Hitler reviews the iPad

[Dave W]

And he's not happy!

Another Downfall parody. 

(warning: R-rated subtitles)

[gweimer]

LMAO!  It looks like the same video they did for the real estate market collapse, with different dialogue.  Still, it's one of the funniest bits I've seen in a while.

[lowend1]

LMAO!  It looks like the same video they did for the real estate market collapse, with different dialogue.  Still, it's one of the funniest bits I've seen in a while.

It's amazing how many of those vids have been posted.

[Dave W]

Poor Bruno Ganz. A long acting career in Europe and because he played his role so well in Downfall (Der Untergang) he's now known for the parodies.

The director thinks they're funny: 'Downfall' Director on the Hitler YouTube Clips (with yet another parody -- seems Hitler isn't too happy with NBC's latest moves).

[uwe]

That scene has become a classic in all its different shapes and forms and I'm sure Bruno Ganz is proud of it. Any other Hitler portrayal ever since has paled in comparison (Hitler's portrayal in Inglorious Basterds was downright silly as if Tarantino had decided early on that he would not want to compete with Der Untergang, in contrast the Goebbels protrayal in the same film was much more accurate and serious-mimded). Ganz deserved an Oscar for it, but I guess granting an Academy Award for a Hitler portrayal, accurate and unforgiving  as it may be, is still a thorny issue.

My favorite scene in Der Untergang is early on when the new secretary is aked to write something and, as Hitler dictates, is so nervous she just writes gibberish. And Hitler reads it, sighs and as you are expecting an outburst (will the poor secretary be shot?) he bows down, touches her shoulder, assembles all his Austrian charm (which he reputedly could have) and says understandingly: "Well, we better try this one again."

[Highlander]

Just curious - what is the original from, meaning what part of his life...?

[Dave W]

Just curious - what is the original from, meaning what part of his life...?

I believe the whole movie is of the last 12 days of the Reich. Never seen it, though.

[Aussie Mark]

Dave is right.  It's a fantastic movie.  3 hours long, but absolutely riveting because of the fine acting.

[OldManC]

Is it available for rental (like Netflix or something)? I've seen that clip so many times now I'd actually like to see the movie. Ignore whatever silly thing it's pretending to cover and you can see it was a really powerful scene. If the rest of the movie is like that I'm sure I'd like it a lot.

[Highlander]

Tempted too...

One of my favourite war movies is also in the German language... Das Boot... originally recorded the 5 part TV version way back but now have the directors cut DVD... my old neighbour (a Swiss-German) - his late father served on U's in WWII... as a return of a big favour I tracked down an excellent book by LG Bucheim with a lot of his WWII U-Boat pics...

[Dave W]

I just looked, it's on Netflix. Don't ask me for any details, I'm not registered there.

[uwe]

It's an excellent movie with monumental acting and not just from Bruno Ganz (who is from Switzerland) as Hitler. The Goebbels family and Albert Speer (the Minister of Armaments and Wartime Production) are well portrayed too. The scene where Magda Goebbels kills all her six children one after another ("to spare them of a Germany without the Führer") is heart-wrenching. And there is a great "father & son"-type scene where Speer divulges to Hitler that he has been ignoring his orders of scorched earth and demolition for Germany for months "because there will be a Germany after the war". And Hitler just says tiredly "well, you better catch your plane then". (Speer is also the one to tell him in that scene "that the German people will expect their Führer to fall in Berlin with his armies, not in some mountain resort" when Hitler briefly toys with the idea of leaving Berlin and asks Speer what he thinks about it.)

The particular scene of the dictator freaking out is when Hitler is told that all his fancy plans about counter-offensives have failed because none of the "armies" he still believes to command has the logistic means anymore for a counter-attack. After he is told, he sends out everyone but his closest aides and flips. "That was an order!!!!" he yells and then switches gradually in a depressive, self-pitying mood, monologuing  that the war is lost, but "don't any of you think I will leave Berlin because of that". (They wanted to fly him out, he refused.) He recounts how all the early major victories in the war were of his doing "because all you apparently learn in officers' academies is to eat with knife and fork".*** (One of the officers intervenes and says that he will not tolerate calling the German Army "Feiglinge" (cowards) after all the blood toll they have given.)

Like in much of the movie, Hitler is not depicted as a monster or some supernatural evil force, but as a broken man unwilling to see reality and torn between self-pity and a still mean and ruthless streak.

***Hitler had served in WW I as a simple soldier with some valor, but he was not regarded by the officers who knew him as anybody who should ever even get near NCO stripes. Being a simple "Gefreiter" - enlisted man - and being called "der böhmische Gefreite" (the enlisted man from Bohemia) behind his back by the generals of the German army would always be a chip on his shoulder. Ironically, a WW I German Army major of Jewish descent supported that Hitler received a medal. Hitler would conveniently forget about him in the WW I depictions of "Mein Kampf", yet wear the medal (the only one he ever wore).

[gweimer]

In the parody clips, just the part where his hand shakes as he takes off his glasses is pretty amazing work.  Subtle and powerful in one stroke.

[Highlander]

Danke Herr Bassmeister...