Untergang, Der (2004)

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers:

Joachim Fest (book)
Traudl Junge (book) ...

Release Date:

16 septiembre 2004 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Frase comercial:

April 1945, a nation awaits its...

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Tank | Lunatic | Dead Children | German Shepherd | Female Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 13 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Distanced and sober view of Hitler's last days

Cast

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. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck
Matthias Habich	...	Prof. Dr. Werner Haase
Thomas Kretschmann	...	SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein
Michael Mendl	...	General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling
André Hennicke	...	SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke
Ulrich Noethen	...	Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler
Birgit Minichmayr	...	Gerda Christian
Rolf Kanies	...	General der Infanterie Hans Krebs
Justus von Dohnanyi	...	General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf

También conocida como:

Caduta - Gli ultimi giorni di Hitler, La (Italy)
Downfall (UK)
The Downfall (literal English title)
The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich (USA)
Untergang - Hitler und das Ende des 3. Reichs, Der (Germany) (working title)
Caída, La (Argentina) (festival title) (Colombia) (Venezuela) [es]
Hundimiento, El (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images and some nudity.

Duración:

156 min | 178 min (extended version)

País:

Germany | Italy | Austria

Idioma:

German | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby Digital

Clasificación:

Italy:T | Australia:MA | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Malaysia:18SG | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Taiwan:R-12 | France:U (with warning) | Philippines:R-13 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivialidades:

Of the thirty-seven named real life people featured as characters in the film, Rochus Misch was the only one who was still alive when the film was released. As of 2006, he is one of the last remaining survivors of the Führerbunker.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the flight from the bunker, Müller is shot. When the camera cuts to his body on the ground there is a bullet wound in his right cheek. But no wound is seen on his face in the previous frames as we hear the shot and see him falling.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Erkan & Stefan in Der Tod kommt krass (2005)

Soundtrack:

When I Am Laid In Earth

Distanced and sober view of Hitler's last days

The first 15 minutes made me doubt the qualities of this movie. The situations were a bit forced and the cuts were strange. But after the uncomfortable beginning the movie took momentum and kept it until the end.

I think the choice of depicting Hitler as a human being with a dispassionate and modest direction was excellent. The film never tries to force viewers into an opinion. Everybody can form his own opinion. Too often the horrors of WWII led writers and directors to depict Nazis as monsters. Perfectly normal human beings can be cruel and merciless if they are blinded (by hate for example), which should never be forgotten.

In a way, a human Hitler to me is more guilty than a raving monster. He had the choice and he chose to do wrong. He could choose life and he chose murder and destruction. A human being lost respect for the life of other human beings and led a country into genocide. Ultimately he loses respect for all life and starts sacrificing his own soldiers at random. This is what I value this film for, making the idea of a human Hitler tangible.

It was very brave to make this film, given that controversy was almost certain to arise. One of the highlights of this year, to be sure.