Product Details

• Actors: Robert Carlyle, Stockard Channing, Jena Malone, Julianna Margulies, Matthew Modine
• Directors: Christian Duguay
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Koch Vision
• DVD Release Date: October 9, 2007
• Run Time: 186 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000TXNDT8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,441 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Hitler - The Rise of Evil" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Had the many folks who were outraged by the very existence of Hitler: The Rise of Evil seen it before it was aired by CBS-TV in 2003, they would have realized that their fears that this three-hour miniseries would somehow paint a sympathetic portrait of the man generally regarded as the 20th Century's most irredeemable monster were unfounded. There's very little shading here. By and large, this Adolf Hitler is a wicked, vengeful, paranoid, anti-Semitic lunatic pretty much from the get-go; indeed, the opening credits aren't even over before he is revealed as an angry boy who was beaten and belittled by his father and smothered by his mother, an aspiring artist embittered by repeated rejections of his work, and an impressionable young man who was convinced that Jews were the root of all that's wrong with the world. And that's all before the role is assumed by Robert Carlyle, who dominates the proceedings thereafter with a commanding, convincing performance. Hitler: The Rise of Evil chronicles the major events leading up to his assumption of power in the mid-1930s, including his time in the trenches in World War I and fury at Germany's signing of the Treaty of Versailles; his gradual emergence as a charismatic and powerful orator and eventual dominance of the National Socialist party; his first attempted takeover of the government, which resulted in failure (and a brief stay in prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf); and his eventual emergence as the all-powerful Fuhrer who devised the Final Solution and led his country into a disastrous war (the film ends in '34, several years before World War II began). It all feels true to life, if sometimes overly dramatic (the scenes in which he perfects his moustache, practices his various poses and gestures, and adopts the swastika as his symbol are like something out of the first Spider-man movie). And while various other characters, friend and foe alike, occasionally share the spotlight (the cast also includes Matthew Modine, Liev Schreiber, Julianna Margulies, Jena Malone, and Peter O'Toole), it's all about Hitler, and this handsomely-mounted miniseries, directed by Christian Duguay, is at the very least a compelling, eminently watchable effort to capture the inexplicable. Weighing in at a hefty 200-plus minutes, the bonus features (included on a second disc) are longer than the miniseries itself. They consist of Hitler: a Career, an informative 1977 documentary with ample file footage of the real Fuhrer (as good as Carlyle is, there's no way any actor can fully portray how truly scary the guy was), and Hitler and I: Reflections of Evil, an unusually thoughtful "making of" doc by David Cherniack that goes well beyond the typical puffery of such items. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Featuring a star-studded cast, this epic mini-series traces the mind of a burgeoning madman as he begins his ruthless climb to power. From his emergence out of the ashes of World War I through the birth of the Nazi Party, acclaimed actor Robert Carlyle portrays Adolph Hitler in a performance that "conveys the depths of the tyrant’s evil" (San Francisco Chronicle).

Includes the Bonus Documentaries:
"Hitler and I: Reflections of Evil" (directed by David Cherniack)
"Hitler: A Career" (written and directed by Joachim C. Fest)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly done; a masterpiece, May 29, 2006

By	James T. Wheeler (TUCSON, AZ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hitler: The Rise of Evil [Region 2] (DVD)

I gave "The Rise of Evil" 5 stars because that's what it deserves. The show is extremely well-constructed, cast, and directed, even if the screenplay takes some liberties with history along the way. Yes, the story could have gotten along without the dog beating scene, the one where Hitler's father abuses him violently, and probably a few others. But the dramatic effect would have been impaired.

I watched the "making of" documentary that came with my DVD before I sat down to view the 3-hour movie. Then, I watched the documentary again after seeing the show. I'd recommend this approach to others to understand why the producer and director were subject to such criticism before and after the film was finished.

When this miniseries first came out we going out of town and totally missed it. My wife and I watch very little network TV because it doesn't seem like it's designed for thinking adults. This program is very much the exception and should be a must for anyone interested in world events and the dangers of facism.

Any review of this program must include comments on the performance of Robert Carlyle who plays the adult Hitler. Although the very Scottish Mr. Carlyle may be small in stature and far-removed from Hitler's teutonic roots he is mesmerizing as der Fuehrer. Carlyle captures the part so well you worry about what he could possibly do in the future to escape type-casting. It's all there: the iron will, the vicious temper, the evil political genius. Scary, truly scary.

The other actors in the show do very well, too, and there are a lot of well-defined characters. Peter O'Toole's role in the movie is limited but he does a fine job as President Hindenburg. The decent people who are steam-rolled by the 3rd Reich were sorry victims, indeed, but that's the way it must have been.

There were some characters who were notable by their absence, like Heinrich Himmler, Reinhold Heydrich, and Martin Bormann. Also missing was much on Nazi mysticism and the occult. Maybe these missing pieces are being held for a sequel. I'd certainly be interested if there were one.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it is only by acknowledging Hitler's humanity that we may grasp the enormity of his crime, May 21, 2008

By	Monty - See all my reviews

2 and 1/2 stars

Ironically, this miniseries is every bit as biased as the Nazi propaganda it denounces. The film relies heavily on cliched portrayals of "innocent Jews," "heroic journalists," and "evil Nazis," and in the process ends up sacrificing sophistication to enact a heavy-handed morality play. It goes without saying that the film neglected historical accuracy for the sake of painting Hitler as a demon in human guise, misrepresenting segments of Hitler's life to further its agenda.

This sort of thinking is quite silly. Though human monsters, such as Jeffrey Dahmer and Peter Kurten have existed, Hitler was not one of them. Historical research has shown that he had a number of redeeming qualities: he was a brave and good soldier and considerate to those who worked under him. Though this might make many people uncomfortable, it is only by acknowledging Hitler's humanity that we may grasp the enormity of his crime. To do otherwise is to blind ourselves to the cruelty latent (or suppressed) in us all and impair our ability to recognize it.

Unfortunately, the film's handling of as complex a character as Hitler is woefully simplistic and ultimately unrealistic. Even Robert Carlyle's tremendous performance at times fails to avoid the realm of caricature. That said, the actors did an excellent job with the screenplay given them and the film was still quite captivating in its intensity despite its historical inaccuracies.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor History and Bad Theater, January 23, 2009

By	Daniel Allen Butler - See all my reviews

"Hitler-the Rise of Evil" is yet another tired and trivial attempt by Hollywood to come to terms with the reality of the monster and the monstrosity that was Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. As can always be expected with any film which has an historical person or event as its subject (and it's inevitable--and almost forgivable--given the limitations of the medium and the complexity of the subject) there is a great deal of over-simplification. The complexities of Hitler's childhood and adolescence (in particular the extraordinary and peculiar devotion he felt toward his mother) are dismissed in a handful of cliched scenes. Men who were major figures in the rise of the National Socialist Party are ignored or given short shrift (Goering, Goebbels, Kurt von Schieler and others), while the roles of others, such as Putzi Hanfstengel, are exaggerated. The appalling economic conditions in Germany, which Hitler exploited so successfully in his rise, are but briefly mentioned. The role of the German industrialists (Krupp, Thyssen and others) in financing the Nazis is utterly ignored. This is due, no doubt, to trying to depict the events of forty years in less tha three hours. It should be noted--and considered--by anyone with even a passing interest in purchasing this film that author Ian Kershaw, who has written several books on Hitler's life, was asked to serve as a consultant in the production of Hitler: The Rise of Evil. He found so many falsehoods and historical inaccuracies in the script he asked to have his name removed from the project.

All that could be forgiven if the actor playing Hitler (Robert Carlyle) was in the least bit believable in the role he plays. He isn't. Carlyle never once conveys even a fraction of the incredible charisma which the real Hitler exuded (something upon which almost everyone who met Hitler would comment), a powerful component in his political success. Nor is Hitler's compelling speaking style in any way captured by the actor. He mimics Hitler's gestures and postures, but cannot convey the passion with which Hitler delivered his speeches. The speeches in this production are feeble and trite, lacking any of the power and virility that were the heart and soul of Hitler's addresses. Finally, Carlyle never truly captures the malignity, the malice, the viciousness which overshadowed everything Hitler did and said in the course of his political career. The only way any depiction of Hitler can be convincing is if viewer believes that the person he is watching can hate as deeply and constantly as the real Hitler did. In this Carlyle fails completely--and it is the worst failing of all in this production. Carlyle succeeds only in making Hitler look weak and faintly ridiculous, more buffoon than dangerous political adventurer. If, as Edmund Burke said (in a quotation which is the opening epigram of the film) "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" then the only thing necessary for the return of evil is for it to be treated as insignificant or ridiculous. That is about the only thing that "Hitler--the Rise of Evil" does well.