Posted on 07/29/2024 10:29:05 AM PDT by lowbridge
Every historical drama bears an awesome responsibility to its real-life subjects, but few films bore a weightier burden than Oliver Hirschbiegel's 2004 masterpiece, Downfall.
While it was certainly not the first film to portray Adolf Hitler, it does have the distinction of being the first major German film to tackle the topic, with the legendary Bruno Ganz in the lead role.
Hirschbiegel and screenwriter Bernd Eichinger recognized the awesome responsibility that was before them, along with the potential controversy they might face for telling the story of the last days of World War II.
The national taboos associated with Hitler had been enough to scare off a generation of filmmakers before them, but rather than shirk the responsibility and give in to tired clichés and cheap caricature, the makers of Downfall deliver one of the most authentically realized historical movies ever made.
After 20 years, Downfall remains an extremely important film, and a symposium in itself on how to handle tough history in an adroit and sensitive manner.
How Does 'Downfall' Get Historical Drama Right?
Bernd Eichinger had wanted to make a film about the final days of Adolf Hitler for decades before realizing his goal, with the feat proving too massive in scope and rife with potential controversy. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel was hesitant himself to take on the project, knowing the subject had always been taboo among Germans.
Both men fully grasped the severity of what they were attempting to do, and so endeavored to make a film that handled its historical obligation in the best way it could: by telling the truth.
The only way to accurately portray Adolf Hitler would be to research as many eyewitness accounts of the man as possible, with Eichinger researching tirelessly to capture the facts as succinctly as he could.
(Excerpt) Read more at collider.com ...
Yeah…yeah…yeah….drama and acting blah blah blah.
It’s all about the Parody Videos.
It is an amazing movie. The oft-parodied bunker scene is bone-chilling when you realize what it really was - they realize that they’re trapped in a bunker with an unstoppable enemy steamroller coming their way on the outside and a madman on the inside, and there’s no escape. Can’t say they didn’t have it coming, but that’s scary.
Some of the funniest memes come from that film.
Will there be an English Language version available to the U.S.?
> It’s all about the Parody Videos. <
Yep. Here’s Hitler talking with Kamala Harris. He is not impressed.
“Somehow you make Biden look smart.”
https://youtu.be/v3A-ubUIX6s?si=D9tI8QH-U3F0KVrU
In no particular order: Das Boot (1981); The Battle of Algiers (1966); All Quiet on the Western Front(1930); Paths of Glory(1957); Dr. Strangelove
Herr Steiner bump.
FEGELEIN!!!!.... FEGELEIN!!!! .... FEGELEIN!!!!
“Downfall” is also perhaps the most parodied film in movie history!
The biggest fault is the amount of lighting on the sub. subs are dim inside for a reason. Light bulbs use electricity, something subs, don't have to spare. . Unless they are on the surface with the diesel running
you forgot
“Blazzing Saddles”
“They lose me after the bunker scene”
Fegelein!
It’s not that the movie is parodied. It’s that the clip is used to parody other things.
I guess it’s a “war movie” in a way, but I always thought of it as a historical drama, since we don’t actually see any fighting.
“Das boot is as close to real as you can get.”
First movie I rented and watched on my first DVR!
Details escape me ...
I am partial to Inglorious Basterds. It doesn’t get much better than seeing Hitler get it. Of course the whole movie is good.
I realize it is in a different genre and more akin to fantasy than a realistic depiction.
.
Those scenes of panzers rampaging through the Ardennes desert were unforgettable.
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