| Downfall (2004)
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| Front Cover |
Actor |
Back Cover |
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| Bruno Ganz |
Adolf Hitler
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| Alexandra Maria Lara |
Traudl Junge
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| Corinna Harfouch |
Magda Goebbels
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| Ulrich Matthes |
Joseph Goebbels
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| Juliane Köhler |
Eva Braun
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| Heino Ferch |
Albert Speer
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| Christian Berkel |
Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck
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| Matthias Habich |
Prof. Dr. Werner Haase
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| Thomas Kretschmann |
SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein
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| Michael Mendl |
General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling
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| Juliane Kohler |
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| Corinna Harfouchulrich Matthies |
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| Plot |
| The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolf Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire) as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon |
| Movie Details |
| Genre |
Drama; Foreign; History; War |
| Director |
Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| Producer |
Wolf-Dietrich Brücker; Bernd Eichinger |
| Writer |
Joachim Fest; Traudl Junge; Bernd Eichinger |
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| Studio |
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
| Country |
Germany
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| Language |
German |
| Audience Rating |
R |
| Running Time |
155 mins |
| Movie Release Date |
9/8/2004 |
| Color |
Color |
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| Personal Details |
| Format |
DVD |
| Seen It |
Yes |
| Index |
819 |
| Collection Status |
In Collection |
| Purchase Date |
10/31/2006 |
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| Product Details |
| Region |
 Region 1 |
| Screen Ratio |
 1.78:1 |
| Layers |
Single Side, Dual Layer |
| UPC (Barcode) |
043396115453 |
| Release Date |
8/2/2005 |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Packaging |
Keep Case |
| Audio Tracks |
 GERMAN: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] |
| Nr of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
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Extra Features
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Director Commentary
The Making Of Downfall
Cast & Crew Interviews |
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