Fresh
May be the definitive account of Hitler's final days and the collapse of the Third Reich.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Downfall
April 1945, a nation awaits its... Downfall
2004 · 2h 35m · R
Drama, History, War
Directed by
Oliver Hirschbiegel
Overview
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
Director and cast
- Oliver Hirschbiegel Director
- Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler
- Alexandra Maria Lara as Traudl Junge
- Corinna Harfouch as Magda Goebbels
- Ulrich Matthes as Joseph Goebbels
- Juliane Köhler as Eva Braun
- Heino Ferch as Albert Speer
- Christian Berkel as Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck
- Thomas Kretschmann as SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein
- Ulrich Noethen as Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler
- Birgit Minichmayr as Gerda Christian
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
90%
Tomatometer
Fresh
With a steely, unblinking resolve, Downfall stares into the abyss, but does not pretend to comprehend it.
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald
Rotten
Viewed through a North American lens, the movie itself seems more familiar than fascinating, more innocuous than inflammatory, and, at 21/2 hours, more tedious than anything else.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Fresh
For emotional effect it trades less in the spectacle of ebbing power than the tragedy of power's mysterious thrall.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
Fresh
Hirschbiegel and Ganz are not apologizing for Nazism. They are trying to come to terms with the fact that the evils of Nazism were invented and carried out by human beings.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
More films
The Pianist (2002)
Drama · War · R
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of...
- Runtime
- 2h 30m
- Director
- Roman Polanski
- Cast
- Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay
IMDb
8.5
Rotten Tomatoes
95%
Metacritic
85
Schindler's List (1993)
Drama · History · War · R
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
- Runtime
- 3h 15m
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes
IMDb
9.0
Rotten Tomatoes
98%
Metacritic
95
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Drama · History · Romance · War · R
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.
- Runtime
- 2h 11m
- Director
- Jean-Jacques Annaud
- Cast
- Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
IMDb
7.5
Rotten Tomatoes
53%
Metacritic
53
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
Drama · R
Young Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan decides it's time for an adventure after he finishes his formal education, so he decides to try his luck in Uganda, and arrives during the downfall of President Obote. General Idi Amin comes to power and asks Garrigan to become his personal doctor.
- Runtime
- 2h 3m
- Director
- Kevin Macdonald
- Cast
- Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy, Simon McBurney
IMDb
7.6
Rotten Tomatoes
87%
Metacritic
74
Valkyrie (2008)
Drama · Thriller · War · PG-13
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the...
- Runtime
- 2h 1m
- Director
- Bryan Singer
- Cast
- Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy
IMDb
7.1
Rotten Tomatoes
62%
Metacritic
56
Comments
Talk about the film with other members