The Downfall

This German film gives a pretty real account on what happened to Hitler's last few days. Hitler's secretary made out of Berlin without a scratch seems to be impossible. However, history does prove it is right. The movie was made in Germany with German actors, actress, not Hollywood movies. The English subtitle is large enough to be read easily. It is a well made film.

Bruno Ganz’s performance is sublime.

good description of what hitler was like in his final days, and it is in german that is even better since i was in germany for 3 years!!

This is in response to the Kindle customer who gave the film a two-star review for its depiction of Soviets. These were the professional soldiers who fought on the frontlines; they did not engage in raping and pillaging. The echelon units that came after them, however, did. Traudl Junge herself testified that one of the soldiers she encountered (seen in the film) warned her to leave Berlin immediately because of this.

you,ll watch it more then once

Having become interested in WWII history after watching Valkyrie a friend recommended that I watch Downfall(DER UNTERGANG). I could not find it locally so I purchased this at . I have the DVD version since the Blu-ray is outrageously priced. That was disappointing since I have developed a passion for the 1080p productions. The DVD version is still a high quality film and the reproduction is very good. Most of the movie is dialogue and takes place inside Hitler's bunker in Berlin so do not expect this to be a cinematography masterpiece. I am not saying that the production is bad, it is just not intended to be beautiful. It is however realistic looking and the gravity of war is evident in the few outside shots that take place.The storyline is taken from historical records including Joachim Fest's book, Inside Hitler's Bunker The Last Days of the Third Reich and BIS ZUR LETZTEN STUNDE by Traudl Junge. The movie follows Hitler's personal secretary (Traudl Junge)through the final days of Hitler's life. Since I enjoy movies based in fact rather than fiction I thoroughly enjoyed watching this from the historical perspective.

I got this movie because I wanted to get a sense of what it was like in the bunker when Adolf Hitler committed suicide. The director and producer take great pains to research the events of those final days. The bunker is recreated from architectural plans of Hitler's original bunker. The uniforms are authentically re-created. This is a good movie in that respect.However, it is not a particularly moving movie and it's not meant to be. It's meant to give a historical account and to make us think about how destructive an ideology can be. I was moved a bit during the moments when Goebbels's wife poisons her six children. It made me contemplate to what extent someone will go to be true to their beliefs.I watch Saving Private Ryan, The Pianist, Schindler's List, The Sound of Music and a few other movies over and over again. I wouldn't watch this film again as frequently, perhaps a few years later.I'm still contemplating buying the Blu Ray version if it is not too expensive.

I am glad that Prime has made this film available.I'm an armchair WWII historian, with credentials ranging from hours of conversations with WWII veterans and Holocaust survivors, to devouring books and films on the subject. Therefore, I cannot claim with authority which aspects of the film are historically accurate, and which are romanticized, or revisionist.I can, however, make this observation, which serves both as an accolade to the craftsmanship of this film, and as a rebuttal to the biggest criticism that people had for this film when it first came out: that it humanized Adolf Hitler. That said, the biggest villains aren't vaudevillian archetypes “who love to be bad"; instead they are individuals who truly believe that they're fighting the good fight.Beware the people who think they know what's good for you.

An intimate look at the most radical followers of the Reich and their commitment to their Fuhrer to the end. We see those that were driven by faith, love and fear of Hitler. We also get a look at his apparent madness and arrogance. For Eva's character, she is treated lightly, we are to believe that her motives were for love alone and her commitment was unwavering.This movie does not damn Germany, the party, SS or even Hitler. At the beginning, our characters are already damned beyond clemency, we just get to be fly's on the wall to watch the fat lady sing.

Very historic. It shows the cult of personalities around Hitler crumbling. Very psychological movie. Shows a good dichotomy between genuinely evil people and those who simply got wrapped into an evil regime. It demonstrates how evil, and complacency with evil, exists at each strata within society.