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Reviews of Downfall
Downfall rises to the challenge
Posted : 5 months, 1 week ago on 6 June 2009 03:31
(A review of Downfall)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 authentic as possible. They wanted us to get a peek into the private lives of Hitler and his closest conferderates.
If you like war movies or historical films, this is one that you really want to watch. The movie is extremely well made and dramatic. It will amaze you with what was going on behind the scenes in the last few days of WWII. Rent it at your local video store or library if you can find it. You won't be disappointed.
Flash
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The Downfall of National Socialism.
Posted : 9 months, 1 week ago on 3 February 2009 12:13
(A review of Downfall)''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 story is conveyed from mostly her perspective of events.
Thomas Kretshmann: SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein one of a favoured German actor for me was in the film, yet he meets an untimely demise. Another War Film along with recently Valkyrie and The Pianist.
''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.''
Granted Downfall is a long film which could of been edited slightly, but makes up for with great fashions of the times, set pieces and a reasonable score. Also this is history being told honestly and in a truthful non-glorifying manner,yet in an also non-demeaning way either too.
Features graphic, violent and horrific scenes obviously.
One scene that especially disturbed me was in the bunker where a mother, sticks a certain kind of cyanide pill into her children's mouths and watches them die. Shows no emotion, no trace of regret, later committing suicide with her husband by gunpoint.
Having studied in History classes, the 2nd World War and Adolf Hitler, I find it fascinating and disturbing all at the same time.
A whole nation dragged to its knees by a ruthless tyrannical uncaring remorseful selfish man, who unfortunately is human not some mythical monster. He shows empathy for people, shows a love and affection for his partner and his loyal dog, yet in other parts shows us an angry, rage filled monster, full of hate and power drunk consequences.
Humanity's inhumanity to man. Good to see Germany's view-point, and an honest telling from Directing team Duke White, Garrett White, Oliver Hirschbiegel.
''Many mistakes have been made. Be ruthless. Life doesn't forgive weakness. This so-called humanity is religious drivel. Compassion is an eternal sin. To feel compassion for the weak is a betrayal of nature. The strong can only triumph if the weak are exterminated. Being loyal to this law, I've never had compassion. I've always been ruthless when faced with internal opposition from other races. That's the only way to deal with it.''
The film is also based on the memoirs of Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), who was Hitler's appointed secretary. The plot also uses Inside Hitler's Bunker by Joachim Fest in order to keep the plot as historically accurate as possible. Hitler is obviously always the main focus of the movie, and even when he is not on camera his shadow on the events that happen on screen is always present. Minor grave endeavors are shown throughout the movie and director Oliver Hirschbiegel does a good job of connecting them to the main problem: the Nazi Party. These happenings range from instances of violence on the streets, to suicides.
The most intriguing part of the film is not the realistic reproduction of a bombed city, or the amazing acting by all involved, although these things are startling and deserve awards. No, the best part is definitely the way Hitler is illustrated. During his last ten days, he didn't have control over anything, not the country, not the army, and not even the Nazi party itself. While the movie depicts those things really well, it goes even deeper and acknowledges that the Fuhrer couldn't even control himself. It was something not even he realized until those final moments in that dark bunker, where he shot himself.
The movie looks great thanks to the cinematography of Rainer Klausmann, with battle scenes and aftermaths coloured in strikingly cheerless tones. Credit also has to go to director Hirschbiegel for the choices he made as far as what to film and where in the movie to put it. It is also to his credit, the way he directs the actors. Bruno Ganz practically embodies Hitler, portraying both his flaws, and positive traits. All the actors around him, while turning in great performances are simply puppets for him to interact with, remarkably mirroring the roles their characters played in Hitler's real life.
So in this film you get not only an enormously accurate picture of World War II itself, but also an accurate portrait of the life of the most important and flawed man in arguably all of human history. Downfall is an endlessly rewarding motion picture and one of the best of the year. So if you don't mind the German language and having to read subtitles, you will be able to acknowledge the importance of Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall.
''You must be on stage when the curtain falls.''
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Amazing...incredible...brilliant!
Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 22 April 2008 07:52
(A review of Downfall)"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 retreat into a secret bunker. As he is urged by people around him to leave, Hitler refuses and instead spends his final days forming illusions and slowly going insane with power.
Hitler also descends into a deep depression, but still remains confident on the outside that his army will remain triumphant.
Downfall is the only movie that portrays Hitler as a human being, not a murderer and an animal. Now, look, the man was disgusting for his beliefs, but the filmmakers never want us to empathise with him. Instead we're shown a powerful string of events that could make a man made of steel cry like a baby.
Bruno Ganz...was brilliant. I don't think there's a single word strong enough to express the brilliance of his performance. His screen presence is utterly terrifying, and yet he can play him more humanely when the scene calls for it. As he goes insane, we feel it. Not many actors can achieve this emotional effect on an audience.
The whole movie is an exercise in patience; the experience is painfully long, yes, but compelling viewing for each minute that the film runs for. The end does seem rather dragged out, but the filmmakers tell the story undisputedly perfectly. Each performance is great, each scene has a purpose.
Downfall was beautifully made; set design, locations, cinematography...were all sublime. The music perfectly set the tone as well. It was a bold move on the part of the filmmakers to attempt such a project and show the audience a different perspective.
This alteration to your usual war movie is brilliant, engaging and just plain magnificent. The whole movie has been shot in grainy colour, with quality that makes it look like dated documentary footage. Especially the use of shaky cam that was not distracting, but rather placed us in the events happening on screen. And because there aren't many famous actors appearing in the film, we're never distracted and the whole film feels like authentic footage. All the characters come across as chillingly believable.
Beware the powerful themes of suicide, and even the murder of children that will have you in tears. It's no wonder that the film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language movie of 2004. Highly recommended. Known in Germany as Der Untergang.
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Amazing
Posted : 2 years, 9 months ago on 10 February 2007 09:50
(A review of Downfall)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.
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Best War film ever made
Posted : 2 years, 10 months ago on 19 December 2006 10:55
(A review of Downfall)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, yelling at his generals and such, spewing his ideology, but if people were expecting him to run around, kicking his dog, raping women and killing children, sorry. This film is all about 100% accuracy.
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