Co-worker brought me in his copy of “Downfall,” (Der Untergang), the German movie about the last 10 days of Hitler, deep in his fuhrerbunker as the Red Army fights its way into Berlin. I was interested in the subject long before I started studying history again, but especially now - in that this semester’s class if the history of Europe, 1914-present, and the events depicted in the film may in fact be the most catastrophic of the modern era, maybe any era. It was payback time, and the bill was collected - the depiction of which made the film controversial. Hitler as a man, rather than a monster. Which, really, makes it all the more frightening
Untergang
March 28th, 2008 11:20 am · 10 comments
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Tags: History
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| Bigmaclender2 3/28/08 11:30 AM | QUOTE(Lancaster Online @ Mar 28 2008, 11:25 AM) [snapback]371426[/snapback] Post your thoughts and comments about this blog post. That looks really good!!!!! |
| citydweller 3/28/08 7:28 PM | Powerful indeed, but have you seen this altered version of one of the scenes? |
| dragonrider 3/28/08 9:31 PM | Is this movie available here in the states. |
| gsmart 3/29/08 6:54 AM | QUOTE(dragonrider @ Mar 28 2008, 09:31 PM) [snapback]371684[/snapback] Is this movie available here in the states. Far as I know - the DVD given to me by my co-worker is labeled in English, "Downfall." BUt I'll ask... |
| Daisy Lee Myers 3/29/08 8:05 AM | "DOWNFALL" HAS BEEN OUT ON DVD FOR MORE THAN 2 YEARS! ANOTHER GOOD FILM.. "THE COUNTERFEITERS" JUST WON BEST Foreign Film at the Oscar. playing at most local theaters. and based on a true story. try to see it adios daisy The Counterfeiters Movie Review (2007) from Channel 4 Film http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=163113 |
| BeingReal 3/29/08 8:52 PM | Both films look very interesting. Has anyone seen "The Grey Zone"? It's referenced in the review Daisy linked to. That movie sounds very heavy.  |
| Daisy Lee Myers 3/30/08 12:27 AM | grey zone |
| cyberscribbler 3/31/08 9:38 AM | QUOTE(citydweller @ Mar 28 2008, 07:28 PM) [snapback]371659[/snapback] Powerful indeed, but have you seen this altered version of one of the scenes? "Why not get a Wii, at least you get the bowling game." "F--- the bowling game"  That still cracks me up |
| gsmart 4/1/08 9:59 AM | Some brief observations, for those who might be interested. If you're a history buff and haven't seen this film, you should. It's stark; and having just re-read Antony Beevor's "The Fall of Berlin 1945" and halfway through Max Hastings' "Armageddon," this dovetails nicely. Though "nicely" is exactly the wrong word. What struck me most about the film, and I know it's a dramatization but one based very firmly in reality, was the degree to which those around Hitler remained loyal to him - and foolishly so - even beyond his death. As the reich collapsed around them, even then Hitler's subordinates continued to believe in him, continued to insist that his orders be followed to the letter, when common sense should have dictated otherwise (and did, for some). The concept of loyalty to a political leader has long been something that's baffled me. I remember a couple of years ago when John Barley was on his way out of local office, and there was some final straw which convinced even his partisans to abandon ship. And this, after months of (mostly) Ron Harper's revelations and pressure; and I remember thinking, Why would you, why would anyone remain "loyal" in this way to a politician who really isn't reciprocating that loyalty, who it seems is loyal first and foremost to himself? I didn't get this idea of political loyalty; I still don't get it. It's a little too much to cite the authoritarian impulse in such a local case, there's obviously no parallel. But the seed may be the same; in this film, in that country then, it was absolutely writ large. Which is why I have always, always been such a rabid opponent of what we might call the authoritarian impulse in this country. It exists, and in recent years has indeed been most pronounced on the right. Ultimately, "Downfall" shows where that authoritarian impulse leads, and I believe it always leads there. Which is why, in all cases, it must be opposed. Finally, what also struck me was the totality of the fanaticism surrounding Hitler, even within him. The German people have lost the war, they have failed; so nothing should be preserved that they might survive after the war, let them perish. This was Darwinism/eugenics writ large; only the strong survive, the weak must be destroyed. And, then, the scene of Magda Goebbels coolly drugging, then poisoning her own children because "a world without National Socialism is not worth living in." The danger of ideological fanatacism; a reason this must always be opposed. I've spent the past few months reading on this subject (as we've discussed it in class, and my paper this semester will be on the German's flight from the Russians and the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff); it's just simply hard to stand too much of it at one time. You have to get up and walk away and tell yourself that though these things happened in one time and place, they couldn't happen here. And whatever tendencies lie dormant in us, they are not as pronounced as they were in that place, then; but what's the old saying? Resist the beginnings; consider the end. To see the end rendered in living, blood-red color provides even more impetus to be on the lookout for those beginnings in your own time and place. |
| BeingReal 4/1/08 1:07 PM | Thanks for your perspectives on the film, Gil. Now, I want to see it even more than when you first posted about it. |
