DVD | Downfall

Downfall is a fascinating look at the final days of the Third Reich as Hitler and all the usual suspects hunker down in their no-expense-sparred bunker below the Reich Chancellery, whilst outside the forces of the Red Army draw a noose around Berlin.

While the main feature is undeniable the portrayal of Hitler, the movie as a whole is written around the views of Traudl Junge, Hitler’s Secretary, and is indeed given an air of authenticity by including clips of an interview with her at the start and conclusion of the movie, similar to what Spielberg did with Band of Brothers.
It shows both a compassionate side of Hitler along with his familiar evil side. But it’s his compassion that really shows what a disturbing character he was, and his momentous swings of emotion as portrayed in this movie show just how far gone Hitler may have been in his final days. This is a portrait of a man in his final decent into madness, both physically and emotionally. He is but a shell of his former self, with signs of the onset of a debilitating disease.

The movie also rightly shows that not everyone in the Nazi machine was bent on destruction and vengeance, but clearly underlines the type of almost religious fanaticism some of Hitler’s main players had in their dedication to him.
When their world was clearly at an end, they still blindly believed and followed him, even when those around were acutely aware and vocal of their imminent demise.