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The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich

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3 Related Movies

Related to:

The Bunker (TV) (TV)

Related to:

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Original title

Der Untergangaka

AKA

Downfall

Year

2004

Running time

155 min.

Country

Germany

Director

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Screenwriter

Bernd Eichinger. Book: Joaquim Fest

Cast

Music

Stephan Zacharias

Cinematography

Rainer Klausmann

Producer

Constantin Film

Genre

Drama. War | Nazism. II World War. Historical

Synopsis

Berlin, april 1945. The war is almost over. Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara), the final stenographer for Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz), tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

Rankings Position

#30 Best German Movies of all time
#54 Best War Movies/War Film
#58 Best Movies and TV Series about the Second World War

Awards: 2004: Nominated for Oscar: Best Foreign Language Picture

2004: European Film Awards: Nominated Best Actor (Ganz)

2004: National Board of Review, USA: Top Foreign Films

2004: German Film Awards: Nominated Actor (Ganz), Sup. Actress (Harfouch & Köhler)

2004: Nominated for Goya: Best European Movie

2005: British Independent Film Awards (BIFA): Best International Independent Film

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Critics' reviews

"The film's most powerful elements are Ganz's persuasive performance as Hitler, a figure of gentility and irrationality, and the film's candor"

Desson Thomson: The Washington Post
"Ultimately, it was up to the Germans to make the first great Hitler movie"

Mick LaSalle: SFGATE
"The film's only flaw is its length: just under 2½ hours. But perhaps it is the unsettling nature of the film's seeming authenticity that makes the length so tough to bear (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

Claudia Puig: USA Today
"The very thought of humanizing Hitler makes me queasy. If he had a good side, I don't want to know about it."

Jack Mathews: New York Daily News
"It is fascinating without being especially illuminating, and it holds your attention for its very long running time without delivering much dramatic or emotional satisfaction in the end."

A. O. Scott: The New York Times
"Any film that reminds us what our darkest nature looks like has value for that reason alone."

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"Oliver Hirschbiegel's film has been criticised for 'humanising' Hitler. It does precisely this (...) But Hitler has never looked more noisome, a tatty charlatan (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"

Peter Bradshaw: The Guardian

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Ranking Lists Position

4 My Favorite German Movies (172)
10 My Top 10 Movies from 2004 (305)
20 My Favorite War Movies (288)
23 My Favorite Biopics/Biographical Movies (72)
31 My Favorite Movies from Europe & Latin America (72)
67 Movies with a Great Male Lead (70)

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The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich

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