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

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

German officers never wore campaign or decoration ribbons on their tunics in the style of the Brtitish and American military.

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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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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

Oh How We Wish That We Were Kids
Written by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Blandine Ebinger

User Reviews

Easy-to-swallow warning for mass-behavior

Being a fanatical semi-professional historian on WW2, and utterly fascinated by Hitler's third Reich and all it's military power, I could hardly wait for "Hitler; the rise of evil" to come out after having seen the theatrical trailer.

Heavens, I never felt so completely confused about a movie after pushing the 'stop' button on my DVD-player's remote. I simply couldn't decide whether I liked it or not.

First of all, the performances set by Carlyle and companions are quite good. A little over-acted every now and then, especially Carlyle who obviously tries his up-most to copy the "Führer" and his body-language. He acts as if he is in a theatre, and seems to forget the fact that camera's register way more details/facial expressions. Compare a real recording of a Hitler-speech with one of Carlyle's speech-scene's and you'll see what I mean.

Then comes the Historical accuracy. Not quite bad, but I kept noticing small things which obviously were incorrect. Uniforms, weapons, bread-prices, skinny-Röhm, fat Hess... not really impressive job I might say.

but one of the most compelling things about the whole film (or series, I 've seen it as a film) is the fact that it is very obvious the director desperately wants to show the world Hitler was a sick-minded, over-emotional and completely mentally unstable person. Well, I can assure you this: He absolutely had his periods of mental disturbances and ignoring the truth, especially toward the war's end. But this... I have read many, many eye-witness reports from people who lived in his presence, like Albert Speer. They all agreed on some things, namely the facts Adolf Hitler was very often a think full, correct, funny, honorable man. Hitler was the mastermind behind the Nazi's criminal and appalling Holocaust. Hitler was a criminal. A kind of person that can never be allowed to rise to power again. This is obviously the reason why the director choose to show him the way he did. However, Hitler was dangerous not because he was a monster, he was dangerous because he was so intelligent, so well-spoken. Because he was worshipped by so many, because he knew what to say to 'his' people. That was the real danger, and that's exactly what we must teach. Think of it this way: The most successful murderers and big criminals are usually the smart, well-spoken and socially established men. You wouldn't know he is a monster until you see what he has done.

I wish the director/writer added a bit more humanity to his character. But obviously they chose to show the audience Hitler changed from a normal person into a monster. Talking about stereotypes and negligence of the truth.

Overall I still found it an enjoyable movie which does achieve one of it's main goals: portraying us, the crowd, as willing sheep, especially in times of need. Ye be warned.

Rating: 6.5/10

** Note: One very imposing scene: Hitler speaks out loud his ideas in the court-yard, with Hess recording it. After awhile you get to see a different day every now and then, and every time more and more inmates cheer him from behind their bars overlooking the yard.