Skip to content
The Pied Piper poster
5.9 / 10(36 votes)IMDb19721h 30mGermany, United Kingdom

The Pied Piper

“Come children of the universe, let Donovan take you away, far far away.”

Synopsis

Greed, corruption, ignorance, and disease. Midsummer, 1349: the Black Death reaches northern Germany. Minstrels go to Hamelin for the Mayor's daughter's wedding to the Baron's son. He wants her dowry to pay his army while his father taxes the people to build a cathedral he thinks will save his soul. A local apothecary who's a Jew seeks a treatment for the plague; the priests charge him with witchcraft. One of the minstrels, who has soothed the Mayor's daughter with his music, promises to rid the town of rats for the fee. The Mayor agrees, then renigs. In the morning, the plague, the Jew's trial, and the Piper's revenge come at once.

Key Information & Fast Facts

Director
Jacques Demy
Screenplay & Story
Jacques Demy, Andrew Birkin, Mark Peploe
Original Score
Donovan
Original Title
The Pied Piper
Country of Origin
Germany, United Kingdom
Spoken Languages
English
Runtime
1h 30m
Production Studios
Goodtimes Enterprises, Sagittarius Productions

Creative Leadership & Key Crew

Director

Jacques Demy

Screenplay & Story

Jacques Demy, Andrew Birkin, Mark Peploe

Original Score & Music

Donovan

Director of Photography

Peter Suschitzky

Film Editing

John Trumper

Producers

David Puttnam, Sanford Lieberson

Department Leadership Roster

Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy

Director

Jacques Demy

Jacques Demy

Writer

Peter Suschitzky

Peter Suschitzky

Director of Photography

David Puttnam

David Puttnam

Producer

Sanford Lieberson

Producer

Andrew Birkin

Andrew Birkin

Writer

Mark Peploe

Writer

John Trumper

Editor

Assheton Gorton

Production Design

Official cinematic photography and background stills for The Pied Piper.

Featured In Curated Collections

Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring The Pied Piper.

Mid Hunting List

A list of mids found by Mid Hunters

11336 titles

Pandemic

Auto-filled from Letterboxd lists

552 titles

Medieval

Auto-filled from Letterboxd lists

1017 titles

All BluRay Movies EVER

desc

12627 titles

French New Wave

Nouvelle Vague films, 1958 to 1973, by the movement's directors.

268 titles

Criterion US - Fantasy Movies

Curated list of Most Popular on Criterion (US). Updated frequently. Last updated August 28, 2026.

46 titles

Similar Titles to The Pied Piper

Movies sharing stylistic DNA, tone, and thematic storytelling

  • 5.8
  • 7.6
  • 6.5
  • 6.2
  • 6.8
  • 6.8
  • 7.3
  • 7.5
  • 7.7
  • 7.3
  • 2.5
  • 6.0
  • 6.6
  • 6.4
  • 5.7
  • 5.8
  • 7.3
  • 6.6
  • 6.5

More Like The Pied Piper

Recommended titles matching themes, cast, and genres.

6.8
5.8
6.8
7.2
7.1
7.5
7.0
7.0
6.3
6.0
6.3
5.8

Frequently Asked Questions About The Pied Piper

Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.

What is The Pied Piper about?

Greed, corruption, ignorance, and disease. Midsummer, 1349: the Black Death reaches northern Germany. Minstrels go to Hamelin for the Mayor's daughter's wedding to the Baron's son. He wants her dowry to pay his army while his father taxes the people to build a cathedral he thinks will save his soul. A local apothecary who's a Jew seeks a treatment for the plague; the priests charge him with witchcraft. One of the minstrels, who has soothed the Mayor's daughter with his music, promises to rid the town of rats for the fee. The Mayor agrees, then renigs. In the morning, the plague, the Jew's trial, and the Piper's revenge come at once.

Who directed The Pied Piper?

The Pied Piper was directed by Jacques Demy.

Who stars in The Pied Piper?

The principal cast of The Pied Piper includes Donovan, Diana Dors, Donald Pleasence, Roy Kinnear, John Hurt.

When was The Pied Piper released and how long is it?

The Pied Piper was released in 1972 with a total runtime of 1h 30m.

Who composed the musical score for The Pied Piper?

The original motion picture soundtrack for The Pied Piper was composed by Donovan.