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'Downfall' at 20: One of Cinema's Best and Bravest War Movies Remains a Towering Achievement
collider.com ^ | July 24, 2024 | Thomas Randolph

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 ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: downfall; movies; ww2
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1 posted on 07/29/2024 10:29:05 AM PDT by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge

Yeah…yeah…yeah….drama and acting blah blah blah.

It’s all about the Parody Videos.


2 posted on 07/29/2024 10:32:35 AM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s)
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To: lowbridge

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.


3 posted on 07/29/2024 10:34:47 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: lowbridge

Some of the funniest memes come from that film.


4 posted on 07/29/2024 10:36:46 AM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: DoodleBob

Will there be an English Language version available to the U.S.?


5 posted on 07/29/2024 10:37:05 AM PDT by Old Retired Army Guy
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To: DoodleBob

> 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


6 posted on 07/29/2024 10:37:07 AM PDT by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: lowbridge

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


7 posted on 07/29/2024 10:39:10 AM PDT by thegagline (Sic semper tyrannis! Trump & Vance, 2024! (Formerly) Goldwater & Thomas Sowell in 2024)
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To: lowbridge

Herr Steiner bump.


8 posted on 07/29/2024 10:41:41 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: lowbridge

FEGELEIN!!!!.... FEGELEIN!!!! .... FEGELEIN!!!!


9 posted on 07/29/2024 10:49:21 AM PDT by Macho MAGA Man (The last two wen't balloons. One was a cylindrical objects Trump is being given the Alex Jones tr)
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To: lowbridge

“Downfall” is also perhaps the most parodied film in movie history!


10 posted on 07/29/2024 10:50:39 AM PDT by Honorary Serb
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To: thegagline
Das boot is as close to real as you can get.

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

11 posted on 07/29/2024 10:50:41 AM PDT by Ikeon (If i gave you my motives, you would use it as ammunition against my free will)
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To: thegagline

you forgot

“Blazzing Saddles”

“They lose me after the bunker scene”


12 posted on 07/29/2024 10:52:53 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: lowbridge

Fegelein!


13 posted on 07/29/2024 10:54:58 AM PDT by MAGA2017
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To: Honorary Serb

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.


14 posted on 07/29/2024 10:56:21 AM PDT by x
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To: Ikeon

“Das boot is as close to real as you can get.”

First movie I rented and watched on my first DVR!

Details escape me ...


15 posted on 07/29/2024 11:01:02 AM PDT by TexasGator
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To: lowbridge

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.


16 posted on 07/29/2024 11:10:37 AM PDT by plain talk
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To: lowbridge

.


17 posted on 07/29/2024 11:11:41 AM PDT by sauropod ("This is a time when people reveal themselves for who they are." James O'Keefe Ne supra crepidam)
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To: DoodleBob
The film is truly outstanding. And some of the parodies are great too. My favorite is the one about Scott Brown,a Republican,winning a special election in Massachusetts to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.
18 posted on 07/29/2024 11:19:27 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Never Trust A Man Whose Uncle Was Eaten By Cannibals)
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To: lowbridge
What about the 1965 Battle of the Bulge?

Those scenes of panzers rampaging through the Ardennes desert were unforgettable.

19 posted on 07/29/2024 11:21:07 AM PDT by fso301
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To: DoodleBob
Scott Brown
20 posted on 07/29/2024 11:23:54 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Never Trust A Man Whose Uncle Was Eaten By Cannibals)
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