Customer Reviews

Hitler: The Last Ten Days

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This vivid portrait of Hitler in his wanning days is nothing short of magnificent. This movie combines drama with documentry. Actually footage is cleverly interspaced during the movie to provide shocking reality checks to the bizarre events occuring in the bunker. In this movie we can see how Hitler became the victim of his own doomsday prophetcies. His cruelty remained with him to the last, and Guiness provides a emotional look at the last few days of his life. There will certainly be a debate over this movie and "The Bunker" with Anthony Hopkins. For me this was always the better film in terms of its intensity. The movie almost seems like a play and it moves along rapidly to its bitter finish. Some may think Guinness is too high strung in his Hitler, but his acting is nonetheless superb. Its seems almost like playing Hitler has become a main theatrical role to play. If so then Alec Guinness provides the leading example.

... ... ...I thought this film was an unparalleled masterpiece of the fusion of cinema and ACCURATE history. I am a total World War buff and I can tell by watching this film that the filmmakers based much of this on the testimony of Hitler's private secretary, Traudl Junge, who was with the Fuhrer in the bunker and was friends with Eva Braun, as well as Albert Speer and other survivors who had first hand contact with Hitler and knew what the atmosphere was like down in that dank, somber, surreal and depressing bunker. The whole feel that they are out of touch with everything and live in some mystical, surreal existence is captured to perfection (Traudl Junge testified to that fact). I have read Toland's "Hitler," as well as numerous books about the war and Hitler's character, including "Hitler's Mind: the Secret Wartime Report," and I can tell you that Alec Guiness' portrayal of Hitler is nothing short of a miracle. Hopkins' portrayal in The Bunker is your typical mad, raging and over the top Hitler that we are used to seeing. He did a poor job and that film is vastly inferior to this one. Guiness must have had a real, personal interest in Hitler as a character and figure, and when he combines that with his amazingly brilliant acting talent, the results are as if you are watching what it was really like to know and deal with Hitler during those last days of the war. The understated psychotic zeal, the moments of romantic extravagance, the oh so Germanic and Wagnerian tragic sensibility of either total victory and domination or absolute destruction and annihilation of the German people, they're all portrayed here with excellent subtlety. Indeed, Wagner's heroic Lohengrin is played to great effect in the opening scene in one of the most beautiful juxtapositions I have ever seen in film. This is sheer genius. Somebody said that this is a foreign production. It's got to be British; only the Brits can produce something of such magnificent accuracy backed up by a wonderfully subtle artistry with underlying themes of the apocalypse. One can tell that The Bunker is an American production, so vastly inferior to this in that it has literally no subtext. Hitler: The Last Ten Days is a remarkable achievement, rich and even philosophical in its portrayals. There is so much to this great film I cannot continue anymore. Never again will Hitler be portrayed so accurately by an actor. Alec Guiness, you are (or were) the Man! Buy this film now!

At long last, this 1973 British-Italian production has come out on DVD. I found it well done, although a bit unusual. The director seems to have wanted Hitler's Germany to appear in an ironic way, showing Nazi pomp and circumstance one minute and Germany's devastation and starvation the next. The film moves in and out of these moods and from black-and-white to color. Some reviewers have found this strange if not humorous. I believe it's meant to be ironic and to mock the ridiculous theories of the Third Reich.

"Hitler's Last Ten Days" tells an important story not only from an historical standpoint but also to help in understanding today's world. Moreover, the movie follows the facts pretty well, with an occasional lapse of literary license. In an insightful scene, Hitler declares that SS Gen. Fegelein, who had married Eva Braun's sister Gretl, was guilty of treason in the last few days of the Third Reich. Hitler rightly saw that Fegelein was in league with his boss, SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, to present Hitler's corpse to the Allies as a peace offering. In contrast, Hitler is shown cursing out his new wife Eva at the end of the movie for betraying him by committing suicide before he did. That was a sheer invention of the screenwriters. Nevertheless, I'm giving the movie five stars for its fine acting and overall impact.

It's difficult to compare "Hitler's Last Ten Days" to other productions covering the end of Hitler and his Third Reich. These are all done in a straight, serious vein and include a made-for-TV piece, "The Death of Adolph Hitler," from the BBC, 1973, starring Frank Finlay as Hitler. Also, there is 1981's "The Bunker" with Anthony Hopkins as Hitler--another TV drama done for HBO. Finally, we have the very theatrical and gloomy German production, "Downfall," with Bruno Ganz playing the Nazi dictator, 2005. While all these all have their moments, I think the one with Alec Guinness is the best. This is for its wit, irony, and above all, Sir Alec's performance. His is the best Hitler rendering I've seen to date, with Derek Jacobi a close second in the TV miniseries, "Inside the Third Reich," 1982.

To be a bit critical of "Hitler's Last Ten Days," Simon Ward plays a fictional Nazi soldier who starts out as a hero-worshipper but later becomes disenchanted with Hitler's ways. Though entrusted with a copy of the dictator's political testament at the end he tears up the document once he escapes from the bunker and is never seen again. Also odd is the fact that no one plays Albert Speer in "Hitler's Last Ten Days," despite Guinness's Hitler saying he was, "a genius." Moreover, Speer did play a key role in Hitler's end game, as most authors and historians will agree.

It must be pointed out that "Hitler's Last Ten Days" has not been digitally remastered, as would help its audio and video quality. Also, casting is surprising in places with Italian actors playing Germans. But that may be nit-picking since they all do a decent job. Finally, there are no special features or subtitles with the new DVD, which is unfortunate. The price of the DVD is modest so we may have to wait further for a collector's edition.

To make up for the lack of special features in "Hitler's Last Ten Days," viewers might wish to acquire the documentary DVD, "Death in the Bunker." It was produced in 2005, by Spiegel TV of Germany. This is an excellent production and carries interviews with several eye witnesses. These include Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, Rochus Misch, the telephone switchboard operator and SS bodyguard, and even Dr. Schenk, one of Hitler's attending physicians. There are a number of other good testimonials, too. It's apparent that several wartime films were remastered and blended into the DVD. Other clips are left as they were which may be disappointing but perhaps are meant to stand out in contrast.

In summing up, "Hitler's Last Ten Days" is an important and valuable production. The portrayal of Hitler by Alec Guinness is first-rate, if not somewhat mocking to the dictator's depleted emotional state. I'd strongly recommend that others interested in Hitler and World War II add this DVD to their library. Now to complete the picture we need a DVD of Marvin Chomsky's "Inside the Third Reich." Despite the literary license it takes, "Inside the Third Reich," with its all-star cast, deserves to be remastered on DVD and made available to the viewing public.

Hitler-The Last Ten Days is an historically accurate account of Adolph Hitler's last ten days in his Berlin bunker. This film provides an insightful view of the characteristics and the personality of Adolph Hitler. Must viewing for all serious students of History!

I think that this is one of the best films about Hitler's final days as the leader of Germany. The film depicts the last few weeks of Hitler's life, how the Russians were advancing on Hitler's bunker and how the high-ranking officials of the Nazi Party and the large number of military officers that were down there planned their escape from Berlin. The film was suspenseful and exciting. It kept me entertained. It wasn't depressing at all. The cast in this film gave great performances especially the portrayal of Hitler. I think that this a really great film. It's really worth watching.

The basis for the critique that "this movie doesn't really work" is beyond me. I can't help but think that this film is underrated because it was made outside the U.S. Indeed, it is an outstanding character study movie. The most enduring mystery about Adolf Hitler is why millions of people fell under his spell. Alec Guinness performance (unlike Anthony Hopkins's in "The Bunker") helps to answer this question by uncannily capturing the multifaceted aspects of the dictator's personality; the charismatic, nurturing cult figure as well as the ruthless villain. The supporting cast is also superior. Philip Stone is captivating as the defiant General Jodl among the purely servile likes of Goebbels (John Barron), Krebs (Adolfo Celi), and Keitel (Gabriele Ferzetti). Mark Kingston also does a fine job of portraying the power-hungry, manipulative Martin Borman.

Although the movie takes some historical liberties (e.g., the fictional "contrite Nazi" character played by Simon Ward), it is overall far superior to the "The Bunker."

Great movie. If you like WWII documentaries and movies you should like this. Incredible performance by Alec Guiness. (Obi Wan himself!) Also see Bridge on the River Kwai for another greeat performance. Their is so much more to Alec than Star Wars. This movie claims to be based on an eyewitness account of Hitler's last 10 days in the bunker. I am a little suspicious of supposedly historial accurate movies. However, I believe this movie captures the spirit of Hitler if not his exact words. This guy was definitely the worlds biggest looney. In the end he seems more pathetic than menancing. Also features intercuts of actual WWII footage. Hitler is shown eating cake while the German people are cutting up a dead horse on the street to eat. Joseph Goebbels warns against white surrender flags while the actual footage shows white flags all over the ruined city. Anyone interested in Nazis or Hitler will like this. A character study of Hitler. (Freud would have had a field day with this guy!) I give it 4 stars because it ends to abruptly. What happens after Hitler shoots himself??? If I gave away the ending, get off your computer and study your history books! Filmed in England with all British actors.

I bought "The Bunker" and "The Last Ten Days" at the same time and found both to be very compelling movies. "The Bunker" was a broader movies as it focused on the characters and the atmosphere that surrounded the Fuhrer in his last few months living under ground -- although I thought maybe a little too much whitewashed focus on Albert Speer. "The Last Ten Days" had one central character as he coped with the final demise of his Third Reich. One who did not know or understand what horrors his Third Reich inflicted on others may have felt a little compassion for the man whose entire world was collapsing around him. To compensate for such thoughts, the movie would periodically flash scenes of such horrors as the concentration camps, massacres, and even the sacrifice of the German people just to keep the the regime alive.

Both "The Bunker" and "The Last Ten Days" theorized as to what the last few moments might have been like for Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler. "The Bunker" has the couple approaching death as a matter of fact phenomenon (e.g., just bite cyanide capsule and pull the trigger). "The Last Ten Days" has Hitler revealing that he knew the war was lost when the Germans lost at Stalingrad. In "The Last Ten Days" Eva Braun is horrified that her new husband had been willing to sacrifice millions of lives in some vain attempt to save himself and Hitler has one last tanctrum when he sees that Eva died before he did. Nobody, though, knows what happened behind closed door those last few minutes although I think the scenario is "The Bunker" was probably closer to the truth.

The opera music in the background was also a nice touch.

Defiantly cast against type, Alec Guinness transforms "Hitler: The Last Ten Days" (1973) into a strangely compelling cinema of the absurd. When considering the claustrophobic madness of those final days in April 1945, director Ennio De Concini's surreal approach works better than expected. Speaking with a grandfatherly British accent, Guinness offers an eccentric yet mesmerizing interpretation of Adolf Hitler - punctuated by striking close-ups that emphasize the German ruler's charismatic evil. Individual sequences evoke the perverse quality of a two-reel comedy, especially Hitler and Eva Braun's suicide pact and its reaction from the Führer's inner circle. Despite its erratic tone and pacing, "The Last Ten Days" is worth seeing for Guinness' admirably off-kilter performance.

Alec Guinness becomes Hitler, and it is the most realistic portrayal I've ever seen. Derek Jacoby and Anthony Hopkins come no where close to this in their respective films, Inside The Third Reich and The Bunker. This is like a color camera capturing Hitler speaking in English. It is frightening yet has touches of humor, especially when the announcement of Hitlers death is made to the other residents of the bunker, you see a pretty blond woman reach for her small case containing cyanide capsules and cigarettes. She chooses the cigarettes and she and everyone else in the room light up. The most memorable line in the film is Hitler trying to conjure up some of the old charismatic magic of the past, addressing a young captain played by Simon Ward. "The Gods give their love only to those who demand the impossible. Mankind is ruled by will, by determination. When the will is thrust by genius, it generates a force which throughout history has proved irresistible". Great film. Now if only it were released on DVD.