Downfall

Though I've never read the two books upon which this film was based, I came to it with a fairly comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. Those who are reading this already know what Downfall is about, so I won't rehash it here. What the film does is deepen our understanding of the human side of those most often parodied as monochromatic psychopaths. People are people, and as Hitler's former secretary Traudl Junge commented in the interviews that bookend the film, one can sometimes be led down a path with an end unimagineable when the journey began.The whole gamut of human emotion and behavior is on display here as the Nazi leadership tries to cope with the realization that the end of their dream of a thousand year Reich is at hand. For every man and woman who bravely, resignedly, or stoically faces the end, there is a coward or a self-server who seeks to save only his own skin.We see Hitler poring over maps, concocting strategies for armies that exist in name only. We see him rage at his generals, we see his tender relations with his closest associates, and we see him a tear rolling down his cheek when he comes to know that even Albert Speer, one of his closest advisers, had disobeyed his orders to institute a scorched earth policy as his armies are in retreat. We see him rationalize the destruction of German cities with the comment that it is easier to clear away debris than to tear down existing structures after the war is won in order to build a Germany filled with National Socialist architecture. The portrayal of Hitler by Bruno Ganz is a rare masterpiece in that he brings home the essential humanity of a man concealed beneath a crushing burden of hatred. Many criticize the suicides of Hitler and others when failure was certain as the coward's way out, but suicide as redemption for failure was engrained in German/Austrian military culture long before Hitler came on the scene. Besides, Hitler knew what was likely in store should the Russians capture him and so as well did Eva Braun.Other standout performances include the fetching Alexandra Maria Lara as the ingenue Traudl Junge (Humps), a Munich native who becomes Hitler's secretary. She often appears surprised and disbelieving at some of what she sees and hears, but remains a loyal employee to the end. There is a point when she is taking the dictation of Hitler's final Political Testament that the look on her face as she listens to Hitler says she wishes that he would quit ranting about the Jews. Lara's Junge actually comes off as a very normal kind, concerned, and loving woman.Ulrich Matthes is chilling as the fanatic-to-the-end Joseph Goebbels as is Corinna Harfouch portraying his wife Magda. Goebbels seems to delight in the destruction of his country and when questioned about sending poorly-armed and unarmed elderly men and boys out to face the Russians, he coldly denies having any sympathy for them and says that the German people deserve their fate for giving them (the Nazis) a mandate. Matthes' portrayal of Goebbels seems to confirm author David Irving's assertion that Goebbels was the mastermind behind much of what was evil about the Nazi regime. Probably the only people that Goebbels loved besides Hitler are his ill-fated children and his wife Magda.Harfouch's stone-faced Magda, who bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Hillary Clinton, is magnificent as a woman who after lengthy agonizing and rationalizing, very stoically did what she considered to be her duty in murdering her sleeping children in order to save them from the fate they most likely would have faced under the Russians and from life in a world without her beloved National Socialism. The scene is moving and painful. Make no mistake, she was not pleased with herself for what she did, nor was she pleased with her husband for making no effort to dissuade her. The Goebbels children are among the few besides civilian victims for which the viewer might feel sorry. Shortly after, Magda faced her own end with the same stony resignation as Goebbels kills her and then himself while the Russians close in.Christian Berkel as SS Doctor Schenck stands out as a man whose concern for the civilian population, his tireless efforts to get food, medicine and other medical supplies for the helpless, and his heroic efforts at stopping roving death squads from murdering innocent civilians accused of desertion make him one of the few sympathetic adult characters in the movie.I could go on, but you get the idea about what a brutally gripping film this is. Along with the main action, there are the sideshows: fanatical children ready to fight to the last "man", bewildered masses of displaced civilians, die-hard SS men threatening and in some case shooting any comrades who call for negotiated surrender, the never-ending tension in the fuehrer's bunker while the endgame plays itself out, the petty disobediences of party functionaries as awareness that the end is nigh sets in. One of the most striking scenes in the bunker is that of a drunken Eva Braun insisting that a bunker party continue after a close call with Russian artillery. She wants music, and when asked what kind, she calls for forbidden "degenerate" swing music to be played while she clambers up on a table and dances with abandon.Most viewers will want to watch Downfall several times to catch all the detail. There is so much to digest that several viewings are necessary for it all to sink in. The filmmakers worked hard to make the film as authentic as possible, right down to the uniforms. I have waited a long time for this to come out on DVD ever since a friend told me about seeing it in a Las Vegas art movie house. It was well worth the wait to me as I consider it to be one of the best films I've seen in years. If you have any love of history you should enjoy this film as well. Five stars are too few.

Downfall is a haunting and powerful portrayal of Hitler’s final days. The performances, especially by Bruno Ganz, are outstanding and deeply immersive. The film captures the tension, chaos, and psychological collapse inside the bunker with brutal honesty. It's historically accurate, emotionally intense, and incredibly well made. A must-watch for anyone interested in World War II history.

Adolph was really good in this one, 10/10, more like 19/45, haha, ha, haha. ha.

Over the last year I have tried to get my hands on as much movies about WWII as possible. Top on my list was Conspiracy, a very good made-for-TV movie with superb acting and historical data. Taking Sides and Band of Brothers are excellent choices in their own context. Saving Private Ryan is simply a disapointing fictional story about a historical event: I mean, they did have like a thousand stories to chose from, why chose a fictional one? Gathering Storm, a short BBC movie about W. Churchill does not even cover England at war and is not really top on my list.There are some other very importat choices like Inside the Third Reich (a bit hard to find) and finally Hitler's Diaries where you do find Mr. Hitler in real person, not an actor's performance. Although the editing is too biased and the text scroll-ups anoying (not to mention that german praise they used to shout their Furher), you get as real to Adolf as you can. The guy was really sick by the way, and he needed a haircut!The Trials at Nuremberg and Nuremberg do cover some historical background about the tirals at the end of the war and the first discoveries of the Holocaust. Their failure to portray a single Nazi in the first, and too Hollywood for my taste on the later, prevent me from really recommending either one. If you have to choose, go for the fist one though.Then there is Downfall.An openning and closing sequence show real clips of an interview with Hitler's 1942-45 secretary and the movie is based on her account of the last days of her furher. But the movie goes beyond that to its credit and truth to its producer account on the special features, it covers the last days of the regime; showing in detail the outcome of each one of the people that Mrs. Secretary shared those last days with. She suvived the war and the discovery of her bosse's handy work.One of the highlights of the movie is an Oscar-caliber portrayal of Adolf and the excellent desicion of the actor to show its portrayee as a real human being. The actor summarizes this point in the Special Features by concluding that previous impersonations by Sir Alec Guiness and Sir Anthony Hopkins failed to show the real Hitler by satanizing him. This movie shows Hitler with a more realistic perspective: A German dictator that to his last minute was convinced that he had served the human race by getting rid of the jewish people. Whether he was demmented or dilussional was beyond the fact that he was still a human beign and very much aware that he was going to be served in a platter by the Russians two blocks away.What do you at that point in time? In his case he chooses to continue his killing spree by ordering every surviving defector to be shot, (including his fiancee's brother in law,) the destruction of his own country (there was really not much left anyway) and ultimately gets married. He spent his short honey moon in his room shooting Mrs. Eva Brown Hitler and himself.I can't say there is a single bad performance except for Mr. Goring's impersonator; who really does not have any dialog (he ultimatedly surrended to the Americans and then commited suicide in his cell.) He just did not have the precence of the real general, that's all...What distinghishes this movie from all the rest is the truth to the fact aspect of every dialog and setting. According to the producers they went into great pains to get each account right including the bunker's installations. They must have gotten it right as those meeting halls were really small for the once ruler of much of Europe.The movie is available in German with English subtitles and for the first part, I could not agree more. There should not be any historical movie about their subjects in any other language than their own. This is a clear prove of that and the movie gains so much realism for that single fact. If you want to see and English speaking Adolf, buy The Bunker!There are some very good reviews about the movie already posted here, and I congratulate all the other reviewers for providing so many facts about them... specially the guy who wrote all of Gooble's concuvines names. Wow, that was really important. What is also important is to let you know that the movie does have some very disturbing scenes and should not be watched by everybody. Nevertheless that really did happen and the movie presents those scenes in exactly that manner: to what lenghts people went to in that particular time in that part of the world.This is one of the best movies about the war and gets to that point by portraying the other side of the coin; the attackers now on the run and their last days in office. If I have to leave just one movie in my collection, I would not have second thoughts about this one. Maybe the academy should have done the same thing.

Not a subtitles fan but this movie was pretty interesting and despite subtitles held my attention. Found it quite entertaining. Interesting subject matter. Having read mein Kampf and the rise and fall of the third reich. I was interested to see how it was presented. It did not disappoint.

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