Downfall DVD Review:

As the Allies close in on Berlin, secretary Traudl Junge (Lara) witnesses how Adolf Hitler (Ganz) and his advisors plan Nazi Germany’s final stand from their secret underground bunker. With reports of the American’s and British coming from one side and the Russians from the other, she sees how the Führer becomes desperate to stop the insurgence and turn the war back in Germany’s favour. Communications start to breakdown and Hitler becomes more and more frustrated, as the fall of the Third Reich becomes inevitable.

The Second World War has been the subject of many a movie but there have been very few that have shown the conflict from the point of view of the Germans, ‘Downfall’ changes all that.

The final days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich are vividly brought to life to create one of the best and most realistic war movie to ever grace the silver screen. The change is that this isn’t a Hollywood version of events but a German film. Frank and honest, the movie chronicles how the War came to an end and Hitler’s desperate attempts to strive off defeat with glorifying or making you feel any sympathy for one of the most evil men and regimes in history.

From the point of view of Hitler’s final private secretary Traudl Junge, we witness the climatic events in the bunker as the Allies close in on Berlin. Here we see how Hitler started to lose control, how loyalties started to be broken and how the Führer and Eva Braun faced defeat together. This is utterly compelling, drawing you into the other side of history that we have never really seen this accurately before.

Bringing history to life is an astounding performance from Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler. This will go down as one of the great performances in film history as the actor truly captures the essence of the fascist dictator. As madness, mistrust and fear consumes the Führer, Ganz actually becomes Hitler making you feel that he is channelling the Nazi leader. It is his performance that makes the film so completely riveting and every time he graces the screen, you cannot help but be completely engrossed.

Alexandra Maria Lara is also superb as Hitler’s secretary Traudl Junge. She is the heartbeat of the movie, as we see the fall of the Third Reich through her eyes. Her performance brings a human quality to the proceedings that could have easily become larger than life and very grandiose but she helps keep the film’s feet firmly on the ground as we see the character changes from a woman proud to be called into service to one riddled by the guilt of what she has witnessed. There are also some superb performances from Juliane Köhler as Eva Braun, Heino Ferch as Albert Speer, Ulrich Matthes as Joseph Goebbels and Corinna Harfouch as Magda Goebbels who bring the climatic events in the bunker to life with great accurately.

‘Downfall’ is one of the best World War II movies to grace the silver screen. Uncompromising and completely riveting, the film feels like you are witnessing the events actually unfold before your very eyes. With astounding performances throughout, brilliant cinematography and production design that accurately captures the period, this is one of the great modern day historical epics.

Star Rating = * * * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts surround sound tracks, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 2

The Making of Downfall (56.51 mins)

Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, author Joachim Fest, director of photography Rainer Klausmann, production designer Bernd Lepel, producer Bernd Eichinger and stars Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Michael Mendl, Christian Berkel, Thomas Kretschmann, Ulrich Noethen and Thomas Thieme take you behind the scenes of the making of ‘Downfall’. The featurette looks at the history behind the film and how the film approached the movie. The cast and crew also discuss the real life characters of the piece including Adolf Hitler, Traudl Junge, Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels, Eva Braun, Albert Speer, Prof Schenck, General Weidling, Heinrich Himmler, Martin Bormann and the Hitler Youth. The actors talk passionately about their apprehensiveness about playing such hated people from history.

Biographer Melissa Muller on Traudl Junge (8.21 mins)

The woman who brought Hitler’s private secretary’s story to the world talks candidly about the three years she spent working with her. She reveals how Traudl Junge became involved with Hitler and her feeling towards the man. She also discusses the guilt she felt after discovering what occurred during the war. The biographer also talks about the structure of the book the two wrote together and how her journals where used to tell her story.

The Bunker: A Virtual Tour

Take an interactive tour of the Hitler’s Bunker set constructed for ‘Downfall’. Here we get to see both parts of the structure, the Entrance Bunker and the Führer Bunker, showing you the sick bay, machine room, conference room and Hitler’s living room and bedroom.

Interviews

Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, author Joachim Fest, producer Bernd Eichinger and stars Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Thomas Kretschmann, Ulrich Noethen and Thomas Thieme give extended interviews about the film and the characters in ‘Downfall’.

Historical Characters and their Actors

Read text biographies for the main historical characters of the film and view filmographies for the actors that play them. These include Adolf Hitler, Traudl Junge, Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels, Eva Braun, Albert Speer, Prof Schenck, General Weidling, Heinrich Himmler, Martin Bormann and more.

Biographies

Read text biographies for Director Oliver Hirschbiegel, author Joachim Fest and producer Bernd Eichinger.

The Shooting of Downfall

Shooting in Russia (17.59 mins)

Executive producer Christine Rothe and production designer Bernd Lepel provide audio commentary for B-Roll footage from the location shoot in St. Petersburg in Russia. The pair talk extensively about the how Berlin was recreated in the Russian city, revealing the extensive set dressing and building needed to give it an authentic WWII look.

B-Roll (30.03 mins)

With audio commentary by director Oliver Hirschbiegel, this B-Roll footage covers various aspects of the film’s production. Here we see behind the scenes footage of the hospital sequence, German surrender, Reichskanzlei, the New Berlin model, Russian attack, Eva Braun’s party, the bunker, Hitler and his secretary and the Goebbels family.

OVERALL

An outstanding movie receives a good DVD treatment, especially when you bear in mind that is a foreign language release. The film itself is presented extremely well, with the option of a dts soundtrack and the bonus features are very good. The combination of featurettes and text biographies and fact make this a comprehensive package but the only thing missing is a commentary track on the main feature. With extra features that compliment the history of the film, this is a strong DVD package for an excellent movie.

Jamie Kelwick