Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by grinagog (D) on August 05, 2005 at 19:49:27

In Reply to: Downfall (2004) posted by mr grits on August 5, 2005 at 09:15:51:

but for the big screen, the claustrophobic atmosphere of the bunker suits the small screen tho' and I can easilly see why you might think that
I don't necessarily think you have to be a history buff to appreciate this film, tho' having a bit of context of the "who's who" doesn't hurt
I think there are many problems with playing Hitler credibly; the most difficult one to get over is an audiences popular preconception of him as being only a speech-making, rabble rousing monster
Hitler was an Austrian, charming to women, kind to children and his dog. Ganz's humanisation of Hitler does indeed go against the grain, however, I didn't at any stage feel I was watching anyone other than the "Real Hitler", not a comment I could make with all previous attempts to portray him I've seen (Alec Guiness, for example)
I would rank Ganz's performance up there with George C Scott's "Patton", James Mason's Rommel in "The Desert Fox" and Albert Finney's Churchill in "The Gathering Storm"
The film itself; harrowing

Grins