'Downfall' movie: Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler 'Downfall' movie: Overlong and overwrought World War II drama lifted by several memorable performances Oliver Hirschbiegel's German box office hit Downfall / Der Untergang is a generally engrossing psychological-historical drama whose emotional charge is diluted by excessive length, an overabundance of characters, and a tendency to emphasize the more obvious aspects of the narrative. Several key performances – including Bruno Ganz's now iconic Adolf Hitler – help to lift Downfall above the level of myriad other World War II movies. Nazi Germany literally goes under In Downfall, which by the end of 2004 had been seen by more than 4.5 million German moviegoers, Nazi Germany is about to lose the war. In his underground bunker, Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) grows increasingly out of touch with reality as he sees his dream of Deutschland über alles go kaput. Some of those under his command are equally incapable of thinking coherently.
- 5/10/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Cinema has always liked telling a good life story, and all kinds of biography – from the humblest to the starriest – have been given a filmic going-over. The Guardian and Observer's critics pick the 10 best in a very crowded field
• Top 10 animated movies
• Top 10 silent movies
• Top 10 sports movies
• Top 10 film noir
• Top 10 musicals
• Top 10 martial arts movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
This is the most radical of all biopics. It does exactly what it promises, breaking the Canadian pianist's intense and troubled life into concentrated fragments. Reassembly is left to the viewer. When he began working on the screenplay with Don McKellar, the writer-director François Girard recognised the pitfalls of the genre. "There are many traps," he said. "The main temptation is to try to cram everything about a life into one film. What you need is a radical idea...
• Top 10 animated movies
• Top 10 silent movies
• Top 10 sports movies
• Top 10 film noir
• Top 10 musicals
• Top 10 martial arts movies
• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s
10. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
This is the most radical of all biopics. It does exactly what it promises, breaking the Canadian pianist's intense and troubled life into concentrated fragments. Reassembly is left to the viewer. When he began working on the screenplay with Don McKellar, the writer-director François Girard recognised the pitfalls of the genre. "There are many traps," he said. "The main temptation is to try to cram everything about a life into one film. What you need is a radical idea...
- 12/12/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Der Untergang / Downfall (2004) Direction: Oliver Hirschbiegel Cast: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Juliane Köhler, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Heino Ferch, Thomas Kretschmann Screenplay: Bernd Eichinger; from Joachim Fest's book Untergang: Hitler und das Ende des Dritten Reiches / Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Days of the Third Reich and Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller's Bis zur letzten Stunde / Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary Oscar Movies Recommended with Reservations Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler in Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall Oliver Hirschbiegel's German box-office hit Der Untergang / Downfall is a generally effective war drama, whose emotional power is marred by excessive length, an overabundance of characters, and a certain tendency to emphasize the more obvious aspects of the story. In Downfall, which by the end of 2004 had ad been seen by more than 4.5 million German filmgoers, Nazi Germany is about to lose the war. In his underground [...]...
- 2/4/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
I’m loving this project more and more with each film, there is something truly magical about watching some of these amazing films for the first time ever like 12 Angry Men, The Apartment, Rope and Double Indemnity and in this weeks round up I’ve added another incredible film to my collection with the German stunner Der Untergang.
The other four films all offered something enjoyably different with High Noon being a particular standout which has kick started my love for the Western movie genre. I revisited Avatar for the third time which was interesting to see again since the hype has died down, ventured again to Edgar Wright’s perfect Zombie movie “Shaun of the Dead” and had a surprisingly enjoyable watch of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. Again another fine week of movies that all deserve to be in the Top 250 and still Mulholland Drive is the only film...
The other four films all offered something enjoyably different with High Noon being a particular standout which has kick started my love for the Western movie genre. I revisited Avatar for the third time which was interesting to see again since the hype has died down, ventured again to Edgar Wright’s perfect Zombie movie “Shaun of the Dead” and had a surprisingly enjoyable watch of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. Again another fine week of movies that all deserve to be in the Top 250 and still Mulholland Drive is the only film...
- 4/12/2010
- by Gary Phillips
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Variety reports that Constantin Films has cast Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Adolf Hitler in Der Untergang -- Hitler und das Ende des 3. Reichs (The Downfall -- Hitler and the End of the Third Reich). Focusing on the last days of the Nazi regime, the film starts shooting this summer in St. Petersburg under the direction of Oliver Hirschbiegel from a screenplay by Bernd Eichinger, based on Joachim Fest's book. The film also stars Juliane Koehler (Nowhere in Africa) as Eva Braun, Corinna Harfouch as Magda Goebbels, Ulrich Noethen as Heinrich Himmler and Alexandra Maria Lara as Hitler's personal secretary.
- 4/22/2003
- IMDbPro News
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