Downfall
(Der Untergang)
Screening on Film
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel.
With Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Juliane Köhler.
Germany/Italy/Austria, 2004, 35mm, color, 156 min.
German and Russian with English subtitles.
With Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Juliane Köhler.
Germany/Italy/Austria, 2004, 35mm, color, 156 min.
German and Russian with English subtitles.
The first German film to broach the subject of Adolf Hitler's life in almost fifty years chronicles the final days in the life of the Führer. As Berlin burns to the ground, Hitler and his closest confidants, including his mistress Eva Braun (Köhler) and his advisor Joseph Goebbels, remain confined to the rooms of the infamous bunker. Downfall is based on the transcripts of Traudl Junge (Lara), the former secretary who escaped the bunker and would go on to give her own account of Hitler's life in the acclaimed documentary Blind Spot. The film presents an un-sensationalized portrait of these consequential final hours, and Ganz gives an outstanding performance, adding a human dimension to one of the most despised figures in history.
