Downfall [Blu-ray]

Brilliant reproduction of the many unbelievable events that unfolded during the last ten days of Hitler's life. It's important to know that this movie is in the German language with English subtitles. Don't let that stop you from purchasing the film though, it's brilliantly done and the native German gives it a very authentic feel.Being a history lover and having read many accounts of this particular time period I believe the movie to follow events as historically accurate as possible. Bruno Ganz does a fantastic job of portraying a head of state lunatic who was stubbornly in denial about his eventual defeat until the last week of his life. Many human emotions are well acted out against the backdrop of the inhumane war raging above. Each person inside the bunker has his or her own her own way of dealing with the coming downfall and each has their own way of capitulating defeat. Many will chose suicide as a way out. Other fanatics, especially some younger inexperienced teenagers choose to fight to the death in the streets of Berlin for a war that was by all other measures lost. Others try to escape, some will make it while others don't. The scene showing what Magda Goebbles chose to do at was hard to watch, although it was probably the most realistic depiction of what actually happened. All in all I thought it was a very professionally made film that reminds us all of the madness of war and the effects it has on those who fight in it, those who are unfortunately caught up in it, and in this case the historical figures that actually chose to begin it!

Gosh for a movie spoken in complete German, this movie had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. One thing I liked about the presentation is that while this is a foreign film in it's most technical terms, it was definitely constructed for American/English viewing. What I mean is, the subtitles are done very well, the credits are in English and overall, you get the feeling that it's not necessarily a foreign film, but more an American made film keeping to the authenticity of being spoken in German. The cinematography is amazing (especially on Blu-Ray) and almost instantly you feel like you've been transported thru time back to 1945 war-torn Berlin. The movie is well paced, well acted and keeps to facts rather suggesting opinions on what kind of man Hitler was. With all the God-awful things he did during his dictatorship, he was a human being and certainly known to be kind to those he was fond of. Anyway, my point is, it was interesting to see another side of the man different from what you're used to in his fiery speeches or personality in Inglorious Basterds. WATCH. THIS. MOVIE.

Bruno Ganz is absolutely brilliant in the role of Adolf Hitler and this film is by far the VERY BEST recounting of Hitler's last days entombed in his Berlin Bunker waiting for the inevitable overwhelming onslaught of the Russian Army to finally rid the world of his mad and murderous empire. Every actor was outstanding from the men who played the characters of the German General Staff to the young lady who played his personal secretary andf the performance by "Frau Goebbels" was as engrossing as it was chilling.I've seen every movie concerning the Bunker (With Frank Finlay as Hitler, Alec Guinness as Hitler, Anthony Hopkins as Hitler) and they all pale in comparison to this one.Do not miss this movie and don't let the fact that it is in german discourage you from buying it. You'll get used to the subtitles very quickly, believe me.

I bought this movie after seeing all the silly Hitler parody YouTube videos, and I got to say this was the most interesting movie I've ever seen about that Nazi's. It's not influenced by Western views on the Nazi's, and will give you are real insight on how they were humans, with feeling and flaws just like everyone else. At times I caught myself actually sympathizing with some of the characters as the acting in this was beyond brilliant. Probably one of the only movies in existence that actually shows the war from the Nazi's side of things that isn't heavily influenced by the cultures that fought the Nazi's in WW2. It will definitely leave you thinking, and with a whole other view of the Nazi's.

This review is for the blu-ray transfer only and not the film itself. The blu-ray version of Downfall is problematic. All the lowlight scenes (which are almost the entire movie) are excessively grainy and gritty. About ten minutes into the movie, I popped the blu-ray out and put the DVD in for comparison. It was actually better. While the DVD did not have quite the same level of detail as the blu-ray, it was much smoother and easier to watch. I finished watching the movie in normal DVD and put the new blu-ray into a pile for sale on eBay. If you are considering an upgrade from DVD to blu-ray, it is not worth it in my opinion.My rating of four stars is for the movie itself. If I were only rating the blu-ray, it would get two stars. This is a shame, because Downfall is a great film.

Worked great in my Pioneer Blu-ray player. Picture quality is amazing. Also sound is perfect. An excellent movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. HOWEVER, there are TWO different versions of this movie. This version has at least one scene MISSING. There is another, longer version of this movie that shows the young Hitler youth boy picking up a P-38 pistol and shooting a Russian soldier with it. After he does so he regrets doing it and returns home to his Father. This scene, for some unknown reason, has been edited from the movie. So I must change my review from 5 stars to one star. I paid for a COMPLETE movie, not an edited version. They could have at least included the edited parts in the bonus material. But it is not there.

This movie is a must watch as it is a German production shot in Bavaria Studios and in St, Petersburg, Russia, the two peoples that were at war within the time frame of the film. Bruno Ganz portrays Adolf Hitler in the film, spending time learning Hitler's Austrian accented German, and his speech mannerisms through an interview conducted with Finnish Radio, instead of from his more fanatical and passionate speeches. Bruno Ganz's performance is a masterpiece. The events depicted in the bunker are somewhat compressed in time, especially those within the Map room.This is not your usual Hollywood tripe, but a film created by the Germans and a subject that only they could really shoot like this. The movie follows Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries from her hiring to her escape from occupied Berlin. The movie is book-ended with segments of an interview with the real Traudl Junge.The makers of the film were concerned that people would think they were "humanizing" Hitler, but knowing the history and watching what was happening in the bunker, one does not get that impression. There are some chilling scenes in the movie, especially one with Frau Goebbels and her 6 children in the bunker. I will not describe it to not ruin it, but even knowing what happened, watching the scene one cannot help to feel a chill. That is how well done the film is.The film is also important to watch to understand the fanaticism that produced the rise of Nazism in Germany, and draws parallels to what is happening in the World today, so hopefully people will remember this and prevent the repeat of such fanaticism.Technical Details of the Blu-ray disc - Regions ABC, 1080p, 5.1 surround sound, Colour, German language with English subtitles, 149 mins approximate run time, 5 Bonus elements in 480i in German with English subtitles.

En klassiker

La imagen es muy buena, pero lo que más destaca es el sonido, sobretodo cuando empiezan a sonar las sirenas y comienzan los bombardeos, ideal para ver de qué es capaz un home cinema.Compré la versión inglesa que viene en Alemán con subtítulos en inglés y precisamente por eso pongo 4 estrellas, porque los subtítulos vienen "quemados" en la imagen. He probado la película en dos reproductores y en ninguno los he podido quitar.

Superb film.

Really fast delivery and good QualityThe movie is great! I would recommend it to history lovers like myself!!Thanks