Cinema: Der Untergang / The Downfall

Saw the film "Der Untergang" last night and thought it was an extraordinary movie.

Very realistic and historically quite accurate (although I didn't think Eva was such a "bubbly lady")



The characters were portrayed very well and resemblance to original characters is very close. Ofcourse Goebbels, Himmler, Speer and Streicher were a give away but even the lesser known characters like Keital and Roem were pretty close. For the sake of those who are less informed, I think it would have been helpful if they had a freeze frame with a quick mention of the character when a major Nazi player was introduced.

Would have liked to see more of Luftwaffe leader Goring but historically he was hardly in the bunker during the last days of hitler so it is understandable.

Two major nazi heavyweights I thought were conspicuous by their absence were Rommel (the desert fox) and Von Ribbentropp (the chief architect of nazi-soviet pact).
In the biginning of the movie there was one leader that was lead into Hiter's room after checking his ID. My limited german vocabulary did not allow me to figure out who that was. Perhaps that was Rommel so if anybody else knows who I am talking about I would like to know.

The sounds effects (esp the background artillary) were great and sometimes you get the actual feeling of being in the bunker.

Over all, it is a must see movie and one of the best pieces of film-making in recent times. I have studied film-making in one of my Master's and have an eye for Cinematography.

I recommend seeing the original german version without subtitles even if your german is very basic. You don't want to miss the expressing while reading subtitles.

Would like to know others' opinion.

Crosslink by admin: Der Untergang

I thought Rommel was forced to commit suicide prior to the end of the war?

Ah, you are right. I got a bit confused between 1944 and 1945. Yes Rommel was forced to commit suicide in Oct 1944. Thanks.

Hi,

Rommel is not considered a nazi, as far as I know because of his role in trying to overthrow Hitler or am I mistaken here. He was also never have been said to have been involved in any war crimes. I have seen streets named after him here in Germany.

xargon

He may not fit the evil definition of nazi and he was mostly away in north africa and France during the wartime. But he was closely associated with Hitler and was even responsible for Hitler's safety during the invasion of Poland. Hitler made him Field Marshall in 1942 so strictly speaking he is a nazi. That he later turned against Hitler was a different story. But yeah, I certainly wouldn't put Rommel and Himmler in the same bracket.

Post edited by admin to remove unnecessary quoting

Isn't a Nazi pedantically defined by being a member of the National Socialist party?

Well I would call him a nazi by association. He was already a military leader before Hitler came to power and was involved in even first world war. But it is true that he was never really a listed member of National Socialist Party.

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Yeah, it's a gray area. In any case, a person is only as good as the cause they are fighting for...

xargon

I don´t think it´s as easy as that Xargon. Rommel was a professional officer. Like roots said, he had fought even in WWI. As such, duty and honor are of paramount importance, especially with the Prussian legacy of the German Officer corps at the time. One could not decide which cause to fight for and which not. The fact that he finally did something against his superiors is not the easy choice hindsight would have us believe.

I actually went to see this film last night. Having heard much of the hype that it showed Hitler in a more humane light I was actually intrigued as to how this would be portrayed.

All I can say is that I saw nothing in that film that we had not already learnt in history classes at school. The film showed him have a few touching moments with Goebel's kids just before they were all murdered in their sleep by Goebel's wife (She refused to let her children grow up in a world without Hitler and his values) and his dog (just before he killed the dog) as well as the mass executions and suicides during the battle for Berlin. Eva Braun was portrayed as a woman frantically trying to cover up the fact that it was a lost cause who stuck by her man until they committed suicide together

He still came over as a paranoid schizophrenic who had completely lost touch with reality, ridding himself of those close to him who were willing to go against his wishes. He did not care how many innocent civilians died in his lost cause.

A very well made film and one which apparently addresses many issues that German history tends to side-step. However, the reaction of the crowd just shows how uncomfortable the Germans still are with this part of history.

I saw this in Rostock (a city renowned for the firebombing of an asylum-seekers' hostel) and I cried. I cried a lot and was distressed as was much of the viewing public (the cinema was full).
One of the main points of the film was to show Hitler as a person.
It is easy to see Hitler as an evil entity and not as a human, means that the public can sleep better at night knowing that a monster is not like us and that it can never happen again, right?
Although most of the film's content was based on Hugh-Trevor Roper's book on the subject which also created a BBC documentary, the film added scenes picturing the context of the last days, giving a glimpse of the horror the civilian population faced.
It is not a perfect film by any means but certainly worth seeing.
Katrina

Der Untergang has been nominated for best foreign film. Well deserved in my opinion. I only wish it would have gotten more exposure in America. I have heard though that it hasn't been released there yet so I guess that explains things. But anyways... good film. Hope it wins.

Would have been nice to see Bruno Ganz be nominated for best actor. He was really brilliant. Unfortunately, these nominations usually seem to go to English speaking roles. Was that guy (his name escapes me at the moment) from "Life is Beautiful" the last foreign film role that was nominated in this category?

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Here's some info on the release date.

Roberto Benigni is the actor you're thinking of...

Saw this film on Sunday, was really impressed, a great film which just made you realise just how made Hitler was, and how power hungry the people around him were to put up with it, and want to stay be his side. VERY GOOD FILM.