Review of Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) by Barry K — 11 Nov 2010
The title of this one makes no plot mystery. Hitler: The Last Ten Days was made 3 decades before "Der Untergang". Our maniacal evil Fuhrer is played skillfully by the late Englishman Alec Guinness. The Fuhrer is portrayed as an emotional, yet vulnerable human being, as reminiscent in "Der Untergang".
As nobody really knows what went down in the bunker, the film is based on testimonies from the "so called witnesses" that survived the aftermath.
A nice little production that I'll have to hunt down on disc in the near future.
Some memorable scenes will stick to mind, and the eerie atmosphere does not fail to disappoint. As Hitler is aware the end for his reign of terror is neigh, he hands out self portraits to his trusty followers claiming: "I want to be remembered as the good looking man I am, not like Jesus Christ with a ridiculous beard and filthy long hair!".
An above average production that also utilises archive footage and most of the the films duration in the bunker.
The director was Ennio De Concini that mainly wrote screenplays in the 60's throughout the 80's. This was his directorial debut to the big screen.
And now for a little trivia: An old friend and WW2 buff, went to Berlin to see the remaining historical sights. The bunker has been flooded with cement, and a playground has now been built on the surface.
Come out and play children.
This review of Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) was written by Barry K on 11 Nov 2010.
Hitler: The Last Ten Days has generally received mixed reviews.
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