Hitler: The Rise of Evil (TV 2003)

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.

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers:

John Pielmeier, G. Ross Parker

Stars:

Robert Carlyle, Stockard Channing, Jena Malone

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

The movie describes the life of Adolf Hitler from childhood to manhood, and how he became so powerful. It describes his poor childhood in Austria, it describes the first world war from his point of view, and how he became the strongest man in Germany. The movie show us how Hitler turned from a poor soldier into the leader of the Nazis, and how he survived the attempts to kill him. It describes his relationship with his mistress Eva Braun, and his decisions and enemies inside Germany and inside the Nazi party.

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Plot Keywords:

hitler | nazi | germany | austria | trench warfare | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Official Sites:

CBS

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hitler - Aufstieg des Bösen

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 179 min (video) 240 min 177 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In March 2003 while shooting the scenes in Prague on Wenceslas Square, near the National Museum, the movie crew had to put some vehicles in the background to hide candles and flowers laid on a pavement in commemoration of Zdenek Adamec, who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest several days before the shooting had begun. Exactly in the same place, exactly in the same way and exactly with the same purpose Jan Palach put the end to his life 34 years earlier.

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Goofs

While Adolf Hitler hands out leaflets in 1919, a newspaper is shown titled "Kommunistische Simme" - the correct German title would have been "Kommunistische Stimme" (Communist Voice).

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Quotes

Adolf Hitler: We were friends once, Ernst; you saw my potential before anyone else; you speak your mind unlike the others; and you love your men more than yourself, which is rare in a leader. But you refuse to bend. Why? You have power.
Ernst Röhm: I don't want power, I want justice. My men were promised...
Adolf Hitler: I don't care. I don't give a damn about promises! You know this!... you know this. Ernst, the SA are not now, nor will they ever be the official German army. You must stand down.
Ernst Röhm: You're right, Adolf. We were friends ...

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"Horst Wessel Song"
Words by Horst Wessel

User Reviews

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

"Hitler: The Rise of Evil" was shrouded in controversy before it ever aired, and that controversy may obscure the accomplishment of the film.

Those who criticzed the film, which they hadn't seen, did so with good intentions, based on the misguided thought that it would be overly sympathetic to Hitler. However, they misunderstood the point: to humanize the evil Hitler is not sympathize with him. It is far more disturbing to realize that the unspeakable acts committed by one of history's greatest villains were committed by a human being. A sick, diseased maniac, to be sure, but a human being nonetheless. It is necessary to know the story of how Hitler was able to come to power to prevent it from happening again.

"Rise of Evil" is highlighted by a brilliant, career best performance from Robert Carlyle, who makes Hitler a human being without ever redeeming him in any way. Carlyle flawlessly captures the look and mannerisms of the Nazi leader, while never letting the impersonation become cartoonish or distance us (something Anthony Hopkins was not quite able to accomplish when he portrayed Hitler in "The Bunker", another very good made-for-television film). While were are repulsed by Hitler's depravity and virulent ant-Semitism, Carlyle gives him a certain magnetism and power the real Adolf Hitler must have possesed. After all, while else would a nation have followed him?

Of the various subplots, by far the most compelling features Matthew Modine as reporter Fritz Gehrlich, who makes it his life's work to draw attention to the reality of of Hitler and Nazism. While Modine's performance is a little stilted in part 1, by part 2 he seems to have settled in, the character gives us a real-life hero in a film full of villains. Peter Stormare and Liev Schrieber also give strong support.

Part 1 of this two-part mini series suffered a little bit from being overly choppy, including a look at Hitler's childhood which lasts only the duration of the opening credits. And in part 2, sections detailing Hitler's relationship's with his niece, and his mistress Eva Braun, are less successful than the central plot, but do serve to give us further insight into his mental and emotional state.

Ultimately, no film about Hitler can make us understand him. The average person is, thankfully, incapable of ever understanding a man who would try to exterminate an entire race of people. "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" tries less to make us understand Hitler, and more to make us understand how he came to be power. It is an important story that must be told, and it is impossible to believe anyone who has seen the film would accuse it of having anything but the best of intentions, and the capability of doing anything but good.

9 out of 10. *** 1/2