Movie Cosmos - Downfall

Description:

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

Top Cast >

Bruno Ganz

As Adolf Hitler

Alexandra Maria Lara

As Traudl Junge

Corinna Harfouch

As Magda Goebbels

Ulrich Matthes

As Joseph Goebbels

Juliane Köhler

As Eva Braun

Heino Ferch

As Albert Speer

Christian Berkel

As Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck

Thomas Kretschmann

As SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein

Ulrich Noethen

As Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler

Birgit Minichmayr

As Gerda Christian

Rolf Kanies

As General der Infanterie Hans Krebs

Justus von Dohnányi

As General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf

Michael Mendl

As General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling

André Hennicke

As SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke

Christian Redl

As Generaloberst Alfred Jodl

Götz Otto

As SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche

Thomas Limpinsel

As Kammerdiener Heinz Linge

Thomas Thieme

As Martin Bormann

Donevan Gunia

As Peter Kranz

Matthias Habich

As Prof. Dr. Werner Haase

Alexander Held

As Walter Hewel

Devid Striesow

As Feldwebel Tornow

Dieter Mann

As Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel

Bettina Redlich

As Frl. Constanze Manziarly

Heinrich Schmieder

As Rochus Misch

Anna Thalbach

As Hanna Reitsch

Dietrich Hollinderbäumer

As Ritter Robert von Greim

Ulrike Krumbiegel

As Dorothee Kranz

Karl Kranzkowski

As Wilhelm Kranz

Thorsten Krohn

As Dr. Stumpfegger

Jürgen Tonkel

As Erich Kempka

Fabian Busch

As Obersturmbannführer Stehr

Christian Hoening

As Reichsarzt SS Grawitz

Dirk Borchardt

As Panzerkommandant

Elizaveta Boyarskaya

As Schwester Erna

Michael Brandner

As H. Fritzche

Igor Bubenchikov

As Schadle

Martin Butzke

As SS-Soldat 1

Dmitriy Bykovskiy-Romashov

As Soldat 2

Mathias Gnädinger

As Hermann Göring

Bohdan Graczyk

As Oberst Clausen

Norbert Heckner

As Standesbeamter Wagner

Enno Hesse

As Oberleutnant

Julia Jentsch

As Hanna Potrowski

Michael Kind

As SA-Mann / Ruinenkeller

Elisabeth von Koch

As Margarete Lorenz

Konstantin Lukashov

As Älterer Soldat

Stefan Mehren

As Verwundeter Soldat

Katerina Poladjan

As Russische Arzthelferin

Tanja Schleiff

As Russische Ärztin

Christian Schmidt

As SS-Mann Greifkommando

August Schmölzer

As Baur

Jurij Schrader

As Dolmetscher

Mariya Semyonova

As Rothaarige Frau

Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann

As Offizier 1

Veit Stübner

As Obergruppenführer Tellermann

Oliver Stritzel

As Maschinist Hentschel

Vsevolod Tsurilo

As Russischer Adjutant

Henning Peker

As Wachsoldat vor der Wolfsschanze (uncredited)

Dieter Rupp

As Mohnke's Adjutant im Bunker (uncredited)

Andrey Blagoslovenskiy

As Soldat im Ruinenkeller

Valeriy Salomakhin

As Staryy Tsivilist

Igor Sergeev

As Russischer Soldat

Traudl Junge

As Self (archive footage)

Top Crew >

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Director

Hans Funck

Editor

Bernd Eichinger

Screenplay, Producer

Christine Rothe

Executive Producer

Bernd Lepel

Production Design

An Dorthe Braker

Casting

Traudl Junge

Author

Joachim Fest

Author

Rainer Klausmann

Director of Photography

Stephan Zacharias

Original Music Composer

Claudia Bobsin

Costume Design

Melissa Müller

Author

Nico Krebs

Sound Designer

Lisa Geffcken-Reinhard

Sound Effects Editor

Elena Zhukova

Art Direction

Abi Schneider

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Maxim Volodin

Location Manager

Waldemar Pokromski

Makeup Artist

Yakov Gordin

Location Manager

Vladimir Plyatskovsky

Location Manager

Norbert Zich

Dolby Consultant

Oleg Korytin

Stunt Coordinator

Konstantin Kostin

Gaffer

Margrit Neufink

Makeup Artist

Sebastian Meuschel

Steadicam Operator

Carsten Richter

Foley

Svetlana Lukash

Location Manager

Stefanie Stalf

Visual Effects Producer

Thomas Zauner

Visual Effects Supervisor

Marcus Pohlus

Steadicam Operator

Natasha Grachova

Special Effects Coordinator

Tilman Büttner

Steadicam Operator

Aleksey Filatov

Assistant Art Director

Jürgen Olczyk

Still Photographer

Mila Koudriashova

Publicist

Bettina Bartl

Publicist

Sergey Fukalov

Assistant Art Director

Fabian Schmidt

Dialogue Editor

Oksana Rusalinova

Location Manager

Jörn Poetzl

Foley

Natalya Zamakhina

Costume Supervisor

Kerstin Böck

Publicist

Nonna Velikaya

Translator

Philipp Sellier

Foley

Doris J. Heinze

Co-Producer

Tom Tykwer

Thanks

Bohdan Graczyk

Assistant Director

Jörn Klamroth

Co-Producer

Dirk Eichler

Lighting Technician

Christine Jahn

Post Production Supervisor

Wolf-Dietrich Brücker

Co-Producer

Sergey Golovkin

Stunts

Oskar Roehler

Thanks

Andrew Mollo

Other

Carol Burandt von Kameke

First Assistant Camera

Hanuš Polak jr.

Assistant Director

Galina Zaigraeva

Property Master

Ekaterina Omakhanova

Property Master

Irina Melnikova

Property Master

Reviews:

Wuchak (7/10)

Hitler’s end

As the Red Army encroaches upon Berlin in late April, 1945, the final days of Hitler in his bunker (Bruno Ganz) are told from the perspective of his secretary, Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara).

"Downfall” (2004) is not a conventional war movie due to its downbeat subject and is more educational than entertaining, but it’s a necessary piece of the puzzle in understanding WW2. If you appreciate movies like "Enemy at the Gates" (2001), "The Pianist" (2002), "Black Book" (2006), "Valkyrie" (2008), "Rommel" (2012), "Warsaw '44" (2014) and "Fury" (2014), you’ll appreciate this one too.

It's hard to rate a flick like this because it’s not an enjoyable experience, but it works superbly as means to go back in history and view Hitler’s final days.

The film runs 2 hours, 36 minutes, and was shot in Germany (Berlin, Munich and Bavaria Studios) and Russia (St. Petersburg).

GRADE: B

2023-04-23