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

All Nazi-themed costumes and props (flags, medallions, pins, tie-tacks) were destroyed after filming wrapped, to prevent any items linked with Nazism from finding their way into the hands of neo-Nazis.

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Goofs

When Ernst Hanfstaengl listens to Adolf Hitler speak the first time you can briefly see a Swastika flag behind Hitler in one shot. It is not until later that Hitler comes up with the swastika symbol and introduces it at Hanfstaengl's dinner party.

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Quotes

Adolf Hitler: Traitors are defined not by themselves, but by the people they betray.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"Habanera"
(from Carmen)
Music by George Bizet
Used as the music for the "Blame the Jews" song

User Reviews

Excellent history and entertaining too

For a series that covers four hours and is constrained to history, this was not only educational but gripping drama too. I disagree with the popular pronouncement that this is some attempt to humanize Hitler. Hitler doesn't need humanizing, he was human and all that is necessary to fear somebody like Hitler is to understand his personal history better. This movie goes a long way towards doing that.

An important point that the series makes is that Hitler was not all there was to Nazi Germany, there was the Nazi party too and the social, historical and cultural forces that brought it into being. All these things are nicely fitted in to the story.

The cast is excellent and the acting is not bad for television and especially good for the characters we see. The cinematography -- or videography -- is excellent and little was spared to create an authentic sense of place. Costumes especially were thoughtful and well crafted.

Nazi Germany is one of those periods of history that will always have some corner that will make a good movie or good television and I hope this will not be the last.