Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004)

R · 156 minutes

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Written by Bernd Eichinger, Joachim Fest, Traudl Junge, Melissa Müller

Starring
 • Bruno Ganz
 • Alexandra Maria Lara
 • Corinna Harfouch
 • Ulrich Matthes
 • Juliane Köhler

Drama, War

Synopsis: In April 1945, Hitler along with his German nation await their inevitable collapse. DOWNFALL is the first German film to broach the subject of Hitler straight-on since G.W. Pabst's 1956 film "DER LETSTE AKT" ("The Last Act") which was told from the point of view of an ordinary German soldier, played by Oskar Werner. Says director Oliver Hirschbiegel, "In terms of German film history, we are breaking new ground here, since there is no cinematic frame of reference. After reading the book, it was clear to me that if I committed myself, then it would have to be a total and complete commitment, meaning that I was going to spend two years of my life in the Third Reich, with all of those characters and that primitive ideology… My hair stood on end. My wife advised me against it. Yet I noticed that it just wouldn't leave me in peace, and in my heart, before accepting the project, I knew that I had already opened myself up to it." -- © Newmarket Films

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Downfall DVD

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