A well made movie but an endlessly explosive subject
Added 2/7/2010
This is a very well-made semi-documentary about Hitler's final days. The sets, the acting, the dialog are all excellent.
After seeing the movie, my main question was how much of the events and speeches were historical and which parts were fictionalized, written for the movie? For example, the horrific speeches by Goebbels and Hitler to the effect that the German civilian population deserved to suffer now because they had proved to be too weak - that the Nazi leadership owed them no consideration - how do we know Goebbels actually said that? Some aspects of the movie were clearly fictionalized to give a better story - for example when the heroine, Hitler's secretary played by the beautiful Alexandra Maria Lara escapes Berlin after the downfall, it would not have been the gentle bicycle ride in the countryside as depicted. In reality, there would have been no escape from systematic massive gang rapes of German women by Russian soldiers which affected hundreds of thousands in the aftermath of May, 1945.
In trying to read more about the historically accurate story, what I mainly discovered, to my surprise, was the phenomenal level of discomfort - extreme discomfort - that still prevents many from coming to grips with the Hitler era, especially within Germany. For example, the movie was basically ignored by the German press when it came out, only one major review! Some complained that the movie was too kind to Hitler and the others, humanizing them by showing their tenderness within their own families. But isn't that normal human behavior, someone who may be monster or criminal but who is kind to their children? Others were afraid the movie would encourage Neo-Nazis.
All so weird. The Third Reich was supposed to last a thousand years. Apparently what will take a thousand years is for all those affected by the Nazi years, inside and outside Germany, to come to grips with it.
Side note: The movie is being publicized again these days for an odd reason of internet humor; YouTube is full of parody versions where a key scene has subtitles overwritten to make it seem Hitler is becoming enraged over the recall of Toyota brakes or other current events. Some of these are hilarious. Just search on Youtube for "Hitler."
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Inside the bunker, the last days of tyranny....
Added 1/27/2010
This movie was an excellent recreation of the events that took place days leading up to Hitler's end and VE day.
The acting was flawless. There were no excessive exagerations, just superbe performances by the actors portraying the most evil men in history.
The actor who played Goebells was spot on, physically and the way he captured his vile personality.
Bruno Ganz did a superb performance as the doomed dictator. Capturing his typical rages to his distance from reality.
You saw the grity reality of the war's impact on those trapped in Berlin before the Russians entered.
The innocent and the fanatical.
I STRONGLY recommend this movie to WWII history buffs and those interested in one of the darkest and most fascinating chapters in human history.
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Great movie about the final days of Hitler.
Added 1/22/2010
Great movie, well made, good acting, and very informative. It is sub-titled but an easy read. The german language is spoken and really makes the movie more realistic. It looks wonderful in Blu-Ray and would recommend this to anyone interested in the time period of World War II.
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Unspoken message to der Deutsch leute
Added 1/21/2010
All "true" stories take a specific viewpoint, be it an autobiographical one or something determined by a scripter. This is unavoidable. The German-made biopic DOWNFALL is no exception. In this story of Adolf Hitler's last days, he's depicted as what he was: both a compassionate person and a deranged dictatorial monster. This attempt at honesty is admirable, and yet, the filmmakers exercise restraint, perhaps respect, in dealing with his and Eva's suicides. They're simply not shown, nor do we see their faces afterward.
This same method is used when Goebbels and wife die in the courtyard: the camera discreetly cuts away. I'm not lusting for gore, but what would've been so wrong in actually witnessing the ignominious ends of two of the worst villians in history (Hitler and Goebbels)?
By contrast, Frau Goebbels, who only hours earlier was anointed by der Fuhrer as "Germany's best mother," drugs her five children with a potion and once they're incapicitated she kills them by breaking cyanade capsules into their mouths. These horrific acts are shared with us in their entirety.
It's troublesome. Lesser Nazis are seen blowing their brains out, so not showing Adolf or Josef doing so is a choice that sends a message, albeit not a loud one, to the viewer about the meaning of these figures to the German people, even in death.
That's the only issue I take with what is an extraordinary and often nerve-shattering film, one that otherwise constantly rings true and is in fact a must-see for military history buffs.
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A Dangerous Film
Added 11/25/2009
This is the story of the final days of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. The film is based on two books written by people who were in the bunker with Hitler and his staff. It is a brilliantly crafted film, however it posits one nearly unthinkably theory.
Hitler was a human being.
Stunning as it is, I can find no evidence to support the fact that Hitler was an alien, cyborg, or an otherwise mythical creature from the bowels of hell. He was a human being, filled with absolute hatred who gained the power to direct his hate outwards at the entire world.
But he was a human being. This film alternates Hitler as he descends into his final moments. We see the defiant leader, the hate filled genocidal maniac, the acceptance of the failure of the Reich, and then back through all three. Interspersed we meet the other cast of people around him in his final days. We see moments of vulnerability as the Goerbles children serenade "Uncle Adolf" on his birthday. We see the sadness in his eyes when he poisons his dog shortly before ending his own life. A sadness that never comes within a whisper of his face when he orders the extermination of MILLIONS of Europeans.
It is an odd juxtaposition to see Hitler as a kind, soft spoken man around the "family" in the bunker and the violent bouts of rage when the loss of the war is crashing down upon him. Bruno Ganz does a flawless portrayal of the Fuerher in this film and his work should be acknowledged.
Anyway, this is a terrific film for anyone who wants to see inside the Reich. I would love to see the creator of this film go back and make a HBO style mini series about the rise of the Nazi party. I believe it would be important, and this crew would be able to take the story out of the basic textbook stage of "Nazis are evil, let us hate at them." to a more productive "A small group of people gained power in a ravaged nation and used fear and hatred in an attempt to take over the world and wipe races of people off of the earth. While many in the power structure were pure evil, some were simply lazy and chose not to look at what they were doing and others were too slow witted to realize they were lock step with pure evil." Because as we all know, those who do not know history are destined to repeat it.
T
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