Brenner series\n\nThe film adapts *Komm, süßer Tod*, the third of what were then seven Brenner crime novels with which Wolf Haas achieved cult status in German-language crime fiction[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf). Murnberger's 2000 film was the first time a Brenner novel was adapted for the cinema[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf). The screenplay was written by Haas and Murnberger together with the lead actor Josef Hader, an Austrian cabaret performer[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf) • [8](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2001/films/komm-s%C3%BC%C3%9Fer-tod).\n\nThe novels' humor rests on a distinctive narrator who, on familiar terms with the reader, tells the taciturn Brenner's story in an idiom-rich, Austrian-flavored German full of wordplay and local lore[2](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf). Murnberger described his aim as retelling Haas's style in a \"lapidary\", unstrained way[11](https://www.austrianfilms.com/film/komm_suesser_tod).\n\n## Production\n\nThe film was produced by DOR FILM with support from the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI), ORF under the Film/Television Agreement, and the WFF[9](https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20000510_OTS0241/komm-suesser-tod-sani-taeter-so-gesehen) • [6](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod). The producers were Danny Krausz and Kurt Stocker; Peter von Haller was the cinematographer, Evi Romen the editor, and the band Sofa Surfers wrote the music[9](https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20000510_OTS0241/komm-suesser-tod-sani-taeter-so-gesehen). Shooting took place in Vienna from May to July 2000[6](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod).\n\nRelease dates differ slightly between sources: Cineuropa lists the Austrian theatrical release as 15 December 2000, while the Austrian Film Institute gives 21 December 2000[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/) • [6](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod). The German release followed on 20 September 2001[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/).\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film drew 232,009 cinema admissions in Austria, and a 2008 Austrian cultural program in Boston reports it received an award as the most successful Austrian movie of 2001[6](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod) • [12](https://www.austria-boston.org/wp-content/uploads/flyers/A-AA-2008-02-02-MovieNight.pdf). After a strong start at the Austrian box office it opened the [Saarbrücken](https://www.edgepedia.org/saarbrucken) festival and was shown in [Rotterdam](https://www.edgepedia.org/rotterdam), where the International Film Festival Rotterdam screened it in its 2001 main program[11](https://www.austrianfilms.com/film/komm_suesser_tod) • [8](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2001/films/komm-s%C3%BC%C3%9Fer-tod).\n\nFilm Archive Austria's retrospective notes that at the start of the millennium the film created an entirely new type of Austrian crime comedy, with the wit running until a morbid moment catches the laughter in the throat[3](https://info.filmarchiv.at/program/film/komm-suesser-tod/). On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 92% audience score, and the *Lexikon des Internationalen Films* called it a surprising demonstration that the crime-comedy genre was not lost for ambitious German-language cinema[13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/komm_susser_tod) • [14](https://www.dff.film/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dfm-kinoprogramm_2012-10_web_neu2.pdf).\n\nThe film launched a series: Murnberger and Hader followed it with the Brenner adaptations *Silentium* (2004) and *[Der Knochenmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/der-knochenmann)*, and the Votiv Kino in Vienna marked the 25th anniversary of *Komm, süßer Tod* with a renewed theatrical run and a discussion with Murnberger, Hader, Reinhard Nowak, and Nina Proll[15](https://www.austrianfilms.com/jart/prj3/afc-new/data/uploads/catalogues/katalog%202009_10.pdf) • [16](https://www.votivkino.at/film/komm-suesser-tod/).\n\n## References\n\n1. [Come Sweet Death (Komm, Suesser Tod), Cineuropa](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/1787/)\n2. [Lachen will gelernt sein – Genre und Erscheinungsformen des Komischen im österreichischen Spielfilm, filmABC Materialien No. 38](https://www.filmabc.at/documents/38_FilmheftFilmABC_Komoedie.pdf)\n3. [KOMM, SÜSSER TOD, Filmarchiv Austria](https://info.filmarchiv.at/program/film/komm-suesser-tod/)\n4. [Komm, süßer Tod – Josef Hader](https://hader.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod/)\n5. [Komm, süsser Tod, filmportal.de](https://www.filmportal.de/film/komm-suesser-tod_c637f194c43b4bfab949bcadb54dd7d7)\n6. [Komm, süßer Tod, Österreichisches Filminstitut](https://filminstitut.at/filme/komm-suesser-tod)\n7. [Der Österreichische Film: Komm, süßer Tod, ORF III](https://tv.orf.at/program/orf3/deroesterr26586.html)\n8. [Komm, süßer Tod, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2001](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2001/films/komm-s%C3%BC%C3%9Fer-tod)\n9. [KOMM, SÜSSER TOD / SANI – TÄTER, SO GESEHEN, OTS Presse (10 May 2000)](https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20000510_OTS0241/komm-suesser-tod-sani-taeter-so-gesehen)\n10. [Komm, süßer Tod, Apple TV (AT)](https://tv.apple.com/at/movie/komm-su%C3%9Fer-tod/umc.cmc.wqw1163y6yatiwyl0rllxfoa)\n11. [Komm, süßer Tod, Austrian Films](https://www.austrianfilms.com/film/komm_suesser_tod)\n12. [Austria Boston Alliance movie night flyer (2008)](https://www.austria-boston.org/wp-content/uploads/flyers/A-AA-2008-02-02-MovieNight.pdf)\n13. [Come Sweet Death, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/komm_susser_tod)\n14. [Deutsches Filmmuseum Kinoprogramm (2012)](https://www.dff.film/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dfm-kinoprogramm_2012-10_web_neu2.pdf)\n15. [Austrian Films 2009/10 catalogue, Austrian Film Commission](https://www.austrianfilms.com/jart/prj3/afc-new/data/uploads/catalogues/katalog%202009_10.pdf)\n16. [Komm süßer Tod – Film & Gespräch, Votiv Kino](https://www.votivkino.at/film/komm-suesser-tod/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2000 to 2002*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Komm, süßer Tod\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Komm, süßer Tod](https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod](https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Komm, süßer Tod\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/komm-su-er-tod. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Komm, süßer Tod is a 2000 Austrian crime comedy by Wolfgang Murnberger, the first film adaptation of Wolf Haas's Brenner novels, starring Josef Hader as ex-detective Simon Brenner, an ambulance driver drawn into a murderous rivalry between Vienna ambulance services." }