Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004)

Posted : 5 months, 2 weeks ago at Jun 6 3:31

I saw this movie on the shelf in my local library and thought it looked interesting. Boy was I pleasantly surprised. This is one of the best movies I have watched that deal with WWII. It takes you into the last days of Hitler's reign and lets you experience his downfall. I watched the behind the scenes and interviews with the actors on the DVD after watching the movie. I wanted to see how they made this movie and what they were thinking. The extra feature was almost as interesting as the movie. Some of the actors had concerns because of the subject matter and others took on the challenge of such a controversial subject. I think all of them took it on as a personal project that they wanted to get right and make sure the story was told well. They described making the sets as authe...Read more

Rating : 10/10

Posted : 9 months, 2 weeks ago at Feb 3 12:13

''If the war is lost, then it is of no concern to me if the people perish in it I still would not shed a single tear for them; because they did not deserve any better.'' - Adolf Hitler- Historical, controversial and powerful insight.The last ten days of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime are seen through the eyes of a young woman in his employ in this historical drama from Germany. Bruno Ganz plays Adolf Hitler who shows us a man who is plummeting into madness and despair. For Hitler was a man with a vision of world domination and racial superiority. Any mistakes would instantly send him into a violent outburst, and Ganz plays this beautifully. His mannerisms, his deluded ideas and he grasps at false hopes. Alexandra Maria Lara plays Trundl Junge a secretary to Hitler, and the st...Read more

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago at Apr 22 7:52

"The war is lost... But if you think that I'll leave Berlin for that, you are sadly mistaken. I'd prefer to put a bullet in my head." It has been about half an hour since I finished watching Downfall and the effect of the movie is not remotely close to wearing off. The film is emotional, heart-wrenching, brilliant and engrossing! I don't think words can do proper justice to describing this amazing production. Downfall follows the last days of Adolf Hitler (Ganz) who retreated underground into his bunker. The story is told through the eyes of Hitler's personal secretary (Lara). In April of 1945 the Russian forces were closing in on Berlin, and each day brings them even closer. As the Russians tighten their grip on the Nazis and continue their invasion, Hitler and his closest men retr...Read more

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago at Feb 10 21:50

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I thought the emotion conveyed by Bruno Ganz as the worlds most notorious human being was amazing. Seeing him slowly deteriorate into a desperate and psychotic person, while his trusted inner circle began to abandon him was pretty touching.

Perhaps inspiring empathy for Adolf Hitler isn't a good thing, but it isn't what this film sets out to do, merely something that the actors manage to achieve during the three hour masterpiece. Atmospheric and extremely claustrophobic, it is clear to see how degraded the price of human life was during this period.

Rating : 9/10

Posted : 2 years, 11 months ago at Dec 19 10:55

I'm baffled. Listal users have given this only a 7.7 average?? Did you guys even see this movie, or are you just rating it average because its a film about Hitler? This movie deals with the horror of the Nazi regime and takes place during the final days in Berlin, as Hitler is still defiant and insane and still thinks victory is possible. This movie is better made, more shocking, and sends a more powerful message than other films that deal with the horrors of WW2, such as Schindler's List, The Pianist, etc.. Some people have blasted this film for showing Hitler's human side. Well I have news for you, even though he was a monster, he still had a human side. He did love his dog. He did treat his personal secretary with respect. The film does show plenty of Hitler going insane, yell...Read more

Rating : 10/10