der untergang DOWNFALL (1 Viewer)

[Jan H]

"They didn’t show Eva Braun or his face after their suicide."

I think part of the reason for that is because no photographs of them right after the suicide exist, just the descriptions of Gunsche and Linge and a very small number of bodyguards and henchman. With Himmler, Goebbels, etc, actual photos of their faces 'in death' exist. The way Linge describes it, Hitler was slumped over the sofa's arm rest and Eva Braun was lying on the sofa.

I really don't think the director was showing respect for them, I just think he was operating on what photographic evidence for it exists, or in this case, doesn't exist.

If you feel sympathy for the people in the film, it's probably because you forgot that they were 'monsters' for a while and they became real people for you. If so, the director has done his job well. No matter how despicable these people were, they were surrounded on all sides with explosions, impending torture, rape of the women, suicide, etc. They were horrible people, but what the director did so well is to throw you in there with them so that you could feel the sense of doom and dread, too.

BTW, seeing this film inspired me to purchase the World at War DVD box set. I've managed to work my way through most of it and there is some incredible stuff in it about the forensics of Hitler's remains, which were indeed examined by the Russians. If you're interested at all in WWII, it is a must-see collection.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Jan,

There are so many boxed sets dedicated to WWII.

Which one did you buy?

 

[Jan H]

I bought the box set of the 1974 ITV series World At War narrated by Laurence Olivier that won numerous accolades, including a knighthood for its producer Jeremy Isaacs. I was too young when it came out, and have seemed to miss it during it's numerous runs in syndication. It has 11 discs and is quite sprawling, covering both theaters of war. I picked it up at Sam's Club a few weeks ago for $95. It's pricy, but well worth it.

 

[Seymour Uranowitz]

Digital Eyes has it for $89.99 (40% off). Pretty good deal!

http://www.digitaleyes.net/Details.cfm?info=ANE071374

 

[Jan H]

Yes, that is a good deal. The Sam's Club deal, though, is a bundle of World At War with another box set of The Last Days of World War II which includes 3 documentaries from the History Channel (none of which I've seen yet).

Anyway, what makes World At War so interesting is that there are loads of interviews with people like Traudl Junge (probably in her late 40's at the time), Stephen Ambrose (in his mid 40's, sporting his hippie long hair!), and members of the upper-echelon of both Axis and Allied governments (including Albert Speer). Simply put, it is the best documentary on WWII I've ever seen.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

Want to add something didn’t say the last time. This movie is indeed a marvel of achievement and I believe that only Germans with German speaking actors could have achieved such a level of realism. I believe no matter how much money and talent was used by Hollywood to make this with even really talented and international people, it would have never reached this level.

By the way, a little piece of trivia. I don’t remember the name but that young officer who carries out Hitler’s order to burn their bodies looked so familiar to me and it was killing me. I knew I knew him from somewhere. Anyway, on the second viewing I figured it out without looking on the net, he is the villain from Brosnan’s James Bond movie, the one with the remote control car.

 

[ThomasC]

Your post was a bit confusing, since he wasn't the main villain in Tomorrow Never Dies, which was Jonathan Pryce. You're thinking of Götz Otto.

 

[Sam Davatchi]

yes that's him. He is one of the, not the main.

 

[David Wilkins]

Please excuse my "me too" post, but I'd like to say that I bought the disc the day it was released, sight-unseen, based on reviews I had read and a general passion for historical representations, and finely crafted film in general.

I was NOT disappointed. All expectations were met or exceeded. For those of you thinking that due to subject matter, this is a "claustrophobic" picture...you need not worry; that aspect had crossed my mind, but I was delighted to find that the story is "larger" and less confining than a brief synopsis would lead you to believe.

Ron: I'm curious to hear what you thought about the film.

 

[David Wilkins]

Oops... Sorry Ron, I needed to simply read further into the thread to read your already posted response to the film.