Downfall 2004 Film
Mette Florida
Downfall (German: Der Untergang) is a 2004 historical war drama film written and produced by Bernd Eichinger and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It is set during the Battle of Berlin in World War II, when Nazi Germany is on the verge of total defeat, and depicts the final days of Adolf Hitler (portrayed by Bruno Ganz). The cast includes Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Khler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Alexander Held, Matthias Habich, and Thomas Kretschmann. The film is a German-Austrian-Italian co-production.
Principal photography took place from September to November 2003, on location in Berlin, Munich, and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As the film is set in and around the Fhrerbunker, Hirschbiegel used eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs, and other historical sources during production to reconstruct the look and atmosphere of 1940s Berlin. The screenplay was based on the books Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest and Until the Final Hour by Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, among other accounts of the period.
The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 14 September 2004. It was controversial with audiences for showing a human side of Hitler, and for its portrayal of members of the Third Reich. It later received a wide theatrical release in Germany under its production company Constantin Film. The film grossed over $92 million. Critics gave favourable reviews, particularly for Ganz's performance as Adolf Hitler and Eichinger's screenplay. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards.
In April 1945, the Red Army has pushed Germany's forces back and surrounded Berlin. On Hitler's 56th birthday, the shelling of Berlin's city centre starts. Reichsfhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler tries to persuade Hitler to leave Berlin, but Hitler refuses. Himmler leaves to negotiate with the Western Allies secretly. Later, SS-Gruppenfhrer Hermann Fegelein, Himmler's liaison officer at Hitler's headquarters, attempts to persuade Hitler to flee, but Hitler insists that he will win or die in Berlin. SS doctor Obersturmbannfhrer Ernst-Gnther Schenck is ordered to leave Berlin in Operation Clausewitz but persuades an SS general to let him stay in Berlin. In the streets, Hitler Youth Peter Kranz's father approaches his son's unit and tries to persuade him to leave. Peter, who destroyed two enemy tanks, calls his father a coward.
At a meeting in the Fhrerbunker, Hitler forbids the overwhelmed 9th Army to retreat, instead ordering Obergruppenfhrer Felix Steiner's units alongside Lieutenant General Walther Wenck's 12th Army to mount a counter-attack. The generals find the orders impossible and irrational. Above ground, Hitler awards Peter the Iron Cross, hailing him as braver than his generals. In his office, Hitler talks to armaments minister Albert Speer about his scorched earth policy. Speer is concerned about the destruction of Germany's infrastructure, but Hitler believes the German people are weak and deserve death. Hitler's companion Eva Braun holds a party in the Reich Chancellery. Her brother-in-law Fegelein tries to persuade Eva to leave Berlin with Hitler, but she refuses.
On the frontline, General Helmuth Weidling is informed he will be executed for allegedly ordering a retreat. Weidling comes to the Fhrerbunker to clear himself of the charges. His action impresses Hitler, who promotes him to oversee all of Berlin's defences. At another meeting, Hitler learns that Steiner did not attack because his unit lacked sufficient force. Hitler becomes enraged at this and launches into a furious tirade, claiming that everyone has failed him and denouncing his generals as cowards and traitors. He acknowledges that the war is lost but says that he would rather commit suicide than leave Berlin.
SS-Brigadefhrer Wilhelm Mohnke asks Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels to stop sending inexperienced soldiers to the battlefront as they are easy prey for the Red Army. Goebbels refuses, claiming it is their fault for voting the Nazis into power. Schenck witnesses old men being executed by the Feldgendarmerie for refusing to take part in the fighting. Hitler receives a message from Reichsmarschall Hermann Gring, requesting state leadership for himself. In response, Hitler declares Gring a traitor, ordering his dismissal and arrest. Speer makes a final visit to the Fhrerbunker and admits that he has defied orders to destroy Germany's infrastructure. Hitler, however, does not punish Speer, who decides to leave Berlin. Peter returns to find his unit dead and runs back home. Hitler continues to imagine ways for Germany to turn the tide. At dinner, Hitler learns of Himmler's secret negotiations with the Allies, sending him into another rage, and he orders Himmler's execution. He discovers that Fegelein has deserted his post and has him executed despite Eva's pleas. SS physician Obergruppenfhrer Ernst-Robert Grawitz asks Hitler's permission to evacuate for fear of Allied reprisal. Hitler refuses, leading Grawitz to commit suicide with his family.
The Red Army continues advancing as Berlin's supplies run low and German morale plummets. Hitler hopes that the 12th Army, led by Lieutenant General Walther Wenck, will save Berlin. After midnight, Hitler dictates his last will and testament to Junge before marrying Eva. The following morning, Hitler learns that the 12th Army is unable to save Berlin. Refusing surrender, Hitler plans his death. He administers poison to his dog Blondi, bids farewell to the bunker staff, and commits suicide with Eva. They are cremated with petrol in a ditch in the Chancellery garden.
Goebbels assumes the Chancellorship but immediately decides to commit suicide after General Hans Krebs fails to negotiate a conditional surrender with Soviet Marshal Vasily Chuikov, still adhering to Germany not surrendering. Goebbels' wife Magda poisons their six children with cyanide capsules before committing suicide with Goebbels. Many officials and soldiers, including Krebs and German diplomat SS-Brigadefhrer Walther Hewel commit suicide as well after learning of Germany's defeat. Weidling announces the unconditional surrender of German forces in Berlin not long before Peter discovers that his parents were executed. The remaining occupants of the bunker attempt to flee the city but soon end up surrounded by the Red Army. Junge is the only occupant who continues her escape, and Peter joins her as they sneak through Red Army soldiers before finding a bicycle and escape Berlin.
Additional cast members in smaller roles include Alexander Slastin as Soviet Marshal Vasily Chuikov, Elena Dreyden as Inge Dombrowski, Norbert Heckner as Walter Wagner, Silke Nikowski as Frau Grawitz, Leopold von Buttlar as Sohn Grawitz, Veit Stbner as Tellermann, Boris Schwarzmann as Matvey Blanter, Vsevolod Tsurilo as Russian Adjutant, Vasily Reutov as Weidling's chief of staff Theodor von Dufving. The Goebbels children are portrayed by Alina Sokar (Helga), Charlotte Stoiber (Hilda), Gregory Borlein (Helmut), Julia Bauer (Hedda), Laura Borlein (Holde), and Amelie Menges (Heide).
After completing the script for the film, Eichinger presented it to director Oliver Hirschbiegel. Though he was interested in exploring how the people of Germany "could have plumbed such depths", as a German, Hirschbiegel hesitated to take it as he "reacted to the idea of Nazism as a taboo". Hirschbiegel eventually agreed to helm the project.[14][13]
When Bruno Ganz was offered the role of Hitler, he was reluctant to accept the part, and many of his friends advised against it,[4][16] but he believed that the subject had "a fascinating side", and ultimately agreed to take the role.[15]Ganz conducted four months of research and studied a recording of Hitler in private conversation with Finnish Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim in order to properly mimic Hitler's conversational voice and Austrian dialect. Ganz came to the conclusion that Hitler had Parkinson's disease, noting his observation of Hitler's shaky body movements present in the newsreel Die Deutsche Wochenschau, and decided to visit a hospital to study patients with the disease.[15] Ganz auditioned in the casting studio with makeup for half an hour and tested his voice for Hirschbiegel who was convinced by his performance.[4][17]
Alexandra Maria Lara was cast as Traudl Junge; she was given Junge's book Until the Final Hour (2002), which she called her "personal treasure", to read during filming. Before she was cast, she had seen Andr Heller's documentary film Im toten Winkel which impressed her and influenced her perspective on Junge.[18][19]
Principal photography lasted twelve weeks from September to November 2003, under the working title Sunset.[20][13] The film is set mostly in and around the Fhrerbunker; Hirschbiegel made an effort to accurately reconstruct the look and atmosphere of World War II through eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs, and other historical sources. Hirschbiegel filmed in the cities of Berlin, Munich, and Saint Petersburg, Russia, with a run-down industrial district along the Obvodny Canal used to portray the historical setting in Berlin.[20][21] Hirschbiegel noted the depressing atmosphere surrounding the shoot, finding relief through listening to Johann Sebastian Bach's music.[16] Alexandra Maria Lara also mentioned the depressing and intense atmosphere during filming. To lighten the mood, Lara's colleagues engaged in activities such as football, while Ganz tried to keep a happy mood by retiring during shooting breaks.[19]
According to Eichinger, the film's overlying idea was to make a film about Hitler and wartime Germany that was very close to historical truth, as part of a theme that would allow the German nation to save their own history and "experience their own trauma". To accomplish this, the film explores Hitler's decisions and motives during his final days through the perspective of the individuals who lived in the Fhrerbunker during those times.[22] Eichinger chose not to include mention of the Holocaust because it was not the topic of the film. He also thought it was "impossible" to show the "misery" and "desperation" of the concentration camps cinematically.[23][24]