The Goebbels Experiment (2005)

Through archival footage and dramatic readings of his personal writings, the life of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister, Josef Goebbels, is examined.

Director:

Lutz Hachmeister

Writers:

Lutz Hachmeister, Michael Kloft

Stars:

Udo Samel, Kenneth Branagh, Heinrich Brüning

Cast

Credited cast:
Udo Samel	...	Narrator (voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kenneth Branagh	...	Narrator (voice)
Heinrich Brüning	...	Himself (archive footage)
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (archive footage)
Engelbert Dollfuss	...	Himself (archive footage)
Wilhelm Frick	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph Goebbels	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Josef Goebbels)
Magda Goebbels	...	Herself (archive footage)
Hermann Göring	...	Himself (archive footage)
Veit Harlan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rudolf Hess	...	Himself (archive footage)
Heinrich Himmler	...	Himself (archive footage)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alfred Hugenberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Louis	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

The Nazi propaganda mastermind behind Hitler speaks in first person as actor Kenneth Branagh reads pages of the diary kept by the chief of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, revealing the man's most inner thoughts. Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) was a symbol of Germany's Nazi regime and a twentieth-century icon of maniacal cruelty. His name has been synonymous with cynical, unscrupulous, and at times successful, propaganda. The life of Joseph Goebbels is far more complicated and disturbing than labels like "genius of spin" or "Reich Liar-General" would suggest. The chronicle shows how Goebbels continually "restaged" and reinvented himself -- from his early days as a radical "popular socialist" to his tragic end. The film lets Goebbels speak for himself through the diaries he kept without interruption from 1924 to 1945, as never before seen historical footage from German archives traces the life of the second most powerful man of the Third Reich, detailing his initial attraction to the Nazi ...

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Plot Keywords:

propaganda | nazi | diary | nazi germany | voice over narration | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

First Run Features

Country:

Germany UK

Language:

German English

Release Date:

13 April 2005 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Goebbels Experiment

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,769, 14 August 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$47,211, 26 February 2006

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Color:

Color Black and White

Did You Know?

Quotes

Narrator: Hitler had phoned. He wanted to welcome us and in fifteen minutes he was there, tall, healthy and vigorous. I like him. He puts us to shame with his kindness.

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Connections

Features Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)

User Reviews

Fine, enlightening documentary

This film basically has the narrator reading from Josef Goebbels diary from the early 20's through to his death in 1945. The film is bookended by the charring corpse of Goebbels, though the film reveals his dead daughters, since Goebbels had them poisoned rather than be captured. You learn a lot of things about Goebbels. He critiqued movies, panning The Battleship Potemkin for being too unsubtle in its propaganda (and obviously being inspired by it at the same time.) He thought Churchill was a better speaker than "that idiot Chamberlain". He was paranoid, often attacking then loving Hitler. You learn that Hitler's favorite men were not friends (Goebbels hates Goring, for example.) This is a must see for anyone interested in the goings-on in the inner sanctum of the Nazis.