Downfall (DVD, 2005)

A powerfully disturbing portrayal of the last days of the 3rd Reich with riveting performances by the entire cast. Be prepared for an intense, rewarding experience. From the brief documentary remarks of Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge at the outset of the film until the hopeful conclusion, this tour de force will give you plenty to think about long after the final credits fade. This is one of the best World War II films ever. Bruno Ganz gives an award-winning performance. He's chillingly convincing in his finely nuanced portrayal of Hitler during the last years of his demonic life -- from his amazingly patient, grandfatherly treatment of his secretary to his tyrannical rages with his senior military leaders. You won't see many performances better than this. To the credit of the film's director and its casting director, the supporting cast is uniformly strong and gives compelling performances. One of the most noteworthy supporting performances is the sinister portrayal of Frau Goebbels by Corinna Harfouch. Magda Goebbels appears throughout most of the film to be an attentive mother and political enthusiast who prides herself at molding her 6 children into model National Socialist wunderkinder. In the film's climactic moments Ms. Harfouch convincingly portrays the pathology of Frau Goebbels' excessive glorification of the Fuhrer and his delusional ideology. Her heinous "crime" against nature will shock and outrage many viewers. Make sure to have your subwoofer turned on so you won't miss the audible and palpable reverberations that Surround Sound adds to this well-crafted film. The musical score also provides an almost haunting backdrop to the malevolence of the Nazi hierarchy, which in the final days of the 3rd Reich cold-bloodedly inflicts a horrific toll on its own German citizens. These effects clearly signal that film director Oliver Hirschbiegel has made a film that is destined to become a classic. Although the Special Features on the DVD are limited, both are worth watching. The MAKING OF, while running for 50+ minutes, helps to introduce many of the principal characters of this large cast, as well as provide some interesting behind the scenes comments about the film. Most of the INTERVIEWS feature repeats parts of the MAKING OF feature. The ONLY "new" (and informative) INTERVIEW was with Melissa Müller, who wrote a book about Hitler's secretary's memoirs. That interview is well worth watching.

I bought this on the recommendation of a friend whose judgement I trust. He was right as far as he went.

The producer does an excellent job recreating what is known about the final days in the Fuhrer bunker and the defence of Berlin in April and May 1945. The scenes in which the Goebbels euthanize/murder their children before committing suicide are particularly powerful and well-acted, although the entire cast does an excellent job.

Unfortunately, the producer and writers cop out shamefully and distort the historical record in the final scenes. They show our heroine, wearing a German uniform, walking silently through a crowd of Red Army soldiers who all let her pass unmolested. The next scene shows her riding a bicycle happy and carefree in some unspoiled area in rural Germany.

This is not the reality of the fall of Berlin.

The producer and writers do not show Red Army soldiers in Berlin gang-raping tens of thousands of German woman and girls of all ages -- nuns included -- and then murdering many of them.

They do not show Red Army soldiers in Berlin shooting Waffen-SS soldiers and other German combatants after the Germans had surrendered and laid down their
weapons.

The producer and writers mention the Nazi persecution of Jews in the closing credits, but no mention is made in the closing credits that at least some of the women on Hitler's personal staff (including, possibly, our heroine) were raped by Red Army soldiers after the end of the battle, and that at least some of the women on Hitler's staff were kept as "personal prisoners" by individual Red Army men for months after the end of the war.

There is also no mention of the fact that thousands of German civilians died of starvation, exposure, disease or cold in the first two years of the Allied occupation, and that this was due in large part to Allied policies that specifically prohibited the importation of food products into occupied Germany.

This is a fascinating movie to watch and surprisingly effective in portraying Hitler's charismatic hold on many "true believers" even when it should have been clear to everyone that his mistakes and misjudgements had destroyed Germany, but Cornelius Ryan's classic work, "The Last Battle," is a far more objective account of the subject of Hitler's last days and the fall of Berlin.

Great entertainment but badly flawed as history,

I've already watched it three times, and each time it gets better. Downfall is such a powerful movie, slow at times, but an awsome portrayal of the fall of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. The movie shows the ill-fated attempts by Hitler during his last days to remain in control and power while living in a bunker underneath the city of Berlin. Bruno Ganz's portrayal of Hitler was absolutely amazing. Downfall is a German film, so it is entirely spoken in the German language, but it has English subtitles. Like any foreign language film, you do get over the subtitles quickly and proceed through the movie effortlessly, especially this one. The movie is rated R with war violence, other scenes of violence (shootings, after-the-fact lynchings of a German citizens and one german boys father for being a communist symphathizer, suicide) and minor nudity (some topless scenes during a drunk ballroom party), but thats about it. This movie is definitely recommended, and the performances are just awsome. Downfall shows a very powerful ending to a very powerful empire.

There have been many books and movies dealing with the last days of the German Reich with various degrees of both success and accuracy. In Downfall, one gets the impression of what it was like to actually walk the halls and see the confines that were the home to top Nazi's during those last days. Having it done in German (with subtitles) adds just another dimension to this story. Filming within the Bunker actually was done within an accurate reproduction of the Bunker, and the director did a masterful job of filming in a tight confining location. This movie does just that. It is almost claustrophopic in that manner.

There were some minor errors dealing with historical accuracy, and some dialogue that was questionable. Sometimes, it was between major characters (The Goebbels) and in other cases, dialogue between others caught up in the madness of the last days. In one scene, General Krebs went to see Russian General Chuikov to talk surrender terms. During the meeting he made mention of Hitler's Suicide. The Russian General responded that they knew it already when in actuality, they did not. For me, this one scene, with this dialogue not included was noticeable. However, there are reasons why this movie is rated "R". Some of it is due to violence and blood, but there are other scenes which are not suitable for young viewers.

However, I would not allow such details to keep me from recommending this movie. If one is more interested in nit-picking the movie apart, there are websites that will provide the information. For me, it was an intense, fairly accurate picture of the last days of Hitler and his 1,000 year Reich. It showed a man, who commanded total loyalty (blood and honor) of others who did not question (even after Hitler's death) the orders and oaths they had taken. Yes, this movie portrayed what happened over 60 years ago, but the questions it raises are pertinent today. Blind loyalty is frightening, and it can (and in many cases will) lead to the same outcome as what was seen in Germany many years ago.

"Downfall" is the story of the last days of the Third Reich, shown largely from the perspective of Traudl Junge, a 22 year old secretary for Adolph Hitler near the end of the war. The scenes in the Bunker give the realistic picture of the claustrophobic and delusional character of the Nazi hierarchy. The actors portraying the principal characters are realistic and quite appropriate; I was impressed with their performances.
The film is in German with English subtitles which enhances the somber atmosphere, but requires one to have to read the subtitles. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wishes to view an accurate portrayal of what took place.