Downfall
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann, Michael Mendl, André Hennicke, Ulrich Noethen, Birgit Minichmayr, Rolf Kanies, Justus von Dohnanyi, Dieter Mann, Christian Redl, Götz Otto, Thomas Limpinsel, Thomas ThiemeDirector: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Studio: Sony Pictures
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, NTSC
Running Time: 155 minutes
DVD Release: August 2nd 2005
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DVD Review
The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon
User Reviews
Excellent... with one Critical and Important Exception - Rating: 3/5
If you want to know how it feels to enter the abyss, then watch this movie. The viewer is crushed by the heartache of the coming end of the Reich, and wonders how any person could emerge from it with a measure of sanity remaining. Civilians trapped in the street fighting; children enduring tank assaults; the constant drumbeat of incoming artillery; and meanwhile against the constant backdrop of the unreality of the Fuhrerbunker, the men and women living in their "wolkenskukushiem."
What is it like to experience total and utter defeat? The world you have know is collapsing around you, and you are totally helpless to stop it.
Watch the face of the actor who plays Brigadefuhrer Mohnke as he hears Gobbels telling him that the German people will have their "little throats" cut. What would go through YOUR mind? Watch as an SS doctor works he way through the bunker, even as men of the Nordland and Charlemagne SS troops (yes... Norwegians and French volunteers fighting the last battle around the Fuhrerbunker) recheck their equipment and load what little ammunition they have left. The shock on Gen. Helmut Weidling's face, the commander of the famed 56th PanzerKorps, as he is told that he's now the commandant of Berlin's defenses. The flash of reality that crosses Eva Braun's face when she gives away her mink coat to Traudl Junge, a rare glimpse through the forced happiness she otherwise displayed.
But in the midst of the carnage there is real courage. Forget the politics, forget the Nazis, as you see that there were people who displayed REAL courage in hopeless circumstances... soldiers and civilians fighting hopeless battles through the crumbling streets of Berlin. My mother saw and experienced some of this same anguish in Southern Germany.
But now for the problem-- a BIG problem. Soviet atrocities are completely expunged. Even Traudl Junge is shown to have escaped the Russians unscathed... pure fantasy. She was raped by the Soviets numerous times. While SS and Nazi atrocities are shown repeatedly, there is not ONE Russian atrocity displayed. Not one. Thus, depsite the fact that the movie is well done and reasonably accurate historically in many areas, it actually strives to rewrite and sanitize history.
Nevertheless, the acting is well done. Ganz does a superb job of humanizing Hitler, which of course makes this movie controversial. Despite the problem above, and my three star rating, the movie is still worth seeing, or even owning. The scenes are riveting and heartrending, and will remind us of the tragedy that became known as the Battle of Berlin. It should also remind us of what happens when people surrender themselves to the power of the State, to let the State run their lives and "care" for them in its brutal maw.
The Best Movie About Hitler Ever Made - Period! - Rating: 5/5
Don't hesitate, buy this movie, it's extraordinary and you'll watch it twenty times at least. The historical accuracy is outrageous right down to the smallest details, and Ganz absolutely becomes Adolf Hitler. This is a disturbing and magnificent job of showing the end of the Third Reich from an interesting variety of perspectives. I don't know how it could've been better.
A study of disintegration, on both a national & individual level - Rating: 5/5
Simply put, one finds out a lot about people when the chips are down. As it becomes apparent to everyone that not only are the best days of the Nazis behind them, but the coming end of the 1000-Year Reich can be counted in days rather than years, the assorted characters exhibit as wide a range of responses as is possible.
Amost the entire cast of characters is portrayed. The sycophantic Himmler pledges eternal loyalty & immediately attempts to cut a self-preserving deal with the allies. Meanwhile, an equally sycophantic Albert Speer comes to the realization that, at long long last, enough is enough --- and defies Hitler's order to consign the German people to certain destruction. Some subordinates realize, too late, that they have been following a false idol. Others, like Magda Goebbels, never give up the faith & pursue their devotion to Hitler & National Socialism to its horrifying conclusion. The generals, comprised at this point almost entirely of toadying yes-men, know that Hitler is ordering the movement of phantom armies & is totally divorced from the reality of the war, but their fundamental spinelessness prevents them, even when it is clear that all is lost, from telling their boss that he has no idea what he is doing.
Other characters display flashes of humanity. Some detractors have seen this, along with the portrayal of Hitler's warmer side with close associates, as evidence of a sort of German apologism, but it is only honest filmmaking. Nobody is a one-dimensional cartoon figure, and even the worst of human beings have their good moments, despite their normally wretched personalities. In some cases, the dire straits of Berlin's collapse result in some normally vile individuals displaying compassionate behavior because it truly is what the situation must call for. By contrast, some people (and Magda Goebbels surely must come to mind here in probably the most heart-rending scene in the film) make the most sickening choices possible.
What struck me most about this film was the study & portrayal of disintegration. As Germany collapsed, Hitler's own mind & spirit rapidly unravel. As Hitler collapses, his subordinates, who by following Hitler abdicated their responsibilities as members of the human race, are forced to make individual reckonings with their deeds and the disintegration of the artificial worlds they have created. Collapse begets collapse.
One will not easily lose the impact of this film. It is often difficult to watch, but definitely worth it.
Credible German View of Hitler - Rating: 4/5
This is a good film produced in German with subtitles in which Germans seek to come to terms with the legacy of Hitler-their own history-which gives the movie an added aura of authenticity. If possible get the DVD which contains interviews with the actors who discuss their roles and their view of their nation's history; there is also an interview with Hitler's personal secretary in addition to one with the actress who portrayed her in the film. It is historically credible except for its overemphasis on the role of the Russians to the exclusion of the Anglo-American forces (the movie was filmed in St. Petersburg). Thus at the beginning we see a Russian artillery shell exploding into a fairly unmolested street when in fact American and British aerial bombing had caused widespread devastation well before Soviet forces came within artillery range: an ominous event to be sure.
Realistic Adaptation of Hitler's Final Days... - Rating: 5/5
Once twenty minutes passes on screen you suddenly find yourself inside Hitler's bunker and believing you are a "fly on the wall" who is actually in there! This is a fine adaptation of Hitler and his far reaching madness. It portray's many of his generals as spineless whimps who do nothing but wait around for this obvious "mad man" to make decisions for them. All along I kept saying to myself, why doesn't someone take out his sidearm and shoot this crazy bastard? Of course, no one does!
Instead we have to await his quick suicide and subsequent burning just outside the entrance to his secret bunker.
Watching this film was not a chore. The 155 mins passed rather quickly and it was always interesting to peek behind the scenes of what was the most powerful evil doer's on earth in action.
I particularly enjoyed seeing Hitler's actual secretary speaking a few words both before the film, and after it. She truly saw the events unfold right in front of her, and eye witness to the most infamous evil leader of modern history.
I highly recommend this excellent film to anyone who enjoys watching history unfold right in front of their eyes.
