★ 6 / 10
Alec Guinness quite convincingly throws himself into the
CinemaSerf
Alec Guinness quite convincingly throws himself into the title role here in what is otherwise a rather theatrically dry depiction of the last few days in…
Alec Guinness quite convincingly throws himself into the title role here in what is otherwise a rather theatrically dry depiction of the last few days in Hitler's Berlin bunker. With the Allies closing in, the Fuhrer is becoming increasingly desperate, increasingly frustrated and even more mistrusting of those around him. Those once trusted and powerful are being summarily dismissed; his rantings are becoming even more maniacal and his mood swings vacillate wildly so that even the most deft at dealing with him have to tread on eggshells else a firing squad might still be his response. Central to controlling him, insofar as that's possible, is his mistress Eva Braun (Doris Kunstmann) - but even she faces quite a challenge as he sees traitors everywhere and she has to contend with the inevitable for both herself and their children. The supporting cast makes up a powerful who's who of international cinema with Adolfo Celi standing out as the stoic General Krebs, Mark Kingston as the odious Martin Boorman and John Bennett as Josef Goebbels also contributing well to the sense of claustrophobic isolation in the bunker. The audio editing also works well, increasing the sound effects gradually to suggest the imminent arrival of their foes. To break up the rather visual monotony of the thing, it's interspersed with some fairly horrific actuality that illustrates not only the terror the Nazis inflicted on others, but also the extent to which Hitler was prepared to use every resource, even his Youth Movement, to sustain his flailing grip on power. I think this would work better on stage, it lacks an intensity here on screen that despite the best efforts of it's star just doesn't quite get off the ground, and it's also just a bit too verbose to sustain the potency of the sense of imminent threat.
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★ 7 / 10
Well worth seeing for magnificent acting of Alec Guinness as a decrepit Hitler
ma-cortes
Good rendition about the last days of Hitler with exceptional performance from Alec Guinness .This is the true story of the infamous Nazi dictator with his…
Good rendition about the last days of Hitler with exceptional performance from Alec Guinness .This is the true story of the infamous Nazi dictator with his historic downfall . The story of Hitler's last days in an underground bunker gives insight to his madness . Here in the midst of his lackeys , the dictator played out the final act of his life . It's very well played by Alec Guinness who does a first rate acting . The film deals with the history of Hitler's last days in underground bunker , it's the true story of the historic downfall and death( 1945 at age 55 ) of the infamous Nazi dictator , culprit of death about 50 million people during second war world and killing of 6 million Jewish in concentration camps . The Fuhrer's last few tortured days in his underground bunker against a Berlin background and adding some documentary scenes from exterior . Hitler had height five feet, seven inches, eyes black, hair black, shaggy locks hung over forehead, complexion sallow, wide mustache, various hairs on each side, besides had marked devotion to brown shirts and old trench-coat and always surrounded by armed thugs and expert gunmen . He had demented gaze with tendency to become hysterical on slight provocation with delusions, particularly upon his place in history and his powers over vast numbers of people and addicted to public hysteria on race purity, he has known to throw himself on the floor and gnaw rugs,guttural voice apt to rise to shrill tones when excited or thwarted . He was a congenital liar suffering from dreams of persecution . Almost all these physical descriptions and particulars of Hitler are perfectly incarnated by Guinness . Thus , he plays him as sadistic, malicious , dangerous, vengeful, mystical and maniacal . Guinness's portrayal is the perfection in the Hitler role one would expect at least on the surface , he gives insight to his madness and with persuasive qualities of his interpretation . This flick is finely written and professionally directed by Ennio DeConcini , a prestigious screenwriter in his only film . Other adaptations about this historical character are the following : ¨Hitler(1962)¨ by Stuart Heisler with Richard Basehart, ¨Hitler : The last days(1958) by W.G.Pabst and the best is ¨The Downfall¨ by Oliver Hischbiegel with Bruno Ganz , furthermore for TV , ¨The bunker¨ with Anthony Hopkins .The picture is correctly based on real events , adding more details , the deeds happened of the following manner : ¨Fuehererbunker¨ (Leader's Bunker)is the subterranean headquarter below the Chancellery and its garden in Berlin where Hitler spent his last days, from April 20 to 30, 1945 . It was constructed during WW2 some 50 feet below the ground . It could be reached through the New Chancellery by descending a stairway from the butler's pantry. There were two levels, on the upper level was a dining passage separating six rooms on each side . At the end of the central passage a curved stair led down to Hitler's own deeper bunker. This area had seventeen rooms , all small, cramped , and uncomfortable : Hitler's suite of three rooms, a map room used for conferences, the dressing room and bedroom of Eva Braun(Doris Kuntsmann), the bedroom of Dr Paul Joseph Goebbles(John Bennett) and wife (Barbara Jefford), the rooms of Dr Ludwig , lavatories and bathrooms, an emergency telephone exchange, a drawing room, guardroom, cloakroom and a dog bunker for Hitler's Alsatian bitch named Blondi, with her four puppies . Hitler spent hours before giant war maps, shifting colored pins about to locate units that no longer existed . By this time he was in a state of extreme nervous exhaustion : although only fifty-six, he moved as if he were prematurely senile. His health grew even worse the ministrations of his doctors. With the exception of Goebbles and Martin Bormann (Kingston), his secretaries and several others, his lieutenants began to desert him . He denounced Herrmann Goering for trying to usurp his leadership and Heimrich Himmler for seeking to negotiate with the count Bernadotte and Allied. Albert Speer his minister of Armaments and War Production , refused to carry out his orders for a scorched-earth policy. At last acknowledge defeat, the Fuehrer decided to leave the world in a gesture of Wagnerian self-immolation . In the early hours of April 29, 1945, he married Eva and immediately afterward dictated his last will and political testament, in which he justified his life and work . The next day he retreated into his suite and shot himself while Eva took poison to end her life. In accordance with his instructions, the bodies were dumped into a trough in the Chencellery garden,doused with gasoline and burned. From April 22 to May 1, 1945 , the following were present in the Bunker: Gen Keitel (Gabriele Ferzetti), Gen. Hans Guderian , Col.Von Below (Richard Pescud) , Gen. Alfred Jodl(Philip Stone) , Major Gen. Rattenhuber, Lieutenant Genen Fegelein (Julian Glover), Fraulein Junge (Ann Lynn) Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger ( John Barron) , among others.
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Check out Downfall, a German movie about the last days of Hitler. It is a newer rendition of this flick but well better made. Although Alec's performance was the cornerstone of this flick, Downfall is a movie from different perspectives with a stellar ensemble Really really good