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12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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$9.99 Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Downfall
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MPAA RATING: R for strong violence, disturbing images and some nudity
Starring Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, and Matthias Habich
A portrait of Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
| GENRE(S): | Drama | Foreign | War |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Bernd Eichinger
Joachim Fest (book Inside Hitler's Bunker) Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller (book Bis zur letzten Stunde) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: August 2, 2005 Theatrical: February 18, 2005 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 150 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Germany / Italy |
| LANGUAGE(S): | German / Russian (with English subtitles) |
Original title "Der Untergang"; Nominated, Best Foreign Language Film (Germany), 77th Annual Academy Awards
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 74 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
James T. gave it a10:
Everything about this film is great. From cinematography and score to everyone's acting. It shows that even though Hitler did what he did, he still was after all a human. It also emphasizes Hitler's ideological mindset that made him insensitive to the killings of his own German soldiers and citizens. The acting of each and every person is most convincing and satisfying as is the sense of realism which pervades this film. It is truly a masterpiece. A work of art.
Allison S. gave it a10:
Absolutely fantastic portrayal of WWII from German side, being in hiters inner circle and the final days of his reign. Wonderful.
Dan H. gave it a10:
This film is a vital, contempary step towards denazisification. It depicted a delusional society being handed it's reality by force. However, it provides contemporary Germans with a way out. Now that the majority of eye witnesses to the third reich are dead, many german people can say, " It wasn't my grandfather, He tried to save the children. " Even Eva Braun's distant relatives can speak up. She wanted desperately to dance to swing music, in a sense of defiance. The riff would have clearly been banded in Nazis Germany (for being negroid.) It's possible this scene was included to poke a hypocritical finger at the allies, for having segregated races in combat. In an interesting way the movie concluded with Hitler as a man who made the most sane choice under the circumstances, poison yourself prior to shooting yourself, before the Russians pull your limbs off your body . In that sense he was facing reality which is a form of mental health, while those around him loomed in a circus atmosphere, which would define the rest of the society as crazy.
Andy H. gave it a10:
Film-making doesn't get much better than this. The decision to portray the main protagonists as ordinary human beings makes the crimes perpetrated by the Third Reich even more horrific and incomprehensible than would have been the case if they had been portrayed as two dimensional monsters. The feeling of claustrophobia and impending disaster in Hitler's bunker is palpable, and the scene in which the Goebbels children are murdered by their mother is truly one of the most appallingly horrific and uncomfortable sequences you are ever likely to see, but it is used to underline just how much the Nazi philosophy had perverted the mindset of diehard fanatics, to such an extent that they were willing to kill their own children rather than have them live in a world without National Socialism. A classic of modern cinema.
Myles #13 gave it a10:
Outstanding film on the final days of Hitler and the Third Reich! Fantastic acting (Hitler, Goebbels, Magda Goebbels and Prof. Schenk stand out) goes hand in hand with accuracy in the events... the film is simply breath-taking to view, whether you're familiar with the story (which helps a bit) or not. It gives you the shivers... not only is Hitler acted to perfection, but you actually feel sorry for the tired, withered old man whose terrible world is falling down around him. If you've never watched a foreign film before, watch this one... it will change the way you think.
Soldier B. gave it a10:
Fantastic. Superb acting on all parties. Chris S. couldn't have said it better.
Rob R gave it a1:
An extremely tame and sanitised portrayal of Hitler's madness. Boring, absurd dialog, no passion, no intensity, not a hint of grit. Oh wait, it has subtitles so it must be masterpiece!
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