DVD review from The Movie Snob

Downfall (A). I believe Movie Man Mike reviewed this German film a few months ago. It is a vivid, documentary-like study of the last days of Hitler and the fall of Berlin to the Red Army. I found it mesmerizing. (I intended to watch only half of its 2 1/2 hours last night, but once I started I had to finish.) Bruno Ganz turns in an amazing performance as Hitler--sick, delusional, and yet still commanding blind loyalty from his top officers. Other characters are vividly drawn as well, from major figures like Eva Braun and the creepy Joseph Goebbels to minor characters like a compassionate military doctor who refuses to evacuate from the doomed city. Much of the story is told from the perspective of Hitler's young secretary, who watches the disintegration of the Third Reich around her with more confusion than horror. (She died only recently, and brief segments of an interview with her bookend the film. In fact, after the movie ends there are panels showing what happened to several of the main characters, more than one of whom survived into the 21st century.) It is not always easy to watch, but it's a fascinating film. The book A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City (previously reviewed herein on August 2) would make good companion reading.