Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) (TV)

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers (WGA):

John Pielmeier (written by) and
G. Ross Parker (written by)

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Plot:

A unique slant, profiling the life of Adolf Hitler as a child and his rise through the ranks of the National German Workers' Party prior to World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Germany | Austria | Reporter | Rise To Power

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Adolf Hitler
Stockard Channing	...	Klara Hitler
Jena Malone	...	Geli Raubal
Julianna Margulies	...	Helene Hanfstaengl
Matthew Modine	...	Fritz Gerlich
Liev Schreiber	...	Ernst Hanfstaengl
Peter Stormare	...	Ernst Röhm
Friedrich von Thun	...	General Erich Ludendorff
Peter O'Toole	...	President Paul von Hindenburg
Zoe Telford	...	Eva Braun
Terence Harvey	...	Gustav von Kahr
Justin Salinger	...	Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Chris Larkin	...	Hermann Göring
James Babson	...	Rudolf Hess
Patricia Netzer	...	Sophie Gerlich

Also Known As:

Hitler: La naissance du mal (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

Australia:179 min (video version) | France:130 min | USA:240 min (including commercials) | Spain:177 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The producers originally wanted Ewan McGregor to play Hitler.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is an assortment of minor factual errors (wrong medals or medal ribbons displayed on uniforms, anachronistic architectural features, etc).

Quotes:

Adolf Hitler: [speaking about Hindenburg's death] Today, the old Reich and it's finest leader enter Valhalla. At the same time, we mark the beginning of a new era. A time of peace and prosperity await us. The thousand year Reich has began. Sieg Heil!
[Crowd repeats phrase]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemania: I anodos kai i ptosi tou Nazismou" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Horst Wessel Song

Entertaining, just don't take it as history.

As an amateur historian of WW2/Nazi Germany, I couldn't wait for this to come out on DVD. I missed it when it was first on in 2003. I don't want to repeat what's already been said in the previous 8 pages of comments about the historical inaccuracies. A better job could've been done portraying the "charming" Hitler. I also had a small problem with some of the casting choices, not so much for their acting, but for their appearances. Peter Stormare doesn't look much like Rohm, why didn't they make Babson as Hess wear a wig? And my biggest complaint..so much has always been made of Hitler's striking blue eyes, why didn't they make Carlyle wear blue contacts? On the plus side, I thought the actors who played Goring and Drexler looked pretty good. Again, as long as people watching this understand that this is supposed to be entertainment 1st, history 2nd I don't think a lot of harm will be done.