The Bunker (TV 1981)

Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

Director:

George Schaefer

Writers:

John Gay (written for television by), James P. O'Donnell (based on the book by)

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Richard Jordan, Cliff Gorman

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Hopkins	...	Adolf Hitler
Richard Jordan	...	Albert Speer
Cliff Gorman	...	Joseph Goebbels
James Naughton	...	James O'Donnell
Michael Lonsdale	...	Martin Bormann
Martin Jarvis	...	Johannes Hentschel
Michael Kitchen	...	Rochus Misch
Andrew Ray	...	Otto Günsche
Piper Laurie	...	Magda Goebbels
Susan Blakely	...	Eva Braun
Robert Austin	...	Wagner
Geoffrey Bateman	...	Riebold
Graham Bishop	...	Helmut Goebbels
Kevin Bishop	...	Themmer
Nathalie Boulmer	...	Elga Goebbels

Storyline

Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

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Plot Keywords:

bunker | 1940s | last stand | nazi germany | marriage ceremony | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

27 January 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Führerbunker

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société Française de Production (SFP), Antenne-2, Time-Life Television Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 148 min (DVD edition) (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reporters on the set said the sense of realism was so intense that at one point, when Anthony Hopkins entered the room to prepare for the next scene, actors portraying SS troops found themselves snapping to attention.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, the narrator enters Hitler's flooded underground bunker shortly after the German surrender in 1945. He wears the uniform of a U.S. Army captain, and says he is on assignment from Newsweek magazine. However, civilian publishing companies did not employ military officers as correspondents.

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Connections

Referenced in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: Anthony Hopkins (2006)

User Reviews

An intelligent and gripping account of the last weeks of Hitler.

A stunning portrayal by Hopkins. Unfortunately the other cast members (the male ones anyway) do not look enough like the ghastly originals (!) to be convincing. For example, Goebbels is well enough acted, as are they all, but he just does not have the cadaverous look of Dr. Joseph. The Reich architect Speer is portrayed as far too nice a man. He wasn't. The exception is Bormann. Michael Lonsdale is made to look a little like this detestable man. In bearing, size and demeanor Lonsdale captures the essence of Hitler's right hand man He kept in the background most of the time, but was nonetheless an extremely powerful figure in the Third Reich and his power comes over very well. A good script and well directed, this film is well worth watching, especially now that it is readily available, uncut, on DVD.