Hitler: The Rise of Evil 

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

Stars:

Peter Stormare, Friedrich von Thun, Peter O'Toole

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Peter Stormare	...	Ernst Röhm 2 episodes, 2003
Friedrich von Thun	...	General Erich Ludendorff 2 episodes, 2003
Peter O'Toole	...	President Paul von Hindenburg 2 episodes, 2003
Zoe Telford	...	Eva Braun 2 episodes, 2003
Terence Harvey	...	Gustav von Kahr 2 episodes, 2003
Justin Salinger	...	Dr. Joseph Goebbels 2 episodes, 2003
Chris Larkin	...	Hermann Göring 2 episodes, 2003
James Babson	...	Rudolf Hess 2 episodes, 2003
Patricia Netzer	...	Sophie Gerlich 2 episodes, 2003
Harvey Friedman	...	Friedrich Hollaender 2 episodes, 2003
Nicole Marischka	...	Blandine Ebinger 2 episodes, 2003
Julie-Ann Hassett	...	Angela Raubal 2 episodes, 2003
Thomas Brodie-Sangster	...	Adolf Hitler (10 yrs) 2 episodes, 2003
Simon Sullivan	...	Adolf Hitler (17 yrs) 2 episodes, 2003
Robert Glenister	...	Anton Drexler 2 episodes, 2003
Ian Hogg	...	Alois Hitler 2 episodes, 2003
Filip Hes	...	Egon Hanfstaengl 2 episodes, 2003
Brendan Hughes	...	Lieutenant Guffman 2 episodes, 2003
Howard Lotker	...	Hans (soldier) 2 episodes, 2003
Robert Russell	...	Franz von Papen 2 episodes, 2003
David Fisher	...	Georg Bell 2 episodes, 2003
Hana Frejková	...	Frieda 2 episodes, 2003
Wolfgang Müller	...	Gregor Strasser 2 episodes, 2003
Christopher Ettridge	...	General Kurt von Schleicher 2 episodes, 2003
Robert Carlyle	...	Adolf Hitler 2 episodes, 2003
Stockard Channing	...	Klara Hitler 2 episodes, 2003
Jena Malone	...	Geli Raubal 2 episodes, 2003
Julianna Margulies	...	Helene Hanfstaengl 2 episodes, 2003
Matthew Modine	...	Fritz Gerlich 2 episodes, 2003
Liev Schreiber	...	Ernst Hanfstaengl 2 episodes, 2003

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

hitler | nazis | reference to adolf hitler | nazi | joseph goebbels character | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

---

Details

Official Sites:

CBS

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hitler: The Rise of Evil

Filming Locations:

Brno, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Geli's lines when she is smoking with the driver, just after being told her uncle is "a good man", ("he's a monster... you can't imagine what he asks of me") are Geli Raubal's actual words, taken directly from her journal. Allegedly, Hitler drew a series of pornographic sketches of her, entitled "Miss Raubel in close-ups and angles to which any professional model would decline posing for."

---

Goofs

When the maid comes down the stairs reading from the newspaper, Helene Hanfstaengl approaches her and starts a discussion about the article. When Helene leaves the room, there is a tape mark on the floor where she stood.

---

Quotes

Adolf Hitler: Marx was a Jew. The Communist Party is run by Jews.

---

Alternate Versions

Network Seven, in Australia originally aired this as a two part mini series.

---

Connections

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

---

Soundtracks

Dressur
Written by Friedrich Hollaender and Walter Mehring
Performed by Blandine Ebinger

User Reviews

Very entertaining, but historically incorrect

No wonder that the historian Ian Kershaw, author of the groundbreaking Hitler biography, who originally was the scientific consultant for this TV film, dissociated himself from it. The film is historically just too incorrect. The mistakes start right away when Hitler`s father Alois dies at home, while in reality he died in a pub. In the film, Hitler moves from Vienna to Munich in 1914, while in reality he actually moved to Munich in 1913. I could go on endlessly. Hitler`s childhood and youth are portrayed way too short, which makes it quite difficult for historically uninformed people to understand the character of this frustrated neurotic man. Important persons of the early time of the party, like Hitler`s fatherly friend Dietrich Eckart or the party "philosopher" Alfred Rosenberg are totally missing. The characterization of Ernst Hanfstaengl is very problematic. In the film he is portrayed as a noble character who almost despises Hitler. The script obviously follows Hanfstaengl`s own gloss over view of himself which he gave in his biography after the war. In fact, Hanfstaengl was an anti-semite and was crazy about his "Fuehrer". But the biggest problem of the film is the portrayal of Hitler himself. He is characterized as someone who is constantly unfriendly,has neither charisma nor charm and constantly orders everybody around. After watching the film, one wonders, how such a disgusting person ever was able to get any followers. Since we all know, what an evil criminal Hitler was, naturally every scriptwriter is tempted to portray Hitler as totally disgusting and uncharismatic. But facts is, that in private he could be quite charming and entertaining. His comrades didn`t follow him because he constantly yelled at them, but because they liked this strange man. Beyond all those historical mistakes, the film is well made, the actors are first class, the location shots and the production design give a believable impression of the era.