Downfall (1 Disc Edition) [DVD]

This is a near flawless movie, well deserving of a wide audience. The fact that it is a German movie which required watching subtitles, may put some people off - but the reality is that the German actors give this much more resonance than any Hollywood version could have. Much has been said about the fantastic performance of Bruno Ganz as Hitler. This is his movie, no doubt. It should also be mentioned, however, that all of the performances are so spot on that we are removed from a theatrical overview of events, and truly become part of life in the bunker. So many movies of this period show either the two dimensional Nazi bad guys and Hitler as a raving lunatic and nothing else, or a dispassionate overview of the tactics of the battle for Berlin. This movie achieves something rare - a real personal insight into the characters and how they informed the battle tactics and actions of individuals. Our view into this world is through the young and naive private secretary Traudl Junge, who wrote one of the books on which the movie is based. Thus, historical accuracy is very high. But what we see is an insight into the humanity of Hitler - in one moment warm and compassionate, the next brutal and vulgar. We can understand through Ganz' portrayal the charisma the man must have had to attract such loyal devotion. Do not be fooled into thinking that a movie about life in the bunker will be small scale low budget sets.. the movie ventures outside and we get glimpses of some terrible battle scenes. Those with DTS capability for surround sound will be richly rewarded. The scenes of a war ravaged Berlin are incredibly real - in fact, shot in Saint Petersburg. Towards the end the scenes become more and more disturbing as the veneer of normality is stripped away as the war looms closer. Scenes of suicides and murders are truly disturbing - not least the scene where Magda Goebbels, having sworn her children should not survive in a world without National Socialism, calmly murders them in their sleep, one at a time, before calmly sitting down to a game of cards. At once compelling in the drama of a city at war, and engrossing for its insight into characters normally cinema is too scared to show as humanity, this is perhaps one of the most insightful movies into the horror of National Socialism in WW II and the man who created it. The movie is bookended by the real Traudl Junge speaking in a 2001 documentary, adding an entirely appropriate coda to the movie showing its relevance to all of us. Thoroughly and unreservedly recommended.

Ok, parts of this, usually Hitler's ranting, have been ripped out for humorous YouTube movies, some of which are very funny indeed. The reason that these work so well is that Hitler was a very, very crazy and deeply bad person and the true reality of the evil insanity of the Third Reich comes over in this accurate story of the events leading up to his suicide and the collapse of his empire. At times it's not easy watching, the spine chilling evil of the whole culture of Naziism comes over full force and the only empathy that you'll be able to dredge up will be for the core character, a young woman conscripted into service as the madman's personal secretary. It is largely her testimony after the war (you can see her interviewed in person forty years ago in parts of The World At War) upon which this movie is based. The movie is subtitled into English but the script is so gripping that you'll almost forget that you're reading and watching at the same time, even if you hate subtitles. For my money, this movie so well exposes the depths to which humanity can sink when gripped by right-wing supremacist and racist fantasy and the demise to which people who think in such a way will eventually fall that it should be shown in schools to youngsters old enough to stomach the true horror of where such thinking eventually leads.

The majority of people who witnessed WWII as adults have now passed away. This magnificent film depicts the the insanity and disintegration of Adolf Hilter and the loyalty of those who served him to the end. Bruno Granz's performance of Hitler is worthy of a hundred Oscars and captures both his humanity and inhuman insanity with incredible subtleness. The film is authentic as it is possible to get - I have a book of photographs of the destruction of Berlin and there is one photograph of a dead woman in an armoured vehicle which is reproduced exactly in the film. The scene outside the bunker where the Fuhrer decorates the remnants of Hitler Youth is authentic and you witness Hilter holding his right hand behind his back because of its uncontrollable twitching. The surreal atmosphere of normality and civilians' belief in a miracle victory are also well portrayed. The film was shot in Leningrad, sorry St Petersburg, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Berlin in terms of architecture. This film deserves to last a thousand years and is an achievement that Hollywood could never match in ten thousand years. A true masterpiece.

La imagen es muy buena, pero lo que más destaca es el sonido, sobretodo cuando empiezan a sonar las sirenas y comienzan los bombardeos, ideal para ver de qué es capaz un home cinema. Compré la versión inglesa que viene en Alemán con subtítulos en inglés y precisamente por eso pongo 4 estrellas, porque los subtítulos vienen "quemados" en la imagen. He probado la película en dos reproductores y en ninguno los he podido quitar.

This movie is a must watch as it is a German production shot in Bavaria Studios and in St, Petersburg, Russia, the two peoples that were at war within the time frame of the film. Bruno Ganz portrays Adolf Hitler in the film, spending time learning Hitler's Austrian accented German, and his speech mannerisms through an interview conducted with Finnish Radio, instead of from his more fanatical and passionate speeches. Bruno Ganz's performance is a masterpiece. The events depicted in the bunker are somewhat compressed in time, especially those within the Map room. This is not your usual Hollywood tripe, but a film created by the Germans and a subject that only they could really shoot like this. The movie follows Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries from her hiring to her escape from occupied Berlin. The movie is book-ended with segments of an interview with the real Traudl Junge. The makers of the film were concerned that people would think they were "humanizing" Hitler, but knowing the history and watching what was happening in the bunker, one does not get that impression. There are some chilling scenes in the movie, especially one with Frau Goebbels and her 6 children in the bunker. I will not describe it to not ruin it, but even knowing what happened, watching the scene one cannot help to feel a chill. That is how well done the film is. The film is also important to watch to understand the fanaticism that produced the rise of Nazism in Germany, and draws parallels to what is happening in the World today, so hopefully people will remember this and prevent the repeat of such fanaticism. Technical Details of the Blu-ray disc - Regions ABC, 1080p, 5.1 surround sound, Colour, German language with English subtitles, 149 mins approximate run time, 5 Bonus elements in 480i in German with English subtitles.

Brilliant reproduction of the many unbelievable events that unfolded during the last ten days of Hitler's life. It's important to know that this movie is in the German language with English subtitles. Don't let that stop you from purchasing the film though, it's brilliantly done and the native German gives it a very authentic feel. Being a history lover and having read many accounts of this particular time period I believe the movie to follow events as historically accurate as possible. Bruno Ganz does a fantastic job of portraying a head of state lunatic who was stubbornly in denial about his eventual defeat until the last week of his life. Many human emotions are well acted out against the backdrop of the inhumane war raging above. Each person inside the bunker has his or her own her own way of dealing with the coming downfall and each has their own way of capitulating defeat. Many will chose suicide as a way out. Other fanatics, especially some younger inexperienced teenagers choose to fight to the death in the streets of Berlin for a war that was by all other measures lost. Others try to escape, some will make it while others don't. The scene showing what Magda Goebbles chose to do at was hard to watch, although it was probably the most realistic depiction of what actually happened. All in all I thought it was a very professionally made film that reminds us all of the madness of war and the effects it has on those who fight in it, those who are unfortunately caught up in it, and in this case the historical figures that actually chose to begin it!

Superb film.

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