Downfall (2004 film)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"They call themselves generals. Years at a military academy just to learn how to hold a knife and fork!" --Hitler rant "The film is well known as the inspiration for Downfall parodies, often called "Hitler Rants". One scene in the film, in which Hitler launches into a furious tirade upon finally realizing that the war is lost, has become a staple of internet videos. In these videos, the original German audio is retained, but new subtitles are added so that Hitler and his subordinates seem to be reacting instead to an issue of setback in present-day politics, sports, entertainment, popular culture, or everyday life." --Sholem Stein |
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Downfall (Der Untergang) is a 2004 historical war drama film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a screenplay by producer Bernd Eichinger. The film stars Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, and Thomas Kretschmann. It is set during the Battle of Berlin in World War II, when Germany is on the verge of defeat, and depicts the final days of Adolf Hitler (portrayed by Ganz). It is based on the books Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest and Until the Final Hour by Hitler's former private secretary Traudl Junge, among other accounts of the period.
Principal photography took place from September to November 2003, on location in Berlin, Munich, and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As the film is set in and around the Führerbunker, Hirschbiegel used eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs, and other historical sources during production to reconstruct the look and atmosphere of 1940s Berlin.
The film premiered on 16 September 2004 in Germany, where it stirred controversy for portraying the human side of Hitler. It later received a wide theatrical release across Europe under its production company Constantin Film. The film grossed over $92 million, received favorable reviews from critics, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards. The scene where Hitler displays rage after Felix Steiner fails to obey his orders has spawned a series of Internet memes, which Constantin Film initially ordered to be taken down due to perceived copyright infringement.
Parodies
The film is well known as the inspiration for Downfall parodies, often called "Hitler Rants". One scene in the film, in which Hitler launches into a furious tirade upon finally realizing that the war is lost, has become a staple of internet videos. In these videos, the original German audio is retained, but new subtitles are added so that Hitler and his subordinates seem to be reacting instead to an issue of setback in present-day politics, sports, entertainment, popular culture, or everyday life.
By 2010, there were thousands of such parodies, including many in which Hitler is enraged that people keep making Downfall parodies in a case of metaparody. The parodies, as well as the film itself, have also gained a cult following, spawning a community of YouTube users who call themselves "Untergangers",
The film's director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, spoke positively about these parodies in a 2010 interview with New York magazine, saying that many of them were funny and they were a fitting extension of the film's purpose: "The point of the film was to kick these terrible people off the throne that made them demons, making them real and their actions into reality. I think it's only fair if now it's taken as part of our history, and used for whatever purposes people like."
In October 2010, YouTube stopped blocking Downfall-derived parodies.
In January 2012, British Labour MP Tom Harris stepped down from his Internet adviser role following adverse media reaction to his Downfall parody ridiculing Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.
In July 2013, Jefferies Group, an American investment firm, was ordered by a Hong Kong court to pay $1.86 million to former equity trading head Grant Williams for firing him for sending out a newsletter that linked to a Hitler parody video, mocking JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon.
Plot
In November 1942, at the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia, Chancellor of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler selects Traudl Junge as his personal secretary. Three years later, the Red Army has pushed back Germany's advance and surrounded Berlin. On Hitler's 56th birthday, the Red Army begins shelling Berlin's city centre. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler tries to persuade Hitler to leave Berlin, but Hitler refuses. Himmler leaves to negotiate terms with the Western Allies in secret. Later, Himmler's adjutant Hermann Fegelein also attempts to persuade Hitler to flee, but Hitler insists that he will win or die in Berlin.
Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck is ordered to leave Berlin per Operation Clausewitz, though he persuades an SS general to let him stay in Berlin to treat the injured. In the streets, Hitler Youth child soldier Peter Kranz's father approaches Peter's unit and tries persuading him to leave. Peter, who destroyed two enemy tanks and will soon be awarded a medal by Hitler, calls his father a coward and runs away.
At a meeting in the Führerbunker, Hitler forbids the outnumbered 9th Army to retreat, ordering SS commander Felix Steiner's units to mount a counter-attack. The generals find the orders impossible and irrational. Above ground, Hitler awards Peter his medal, hailing Peter as braver than his generals. In his office, Hitler talks to Minister of Armaments Albert Speer about his scorched earth policy. Speer is concerned of the destruction of German infrastructure, but Hitler believes the German people left behind are weak and deserve death. Meanwhile, Hitler's companion Eva Braun holds a party in the Reich Chancellery. Fegelein tries persuading Eva, his sister-in-law, to leave Berlin with Hitler, but she dismisses him. Artillery fire eventually breaks up the party.
On the battlefield, General Helmuth Weidling is informed he will be executed for allegedly ordering a retreat. Weidling comes to the Führerbunker to clear himself. His action impresses Hitler, who promotes him to oversee all Berlin defenses. At another meeting, Hitler learns Steiner did not attack because his unit was too weak. Hitler becomes enraged at what he saw as betrayal, stating that everyone has failed him and denounces his generals as cowards and traitors, before finally acknowledging that the war is lost, but that he would rather commit suicide than leave Berlin.
Schenck witnesses mass civilian casualties and executions as supposed traitors. Hitler receives a message from Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring requesting state leadership. Hitler declares Göring a traitor, ordering his arrest. Speer then admits to Hitler that he has defied his orders. Hitler, however, does not punish Speer who decides to leave Berlin. Peter's unit is defeated and he runs back to his parents. Hitler imagines more ways for Germany to turn the tide. At dinner, Hitler learns of Himmler's secret negotiations and orders his execution and also finds out that Fegelein has deserted Berlin, having him executed despite Eva's pleas. SS physician Ernst-Robert Grawitz asks Hitler's permission to evacuate for fear of Allied reprisal. Hitler refuses, leading Grawitz to kill himself and his family.
The Soviets continue their advance, Berlin's supplies run low, and German morale plummets. Hitler hopes that the 12th Army will save Berlin. After midnight, Hitler dictates his last will and testament to Traudl, before marrying Eva. The following morning, Hitler learns that the 12th Army is stuck and cannot relieve Berlin. Refusing surrender, Hitler plans his death. He administers poison to his dog Blondi, bids farewell to the bunker staff, and commits suicide with Eva. The two are cremated in the Chancellery garden.
Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels assumes Chancellorship and General Hans Krebs meets with Soviet General Vasily Chuikov to negotiate a conditional surrender, but returns without success. Goebbels orders that the SS will not surrender as long as he is alive. Goebbels' wife Magda poisons her six children with cyanide, before committing suicide with Goebbels; Weidling announces unconditional surrender of German forces in Berlin; Peter discovers his parents were executed; and the Germans who had worked in Hitler's bunker commit suicide after learning of Germany's defeat. Traudl leaves the bunker and tries to flee the city; Peter joins her as she sneaks through a group of Soviet soldiers before the two find a bicycle and leave Berlin.
See also
