Inside the Third Reich (1982) (TV)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Marvin J. Chomsky

Writers:

E. Jack Neuman (writer)
Albert Speer (book)

Release Date:

9 May 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

A dramatization of the life of Albert Speer, Hitler's young architect and onetime confidant, and his meteoric rise into the Nazi hierarchy...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Hitler | Third Reich | 1930s | Germany

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	Albert Speer
John Gielgud	...	Albert Speer Sr.
Maria Schell	...	Mrs. Speer
Blythe Danner	...	Margarete Speer
Trevor Howard	...	Prof. Heinrich Tessenow
Derek Jacobi	...	Adolf Hitler
Viveca Lindfors	...	Gypsy woman
Randy Quaid	...	Putzi Hanfstaengel
Stephen Collins	...	Karl Hanke
Ian Holm	...	Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Elke Sommer	...	Magda Goebbels
Renée Soutendijk	...	Eva Braun
Robert Vaughn	...	Field Marshal Milch
Zoë Wanamaker	...	Annemarie Kempf
Michael Gough	...	Dr. Rust

Runtime:

USA:300 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

ABC Circle Films

Trivia:

The sequence with Derek Jacobi as Adolf Hitler admiring the interiors of the new Chancellery building were achieved by combining Jacobi's movements with original still photographs of the actual building.

Quotes:

Prof. Heinrich Tessenow: [to Speer, after Speer has quietly pulled strings to save the Jewish Tessenow from Nazi harrassment] ... And Speer...
[pause]
Prof. Heinrich Tessenow: I don't owe you a damned thing.

Movie Connections:

References Triumph des Willens (1935)

Hauer: Anti-hero by nature...

And this time, the all-time Nazi sympathizer. All potential historical inaccuracies aside, this is quite an unsettling film. Young, opportunist architect Albert Speer (Hauer) finds himself caught up in the Nazi party, maintaining an air of ignorance of Hitler's insanity and monstrosity. Instead Speer becomes his best friend and a bit of a tragic hero in the long run, as he makes an ernest stab at trying to clean up his mess towards the close of the war. Hauer is suave and determined to the last. A worthwhile mini-series pic, with a great supporting cast and plenty of Hauer to go around. Some may have a hard time with the self-congratulatory tone.