Directed by:
Oliver HirschbiegelScreenplay:
Bernd EichingerCinematography:
Rainer KlausmannComposer:
Stephan ZachariasCast:
Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann (more)Plots(1)
Charting the final days of World War II in Nazi Germany, DOWNFALL shows what went on in the bunker where Hitler (Bruno Ganz), his secretary (Alexandra Maria Lara), and a few close colleagues waited for their inevitable demise. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
The star of the film "The Fall of the Third Reich" is Adolf Hitler. No, maybe I should correct myself a little. The star is Bruno Ganz, who portrayed the German dictator in an absolutely incredible way, a person who was not afraid to kill millions of people just because they had a different origin than what he desired. True, his ideology was a bit more complicated, but we don't have to go into that. "The Fall of the Third Reich" is about how Hitler's life is coming to an end as the war in Europe is also coming to an end. The Soviets have reached Berlin and the city is being destroyed. The constant background of the whole film is explosions and gunfire. Hitler is still trying to do something to change the situation, he wants to reverse the course of events in his bunker, but gradually realizes that it is no longer possible. The last moments of this mad man are well-known, but when I watched what he actually did, when I could see him portrayed by the excellent Ganz, I realized that Hitler must have had enough sanity to realize that suicide is the only solution to leave this world peacefully and spare himself the inevitable trials that would follow. Eva Braun, his mistress and wife in the final stages of his life, is depicted as a completely fanatic woman who is willing to do anything for her Leader. But she was not alone. The film definitely does not aim to only condemn the Germans, I think that rather than an attack on the nation, it is a demonstration of what a person can achieve when they have sufficient abilities and acquire the necessary power. People are willing to go along with him under any conditions and take any steps, just to avoid being on the other side of the barricade. It is insane, but one single person can control the masses. Even if the masses know that he is insane, they will stand behind him as long as they feel that the other side is worse and that there is a bright future waiting on this - for now, right - side. Or at least the vision of it. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/10/ong-bak-pad-treti-rise-bolt-zathura-3g.html
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A movie that seems more like a documentary that isn’t so much about Hitler’s last days, as about the people around him and his last atrocity committed on his own nation. Certainly worth watching, but if it hadn’t been made by Germans, it would never have caused such a stir (is it really making Hitler seem more human if he thanks his cook for his food?). Even so, it’s good that it was the Germans who filmed it; they need to chase the skeletons out of their closet.
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Even years later, Downfall is a truly powerful experience. The famous producer Bernd Eichinger cleverly drew on the book "Der Untergang" by Joachim Fest and the memoirs of Hitler's youngest secretary Traudl Junge, published under the title "Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary." After all, Junge's confession frames the whole story of the last days of the Third Reich. And although she did not live to see the premiere of the film, her memories of her years at the Führer's side were the subject of a separate documentary Blind Spot. Hitler's Secretary. Thanks to this material, the resulting film is a much deeper and more plastic account of the end of a millennial empire that lasted only 12 years and yet never ceases to fascinate and is important to study in every detail. We follow so many important questions and paradoxes scene by scene, meeting once again those infamous figures of history. The cast is very interesting, for example Eva Braun - she was 33 at the time of her death, but played by almost 40-year-old Juliane Köhler (known from Aimee & Jaguar). And despite this handicap, she became a very authentic Mrs. Hitler. Magda Goebbels is a slightly different case - she was 44 at the time of her death, her character is 6 years older than Corinna Harfouch (famous as Vera Brühne), and her actions spoke for her more than her acting. Bruno Ganz (one of the best Hitlers) and Alexandra Maria Lara (Traudl Junge) are practically ideal representatives.
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The only negative of the film Downfall is its formal aspects. This is not a key and fatal negative, as some "I always have to write something different than the others" reviewers try to prove in their analyses. The director and screenwriters chose as the main narrative perspective "documentary distance" from the story and, adversely, a very expressive approach to the atmosphere. As a result, the dialogues have a austere and non-stylish feel, while the suffocating atmosphere of the bunker is abundantly and impressively complemented by sound effects (silence vs. rumbling), a camera (which sticks to the characters and promotes a claustrophobic and hopeless feeling) and editing (combining the illusion of interiors with naturalism in exteriors). While the expressive component of the film works perfectly, the documentary aspects tend to slip into excessive semi-pathos, multi-wording, and boringly branched dialogues, which, with a certain repetitiveness, take away momentum from the film. Not fatally, of course. The introduction of a "secondary" narrator in the form of Traudl Jung also proved very useful, who mediates a civilian view of the icons of the Third Reich - a civilian view which, in its naivety and blindness, is perhaps the most tragic feature of the film. And Jung's documentary suffix only points him out in all his nudity "...I should have been more interested..." A chilling finish of one of the storylines. But "Downfall" has more storylines, and it must be admitted that director Oliver Hirschbiegel was able to portray them all with certainty and persuasiveness. The result is a film with a raw atmosphere, teasing with questions (which the viewer has to answer for himself), and it is oppressive in that it does not hide anything with the poor decoys of heroic pathos. German cinema successfully passed the state exam in post-war adulthood...
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Downfall is a prime example of a quality historical film that mixes authentic events, perfect acting and great technical workmanship. It tells the story of a man who can be a caring husband and affable employer on the one hand, but also a monster without a drop of compassion on the other. We are, of course, talking about Adolf Hitler, who has made an indelible mark on history as a cruel dictator who wanted to conquer the entire world, in which only the 'pure' Aryan race would live. In this film we get a glimpse of the few days that preceded Hitler's death and the fall of the Reich. It captures, in particular the emotions of everyone involved, from the secretary, to the commanders, generals and chancellors, to the Führer himself. World War II is a timeless subject that has an inexhaustible supply, and this film depicts just one of its most poignant moments, and it doesn't even take place on the battlefield. Bruno Ganz is perfect as Hitler, and the cast of the Goebbels couple along with Traudl Junge are as well. In short, a film that really managed to blow me away despite its running time - I wasn't even breathing at the final recap of the fates.
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