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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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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: 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

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

During the segment set in "July 1918" the Lieutenant informs Adolf Hitler that the unit is to be redeployed to the Eastern Front. Russia had already signed a peace treaty with Germany on 3/3/1918 so by this point in the war there was no longer any "Eastern Front".

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Quotes

Fritz Gerlich: He's insane. A complete psychotic. He may be a compelling speaker on stage, but in person I could see into his eyes and what I saw was... terrifying.
Gustav von Kahr: And I intend to shut him down.
Fritz Gerlich: With all due respect, Commissar Von Kahr, you need to handle him with care.
Gustav von Kahr: Don't worry, I will. I know how to deal with Adolf Hitler.

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Alternate Versions

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

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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

Nobody would have followed *this* Hitler

Just imagine the real Hitler, who was a master of propaganda and speech, would have been such a mumbling moron as Carlyle portrayed him in this film.

Nobody would have followed him, not even a desperate, unemployed guy in the 1920s.

This is just a Hollywood cardboard piece of propaganda itself, disguised as "true history".

I pity everyone who actually believed anything from this show. Carlyle and the producers didn't get anything right with this.

Why was Hitler able to win so many people, a whole county for his ideas if we was such a sausage? Why did people follow him to death? By portraying him as such a loser they make their own film totally unbelievable. This film is a mixture of old WW2 propaganda and MTV urban myths about one of the most important persons of the last century. Imagine a film about Churchill where the director only shows him as a drunkard for 90 mins.

This film is a disgrace and I wonder how they could talk an actor like Carlyle into this dreck.