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Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Juliane Köhler, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes ... see more see more... , Heino Ferch , Christian Berkel , Matthias Habich , Thomas Kretschmann , Ulrich Noethen , Götz Otto , Donevan Gunia , Michael Mendl , André Hennicke , Heinrich Schmieder

The last ten days of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime are seen through the eyes of a young woman in his employ in this historical drama from Germany. Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) was 22 years o... read more read more...ld when, in the fall of 1942, she was hired to be personal secretary to Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz). In April of 1945, Junge was still working for Hitler as forces were bearing down on Germany and the leader retreated to a secret bunker in Berlin for what would prove to be the last ten days of his life, as well as that of the Third Reich. As Hitler's mistress Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) attempts to throw a cheerful birthday party for her man, Hitler's closest associates, including Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), Joseph Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes), and Albert Speer (Heino Ferch), urge him to flee the city with only Goebbels maintaining any illusions that the Third Reich has any hope of survival. Hitler refuses to leave Berlin, and he spends his final days ranting and raving to Junge, blaming all around him as he tries to understand where his leadership went wrong. Meanwhile, Goebbels and his wife round up their six children and bring them to the bunker as Berlin begins to topple, determined to take their lives rather than face the Allies after Germany's certain defeat. Der Untergang (aka The Downfall) was based in part on the memoirs of the real-life Traudl Junge, whose experiences also formed the basis of the 2002 documentary Im Toten Winkel: Hitlers Sekretarin (aka Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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92% liked it

64,839 ratings

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91% liked it

133 critics

R, 2 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Release Date: December 31, 2004

Keywords: war, historical

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DVD Release Date: August 2, 2005

Stats: 5,530 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (5,530)

  • SirPant
    May 21, 2012
    SirPant
    Downfall is probably one of the greatest war films ever made, not just because the acting and directing are sublime but because most importantly it is factual and unglorified like many 'classics' of the genres. Most war films have that one special scene that it is remembered for,... read more Downfall has many. For me it was the eerie honesty displayed in real footage of the since passed Traudl Junge, who offers no good reason as to why she stayed and supported Hitler and of course the scene everyone who was familiar with the story was dreading that involved the Goebbels children. Indeed, Ulrich Matthes's portrayal of Joseph Goebbels is subtly just as frightening as Bruno Ganz's Adolf. A fantastic and tasteful historical document made the way all factual war films should be made.
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Downfall is a true portrayal of the last days of a "human" Adolf Hitler along with the death of a social-political ideology in striking detail. An intimate encounter with history that made me understand that commitment to an ideology is deeply founded on personal absolute truths,... read more realities, and beliefs. Important.
  • cosmo313
    August 7, 2011
    cosmo313
    This is not the first film to capture the final days of Hitler and the Third Reich, but it is the only one I have seen, and it is some kind of masterpiece. What seems most amazing to me is that this is a German/Austrian film production. I say this because it is understandable and... read more not surprising that this is (still) a very sensitive subject for them. This film does some incredible things, among them, breaking one of the final taboos for them, which is having an actor portraying Hitler instead of using stock footage of the real man.

    This film doesn't humanize Hitler, because well, he was already human, but it does not make you sympathetic to him, and you won't be finding yourself being a fan of him either. It does present him as well-rounded and multi-dimensial though. There is one scene (but only one) where he seems almost really kind and grandfatherly, but it is well-played. The rest of the film shows him as he truly likely was: feeble, riddled with Parkinson's, deranged, sickly, and patheticallly trying to hold on to something he knows is lost, but can't bring himself to give up.

    This is a very fascinating and absorbing film. It helps that they used several books (memoirs and biographies), and at least one historical monograph as the basis for the screenplay and as a guide for the sets, costumes, and characterizations. This works extremely well as both cinematic art and as dramatized history.

    The casting and the performances are absolutely brilliant. The actors bear striking resemblances to the people they are portraying, and their performances are frighteningly mesmerizing. Ganz pretty much owns the picture as Hitler. I've seen him in other movies, but this is by far his best and most challenging work. Alexandra Maria Lara is also terrific as Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, and the two people who play Herr and Frau Goebbels are also quite excellent, but the whole cast is. These are just my favorites.

    This film is unglamorous and totally captivating. Even though it came out in 2004, it still provokes strong reactions and debates. This is a sign that the filn is a success. My only real complaint is that the film doesn't really delve into the atrocities, and that it doesn't touch upon the last days from the point of view of civilians very much. Apparently the latter gets covered more and better in the extended cut of the film, but still, you could make an entire movie over that subject, and I'd really like to see that. But I'm a social historian, so of course I would.

    Okay, here's the deal. This is not a film where you really care about the characters, but you're not really meant to either. Maybe Tradl Junge a bit, though. This film is just an insightful look into the final days of a crumbling empire (a fascinating broad topic, made more fascinating due to which empire is being focused on). The film was designed to illicit all kinds of reactions, and succeeds. It is as objective as best it can be, and is really quite sensible with how things are handled. It's also just an excellently crafted picture, and the mise-en-scene is top notch.

    Definitely give this a watch.
  • Stickykk
    April 9, 2011
    Stickykk
    Grade: B (84%)

    What do we known about Adolf Hitler? He killed Jews for no reason, and tried to conquer Europe. But what happened to Hitler in the end? This is where Downfall comes in to fill in the gap.

    Downfall shows Hitler's last ten days of leadership before committing s... read moreuicide. In this time period, we find out that his loyal generals and high ranks have betrayed him and left their posts when they weren't supposed to. The movie is set in Berlin where Hitler refuses to leave. This bunker is constantly attacked by Russian artillery and the troops are closing in on his position. Hitler decides not to surrender and tries constantly to make up new plans to bring Germany back into winning this war. So many attempts come and fail him in this film that you almost feel sad for him. Then you hear him speak and its horrifying.

    Downfall truly shows the good and bad sides of Hitler. He calls everyone traitors but allows them to leave (some of them).

    Downfall is a good movie that is a little long for this type of film. Though it you are interested in Hitler's final days of leader of Germany, go see it. It's not a violent as I thought it would be but a great film that documents that Hitler saw his loss coming days before his death.
  • Gx7
    September 19, 2010
    Gx7
    "Being young is not an excuse." - Traudl Junge

    Did Hitler have a reality distortion field?

    The movie shows the last days of Hitler in his Bunker in Berlin, so dont expect a lot of gunfighting & action. Too many characters revolving around the scenes but still easy to follow.
    ... read more
    The books from which this movie was based on were all German authors, it was also directed, produced and written by Germans.

    Of all the German/Nazi/Hitler movies/documentaries Ive seen (thats not made in Holywood) this has been the most neutral (if not toned down) but also the most boring in terms of entertainment value.

    Good to watch for educational purposes.

    Is it good for a collectable? Cant really say, perhaps only for those who have an extreme fetish and are extremely invested in completing a Hitler & Nazi Germany Historical collection.

    Personally, I dont really feel the need to collect it. I think watching this once is enough.

    Next on the hunt list: Das Boot & Education for Death
  • bookmunki
    September 7, 2010
    bookmunki
    An important and grim film about the final days of the Third Reich within Hitler's bunker. The complexities of Hitler's character, complete in its brutality and humanity, are eerily realized in Bruno Ganz's performance. The power of this film is its historical accuracy, the var... read moreied fates of the leaders and followers, and the realization that youth is no excuse for lack of political awareness.
  • danperry17
    July 10, 2010
    danperry17
    Brave, epic film-making. Hitler was a man, even if he was a monster, and Downfall shows us a human face to the 20th Century's biggest villain. Some would argue that just making this film puts the great dictator up on a pedestal, but at the same time, it's a story worth telling: w... read morehat would these last days be like?

    That being said, I found that the film fell into "historical drama by-the-numbers" territory sometimes. Much like Titanic, no matter how good it might be, you know how it ends, and you're racing there in your mind... even if the film is 2.5 hours long.

    The acting is great, and the framing device - using the secretary's perspective to tell the story - was brilliant, and qualified the film in such a way that it could at least shoot back at its detractors. Not as exciting as I might have liked though: maybe because of the many, many parodies of the film's best scene now floating around YouTube.
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    July 9, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    Der Untergang is a terrific look at the last ten days of Adolph Hitler. This a well acted, and directed drama / war film with a great cast. A brilliant and dramatic film der untergang is a film about the fall of Hitler's Third Reich, and what makes this film such a powerful viewi... read moreng is that its a film film told by Germans. Bruno Ganz is superb in the role of Adolph Hitler, and he truly brings the man alive in his portrayal. What makes Downfall such a unique viewing experience is that it tells the story on Hitler's side of things, something that most film studios never gave too much attention to. Here we get a film about a once powerful man whos quickly losing the war and he's losing his mind. Downfall doesn't sympathize with Hitler, it just gives a harrowing, and disturbing look into his failed final days.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    April 21, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "April 1945, a nation awaits its..."

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

    REVIEW

    "Downfall" takes... read more you into Hitler's bunker during the fall of the third Reich and the last ten days of the battle for Berlin. This historical docudrama spends its time examining one of history's most enigmatic and inscrutable dictators as he descend into paranoia to the bewilderment of his inner circle and, in particular, one young woman stenographer who, in real life, survived the war and published her memoirs providing one of the few historical records of that time and place. The film is well done as a stand alone dramatic presentation. However, it excels as an historical drama by providing insights into Hitler's last days; something never dealt with in such detail before in film. An engrossing 2.5 hour watch with a splendid performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler. Who better to make such a film than the Germans?
  • fb619846742
    February 7, 2010
    fb619846742
    An incredible achievement in film-making. A relentlessly bleak, intensely gripping, powerfully discouraging movie in which the diseased mind of Hitler, as well as the people he infects with his hate and false sense of pride, is dissected expertly. It takes a strong, courageous ac... read moretor to play Adolf Hitler, and Swiss actor Bruno Ganz (who really deserved an Oscar for this incredible portrayal) is that actor - he is simply phenomenal. The first hour and a half builds up to a dramatic, inevitable moment. This moment is punctuated coldly and robotically, and it's just amazing to see how Hitler's supporters literally followed him to the grave, even when it made next to no sense. The last hour is powerful stuff, I won't even begin to describe it, but it's a depressing and hard-hitting one that slams into it's audience with resolute force. To put it simply, this is a film I will never forget, and one that should be viewed by anyone that is interested in Hitler or world history.

View All Downfall (Der Untergang) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
April 8, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

May be the definitive account of Hitler's final days and the collapse of the Third Reich. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 18, 2005
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Viewed through a North American lens, the movie itself seems more familiar than fascinating, more innocuous than inflammatory, and, at 21/2 hours, more tedious than anything else. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
March 18, 2005
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

For emotional effect it trades less in the spectacle of ebbing power than the tragedy of power's mysterious thrall. Full Review

Richard Nilsen
March 17, 2005
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic

Hirschbiegel and Ganz are not apologizing for Nazism. They are trying to come to terms with the fact that the evils of Nazism were invented and carried out by human beings. Full Review

Richard Roeper
March 14, 2005
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

In a remarkable performance, perhaps the most impressive portrait of Hitler ever captured on film, Bruno Ganz plays Hitler as delusional, hateful and cruel man -- but also human. Full Review

Desson Thomson
March 11, 2005
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Intriguing, oddly banal and ultimately deflating. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
March 11, 2005
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

Ganz seems to find exactly the right pitch: His Hitler feels real and human, yet there's nothing particularly ingratiating or sentimentalized about him. We never forget who he is. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
March 11, 2005
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

There are many lessons to be gleaned from Downfall. Perhaps the most important is that absolute faith in one's own virtue is not a commitment to virtuous behavior but a commitment to one's own will. I... Full Review

Terry Lawson
March 11, 2005
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Succeeds, perhaps too well for us to believe Hitler was some aberration who could never happen again. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
March 11, 2005
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

A figure as large and infamous as Hitler creates a certain amount of inevitable fascination, and Downfall definitely benefits from such curiosity.

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  • Bruno ganz played hitler in this foreign language film.  Answer »
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