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Downfall

Play trailer Poster for Downfall R 2004 2h 28m History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 137 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
In 1942, young Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) lands her dream job -- secretary to Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) at the peak of his power. Three years later, Hitler's empire is now his underground bunker. The real-life Traudl narrates Hitler's final days as he rages against imagined betrayers and barks orders to phantom armies, while his mistress, Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler), clucks over his emotional distance, and other infamous Nazis prepare for the end.
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Downfall

Downfall

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Downfall is an illuminating, thoughtful and detailed account of Hitler's last days.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek 01/22/2013
Does Downfall "humanize" Hitler and his henchmen, as its critics have complained? Yes, and it should: to pretend these villains were less than human is to let ourselves off the hook, to take the easy and dangerous exit of demonology. Go to Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle 04/03/2005
4/5
Some demons are too extreme to comprehend, but Hirschbiegel's film nonetheless provides a painfully unflinching glimpse into the outer workings of the mortally wounded Third Reich. Go to Full Review Rick Groen Globe and Mail 03/18/2005
2/4
Viewed through a North American lens, the movie itself seems more familiar than fascinating, more innocuous than inflammatory, and, at 21/2 hours, more tedious than anything else. Go to Full Review Jane Freebury The Canberra Times (Australia) 08/18/2022
A provocative, thoughtful perspective on an arch-criminal guilty of heinous crime. Go to Full Review James Croot The Post NZ 03/26/2021
4.5/5
It is a stunning performance of light and shade, tracing his descent from total denial to despair, disillusionment and defeat. Go to Full Review Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) 04/03/2020
5/5
Most impressive of all is how, with the world closing in on the ranting, paranoid monster, Ganz ratchets down his performance from towering to cowering in minute increments. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Lucia L. @RT39628433 May 30 Incredible historical story from a perspective that is not commonly known. Traudle beared witness to the final moments of the fall of the nazis and the cowardly exit of hitler. See more Love L @RT15656568 Apr 26 Wow so amazing movie I really was so scard for all those dies especially the kids so sad 😭 but great movie to watch god bless 🙏🙏 See more Col. L @Col.Lumumba Apr 10 Trump should study this for pointers when he retreats to the bunker he is now building at the White House. War criminals unite! See more rex w @RT11010153 Feb 24 Maybe the best dramatization of the final days of the Third Reich. I think "Downfall" is a monumental achievement in acting, direction, writing, production, and editing. See more Dr. C @drcereal Feb 5 This movie does what a lot of other WW2 movies fail to truly do: humanize the Nazis. You don't see the Nazis as the "villains" here, but as people trying to retain their faith in a chased ideal of stability inside a society collapsing around them. The aesthetic that particularly captivates me is the dream of "Germania" existing as a socially-accepted delusion covered in rubble and blood. German soldiers don't seem like evil caricatures, but like individuals, battered and bruised by their dedication to a dead concept. The Western Allies aren't even seen throughout the movie, and the Soviets are depicted from an impersonal standpoint. This is because the movie wants you to see how GERMANY saw their defeat: not as a victory for the ideals of "peace and freedom," but as the tragic death of a national promise. The movie shows us, then, that understanding fascism doesn't lie in simply decrying it, but in understanding how and why it believed in its potential for succeeding. See more The ballad of s @RT60587876 Jan 11 Bruno Ganz should have got an Oscar for this but didn't even get a nomination. See more Read all reviews
Downfall

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Cast & Crew

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Oliver Hirschbiegel

Director

Bruno Ganz

Adolf Hitler

Alexandra Maria Lara

Traudl Junge

Corinna Harfouch

Magda Goebbels

Ulrich Matthes

Joseph Goebbels

Juliane Köhler

Eva Braun

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Downfall

A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. A scene from the film DOWNFALL directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Downfall (2004) Downfall (2004) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In 1942, young Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) lands her dream job -- secretary to Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) at the peak of his power. Three years later, Hitler's empire is now his underground bunker. The real-life Traudl narrates Hitler's final days as he rages against imagined betrayers and barks orders to phantom armies, while his mistress, Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler), clucks over his emotional distance, and other infamous Nazis prepare for the end.
Director
Oliver Hirschbiegel
Producer
Bernd Eichinger
Screenwriter
Bernd Eichinger
Distributor
Newmarket Film Group
Production Co
Constantin Film Produktion, Degeto Film, RAI Cinema, EOS Entertainment, Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) [at]
Rating
R (Some Nudity|Disturbing Images|Strong Violence)
Genre
History, Drama, War
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 8, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Feb 18, 2005
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 4, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.5M
Runtime
2h 28m
Sound Mix
Surround