Downfall (2004)

Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers:

Bernd Eichinger (screenplay), Joachim Fest (book)

Stars:

Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes

Top Rated Movies #119 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 21 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruno Ganz	...	Adolf Hitler
Alexandra Maria Lara	...	Traudl Junge
Corinna Harfouch	...	Magda Goebbels
Ulrich Matthes	...	Joseph Goebbels
Juliane Köhler	...	Eva Braun
Heino Ferch	...	Albert Speer
Christian Berkel	...	Prof. Ernst-Günther Schenck
Matthias Habich	...	Prof. Werner Haase
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Hermann Fegelein
Michael Mendl	...	General Weidling
André Hennicke	...	General Mohnke
Ulrich Noethen	...	Heinrich Himmler
Birgit Minichmayr	...	Gerda Christian
Rolf Kanies	...	General Hans Krebs
Justus von Dohnányi	...	General Wilhelm Burgdorf

Storyline

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Soviet Armies closing in from the west and south. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his Generals and advisers to fight to the last man. "Downfall" explores these final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting from their beloved Fuhrer, in an effort to save their own lives, while still others (Joseph Goebbels) pledge to die with Hitler. Hitler, himself, degenerates into a paranoid shell of a man, full of optimism one moment and suicidal depression the next. When the end finally does comes, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

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Plot Keywords:

hitler | bunker | nazi | third reich | suicide | 

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Taglines:

April 1945, a nation awaits its...

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [United States]

Country:

Germany Austria Italy

Language:

German Russian Hungarian

Release Date:

8 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Downfall

Filming Locations:

Russia

Box Office

Budget:

€13,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,540,118 (Germany), 17 September 2004

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,220, 18 February 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,509,040, 2 November 2013

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$92,180,910, 2 November 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film,Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR),Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

156 min 178 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the war, a majority of the cyanide capsules produced were made in the concentration camps, which made sabotage a real problem. This is one of the reasons why many Germans who committed suicide by cyanide also shot themselves to make sure they would die. This is also the reason why Adolf Hitler's beloved dog, Blondi, was poisoned; he wanted to make sure his batch of cyanide was not fake.

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Goofs

Thomas Kretschmann portrayed SS Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, but his collar insignia is that of an SS Brigadeführer. Fegelein attained the rank of SS Obergruppenführer before being executed. His collar insignia should have a diamond below the leaves

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Quotes

[first lines]
Traudl Junge: I've got the feeling that I should be angry with this child, this young and oblivious girl. Or that I'm not allowed to forgive her for not seeing the nature of that monster. That she didn't realise what she was doing. And mostly because I've gone so obliviously. Because I wasn't a fanatic Nazi. I could have said in Berlin, "No, I'm not doing that. I don't want to go the Führer's headquarters." But I didn't do that. I was too curious. I didn't realise that fate would lead me ...

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Crazy Credits

After the final credits there is a statement by the real Traudl Jung about her feelings of guilt and responsibility. In the British Cinema release, this is moved to before the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Half in the Bag: Hardcore Henry (2016)

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Soundtracks

Die Blauen Dragoner Sie Reiten
(Hans Hertel / G.W. Harmssen)
Courtesy of Voggenreiter Verlag, Bonn

User Reviews

This movie has physically touched me! ....wow.

I don't know what to say about this film. I am almost speechless.

First of all, this is almost PERFECT cinema, beautifully shot, acted, lit, staged and on and on. BUt it is also the only film in recent memory that had an almost physical impact on me. I left feeling disoriented and very disquieted, a feeling that lasted for several hours.

What we have here is an exercise in patience. A film that allows us to watch the disintegration of the largest empire in modern history, from the inside out. Beginning after the start of the siege of Berlin, the bulk of the film takes place in the cramped bunkers below the city, where Hitler and his officers are trapped like rats on a sinking ship, aware of their fate, but not smart enough, not willing enough, or maybe incapable of escaping the fates they created for themselves.

This is a daring, brilliant film with a virtuoso performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler. He shows us that beneath the genocidal, world changing shell of hatred that the globe knew, Hitler was still that petty, hatefilled, failed art-student that he was before becoming the greatest villain in history.

awesome, awesome, awesome movie.