A silent film version directed by Gerhard Lamprecht was filmed in Lübeck and released in 1923.
Alfred Weidenmann directed The Buddenbrooks television series starring Liselotte Pulver, Nadja Tiller, Hansjörg Felmy, Hanns Lothar, Lil Dagover and Werner Hinz. Buddenbrooks – 1. Teil was released in 1959, and Buddenbrooks – 2. Teil was released in 1960.
Franz Peter Wirth directed a television series, consisting of 11 episodes, that premiered in 1979. It was filmed in Gdańsk, which had been less damaged by war than Lübeck was.
Another film version, starring Armin Mueller-Stahl, was released in 2008.