Downfall | 
| Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Actors: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Koehler
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $6.95
You Save: $7.99 (53%)
New (46) Used (25) from $6.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  357 reviews
Sales Rank: 1179
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), German (Original Language), Russian (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 155
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: D11545D
ISBN: 1404987606
UPC: 043396115453
EAN: 9781404987609
Theatrical Release Date: 2004
Release Date: August 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Disc and cover 100% guaranteed to look and play great or your money back
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 352 more reviews...
 Absolutely superb film! August 24, 2008
If you are at all interested in history (and you should be), this film is required viewing. In no other film have I seen the power that Hitler apparently held over seemingly rational people depicted so convincingly. Also, the level of attention devoted to the sets and costumes is amazing. The uniforms, weapons, buildings, all authentic. You feel as if you are there in wartime Germany. Ironically, many of the street scenes were filmed in St. Petersburg, Russia. The acting is on a level rarely seen anywhere. Bruno Ganz makes you forget that you are watching an actor and simply puts Hitler before you as a believable person rather than as a caricature or stereotype. The supporting cast is equally impressive. See this film. It is, in my opinion, one of the best films ever made about World War II.
Downfall Review August 24, 2008
This film is a well-crafted description of the final period of the Nazi Reich. The realism was heightened by the dialogue being in German, and there were enough vignettes during the film showing with awful accuracy the brutality of the war. In some ways I found this film "got you" at a more frightening psychological level than Saving Private Ryan. In some ways there is no comparison between the two. Highly recommended.
The best german movie of our times August 11, 2008
I saw this excellent german movie, here in Brazil.Since the times of Leni Reifensthal,decades ago, no other german movie was so good, as this amazing movie.
Superb Docudrama August 9, 2008
Downfall
This is a gripping depiction of the end of Hitler and the Third Reich; somewhat harrowing in places, but a great film.
Rarely Ever Give 5 Stars but this was Deserving August 7, 2008
I recorded this one night off of HBO (or was it Showtime). I saw the description and thought it sounded interesting. The movie started at 1:00am and I had planned to go to bed and watch it later. I saw the first few minutes and ending up being awake past 3:00am as I could not stop watching. Now to be fair I love movies of this genre but if this was half as good I would still have loved it. My wife hates these type of movies however and it took a lot of convincing to get her to watch the next night. She hates war moves and really hates movies with subtitles. With that being said she loved this move. I ended up purchasing this movie as well.
I think it was the human depiction of the characters that made it so good. I defiantly did not feel sorry for Hitler after watching this however the lower rank soldiers and civilians were much easier to have sympathy for. I believe the tone of the movie highlighted how easily normal people can fall in line behind a mad man who in better times might have seemed more like a savior and then suffer terrible consequences for their blindness.
Didn't mean to get long winded here and will cut it short as there really is so much more I could say about this movie. This really does deserve 5 stars.
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