natsocnet
09-07-2004, 06:17 AM
Oliver Hirschbiegel's "The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich" hasn't even opened yet, but the picture is already one of the most controversial German films of all time. Budgeted at $16 million, "Downfall" also is one of the most expensive German-language films of all time and a major financial risk for production company Constantin Film.
Starring Swiss-born actor Bruno Ganz ("Wings of Desire") as the Nazi dictator in his Berlin bunker during the final days of World War II, "Downfall" breaks one of the last taboos of German cinema by portraying Hitler in a central role.
More controversial is the decision, by Hirschbiegel and producer-screenwriter Bernd Eichinger, to depict Hitler not just as a screaming demagogue but also as a soft-spoken man who charms his secretary and lovingly plays with Blondie, his pet Alsatian.
"It is not the first time (we've seen) Adolf Hitler on the screen, but it is certainly the first time they have tried to discover the human touch in the monster," said Rolf Giesen, head of Berlin's Film Museum.
That approach has sparked fierce debate in the German press, with some critics warning the film could pander to neo-Nazis.
" 'Downfall' prompts the question whether one should be allowed to feel sympathy for Hitler," German newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote in a recent article criticizing the film.
But leading German newsweekly Der Spiegel, in a cover story, praised Eichinger for giving what it called "the absurd drama" in Hitler's bunker "a real face."
"Downfall," which will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 14, is based on firsthand testimony and recently discovered historical documents recounting the period from April 20, Hitler's last birthday, until May 2, 1945, when the Soviet army stormed the Berlin bunker to find the Fuhrer had committed suicide.
The film is told from the perspective of Traudl Junge, Hitler's last stenographer, who was the focus of the 2002 documentary "Blind Spot -- Hitler's Secretary." Eichinger's script is based on her memoir, "Until the Final Hour," and "Inside Hitler's Bunker" by famed German historian Joachim Fest.
But the focus of "Downfall," and the source of much of its controversy, is star Bruno Ganz.
Ganz isn't the first actor to portray Hitler in his final hours. Alec Guinness took on the role in the 1972 feature "The Last Ten Days," as did Anthony Hopkins in the 1981 miniseries "The Bunker."
But Ganz is the first to show the dictator as the ashen-faced wreck witnesses say he was at the end, spitting out hate-filled monologs about the Jews and alleged betrayers, while commanding nonexistent troops into battle as his hands trembled with what historians believe was late-stage Parkinson's disease.
Ganz also has the advantage of speaking in Hitler's distinct Austrian-accented voice. The actor based much of his performance on a recently discovered Finnish radio recording made in 1942. The tape is the only recording in existence on which the Fuhrer can be heard speaking in a normal tone of voice, not the hysterical ranting on display in his public speeches.
Ganz said it was not possible to have any real sympathy for Hitler.
"But I'm not ashamed of the fact that I could feel sympathy for him during fleeting seconds," the actor explained. "If the audience doesn't, at least in certain sequences, feel sympathy for the monster Hitler, then I didn't do my job as an actor."
Movies dealing with the Nazi regime have had a mixed boxoffice history in Germany and, until now, no German film has ever attempted to make Hitler a central dramatic figure. Previous features have relegated the Fuhrer to the background.
But the company behind "The Name of the Rose" and "Das Boot" is counting on strong crossover potential for "Downfall." Constantin will release the film Sept. 16 in Germany on 400 copies, a wide bow for a German-language production.
"The time is ripe for such a film," Eichinger said. "It's important not just to shed light on one's own history superficially, but rather to tell it from within."
That's a view apparently shared by international distributors. Armed with just a 15-minute show reel and an English-language translation of the script, sales agent Beta Film already has presold the film to France (TF1), Japan (Gaga), Italy (Rai Cinema), Russia (Central Partnership) and Benelux (A Film).
"Downfall" isn't the only upcoming German production that aims to tell the Nazi story from the inside. A new three-part docudrama, "The Devil's Architect" by director Heinrich Breloer, looks at the life of Hitler's architect Albert Speer and features TV star Tobias Moretti as Hitler. Another new docudrama, "Joseph Goebbels," looks at the infamous Nazi propaganda boss, who is also the subject of an upcoming feature-length documentary, "The Goebbels Experiment," by director Lutz Hachmeister.
Almost 60 years after the end of World War II, German cinema appears ready to break its own taboos to try and shed light on the darkest period in its history
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/international/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000625035
http://www.filmzeitung.de/data/images/bruno_ganz_hitler.jpg
Starring Swiss-born actor Bruno Ganz ("Wings of Desire") as the Nazi dictator in his Berlin bunker during the final days of World War II, "Downfall" breaks one of the last taboos of German cinema by portraying Hitler in a central role.
More controversial is the decision, by Hirschbiegel and producer-screenwriter Bernd Eichinger, to depict Hitler not just as a screaming demagogue but also as a soft-spoken man who charms his secretary and lovingly plays with Blondie, his pet Alsatian.
"It is not the first time (we've seen) Adolf Hitler on the screen, but it is certainly the first time they have tried to discover the human touch in the monster," said Rolf Giesen, head of Berlin's Film Museum.
That approach has sparked fierce debate in the German press, with some critics warning the film could pander to neo-Nazis.
" 'Downfall' prompts the question whether one should be allowed to feel sympathy for Hitler," German newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine wrote in a recent article criticizing the film.
But leading German newsweekly Der Spiegel, in a cover story, praised Eichinger for giving what it called "the absurd drama" in Hitler's bunker "a real face."
"Downfall," which will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 14, is based on firsthand testimony and recently discovered historical documents recounting the period from April 20, Hitler's last birthday, until May 2, 1945, when the Soviet army stormed the Berlin bunker to find the Fuhrer had committed suicide.
The film is told from the perspective of Traudl Junge, Hitler's last stenographer, who was the focus of the 2002 documentary "Blind Spot -- Hitler's Secretary." Eichinger's script is based on her memoir, "Until the Final Hour," and "Inside Hitler's Bunker" by famed German historian Joachim Fest.
But the focus of "Downfall," and the source of much of its controversy, is star Bruno Ganz.
Ganz isn't the first actor to portray Hitler in his final hours. Alec Guinness took on the role in the 1972 feature "The Last Ten Days," as did Anthony Hopkins in the 1981 miniseries "The Bunker."
But Ganz is the first to show the dictator as the ashen-faced wreck witnesses say he was at the end, spitting out hate-filled monologs about the Jews and alleged betrayers, while commanding nonexistent troops into battle as his hands trembled with what historians believe was late-stage Parkinson's disease.
Ganz also has the advantage of speaking in Hitler's distinct Austrian-accented voice. The actor based much of his performance on a recently discovered Finnish radio recording made in 1942. The tape is the only recording in existence on which the Fuhrer can be heard speaking in a normal tone of voice, not the hysterical ranting on display in his public speeches.
Ganz said it was not possible to have any real sympathy for Hitler.
"But I'm not ashamed of the fact that I could feel sympathy for him during fleeting seconds," the actor explained. "If the audience doesn't, at least in certain sequences, feel sympathy for the monster Hitler, then I didn't do my job as an actor."
Movies dealing with the Nazi regime have had a mixed boxoffice history in Germany and, until now, no German film has ever attempted to make Hitler a central dramatic figure. Previous features have relegated the Fuhrer to the background.
But the company behind "The Name of the Rose" and "Das Boot" is counting on strong crossover potential for "Downfall." Constantin will release the film Sept. 16 in Germany on 400 copies, a wide bow for a German-language production.
"The time is ripe for such a film," Eichinger said. "It's important not just to shed light on one's own history superficially, but rather to tell it from within."
That's a view apparently shared by international distributors. Armed with just a 15-minute show reel and an English-language translation of the script, sales agent Beta Film already has presold the film to France (TF1), Japan (Gaga), Italy (Rai Cinema), Russia (Central Partnership) and Benelux (A Film).
"Downfall" isn't the only upcoming German production that aims to tell the Nazi story from the inside. A new three-part docudrama, "The Devil's Architect" by director Heinrich Breloer, looks at the life of Hitler's architect Albert Speer and features TV star Tobias Moretti as Hitler. Another new docudrama, "Joseph Goebbels," looks at the infamous Nazi propaganda boss, who is also the subject of an upcoming feature-length documentary, "The Goebbels Experiment," by director Lutz Hachmeister.
Almost 60 years after the end of World War II, German cinema appears ready to break its own taboos to try and shed light on the darkest period in its history
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/international/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000625035
http://www.filmzeitung.de/data/images/bruno_ganz_hitler.jpg