Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 22 wins & 34 nominations total
- General Wilhelm Burgdorf
- (as Justus von Dohnanyi)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the outdoor city scenes for the movie were filmed in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This was for two reasons: one, the architecture of the city has many Germanic aspects, and two, there are plenty of streets with little or no modern advertisements and other commercial aspects.
- GoofsIn the film, Hermann Fegelein is shown as being arrested, dragged outside and summarily shot. In fact, Fegelein was arrested and kept in a cell for at least three days in the Führerbunker before Hitler ordered him stripped of rank and to be subjected to court martial, during which he was so drunk he vomited and urinated on the floor. It was only after the court martial that he was shot.
- Quotes
Adolf Hitler: That was an order! Steiner's assault was an order! Who do you think you are to dare disobey an order I give? So this is what it has come to! The military has been lying to me. Everybody has been lying to me, even the SS! Our generals are just a bunch of contemptible, disloyal cowards.
General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf: I can't permit you to insult the soldiers.
Adolf Hitler: They are cowards, traitors and failures!
General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf: My fuhrer, this is outrageous!
Adolf Hitler: Our generals are the scum of the German people! Not a shred of honour! They call themselves generals. Years at military academy just to learn how to hold a knife and fork! For years, the military has hindered my plans! They've put every kind of obstacle in my way! What I should have done... was liquidate all the high-ranking officers, as Stalin did!
- Crazy creditsAfter the final credits there is a statement by the real Traudl Jung about her feelings of guilt and responsibility. In the British Cinema release, this is moved to before the credits.
- Alternate versionsExtended version includes 22 minutes of additional footage.
- ConnectionsEdited from Im toten Winkel - Hitlers Sekretärin (2002)
- SoundtracksWhen I Am Laid In Earth
from "Dido and Aeneas"
Composed by Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Arranged by Horst Liebenau and Stephan Zacharias
Sitting amongst a full-house of patrons here at the Toronto Int'l Film Festival's 2004 edition, Ganz captivated the local audience with the scariest Hitler I've ever seen up on the silver screen -- better than Noah Taylor's English Hitler in MAX just a couple of years back.
Audience members get a glimpse into the final days of Hitler's rule from the bunker deep beneath the Reich Chancellery in Nazi Berlin's dying days. The defeated spirit of the Nazis -- covered extensively in the history books -- has seldomly been more penetratingly shown on the Big Screen. Bravo to director Oliver Hirschbiegel for doing this the right (German) way -- for intrepidly tackling a period piece few German producers might.
I'd had a chance to chat with the actors post-screening, with lead actress Alexandra Maria Lara (playing Traudl Junge) candidly admitting the sheer amount of work she'd diligently invested in bringing her character to life -- doubtless complicated by the death of Frau Junge in 2002. Her research, however, was clearly impeccable and left no stone unturned. Corinna Harfouch wasn't on hand -- as Magda Goebbels. Pity because in many respects, she convincingly stole the show.
So rarely do we see Hitler on screen in modern days to allow us a glimpse into the horrifying nature of a madman bent on global domination. We all know the end of this story, but seldom does a film so masterfully suspend your disbelief than does The Downfall in making you wonder just how the Third Reich might end. Historical fiction might never be the same.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- La caída
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €13,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,509,040
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $18,195
- Feb 20, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $92,181,574
- Runtime2 hours 36 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1