Ever forward-looking, I wanted to see a 35-year-old movie about events that took place nearly 65 years ago. And so we rented "Hitler: the Last Ten Days" (1973) from Netflix.
I think it was a commenter on imdb.com who said Alec Guinness was best known as Obi-Wan Kenobi, which made me laugh. I'd think him as Henry Holland or Colonel Nicholson long before I'd associate him with "Star Wars." I would also rank his portrayal of Adolf Hitler well above Obi-Wan.
The opening credits included a magnificent Wagnerian selection and a fascinating map depicting the fortunes of the German war machine. The advances were really remarkable and the retreats equally so. The story opened with just a red dot left -- Berlin and its environs. And underneath that red dot were about four dozen people in a Wolkenkuckucksheim, or a Hitlerian Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Hitler relaxes by working on his architectural model of Berlin. He confuses his staff and officers with conflicting orders. He entertains his associates with discussions about the best way to commit suicide. He had hoped to die on May 5 à la Napoleon. But there is no chance his forces could hold off the Red Army that long. He shot himself 10 days after his 56th birthday, on April 30, 1945.
A few of the most striking images from this film:
1. The "gee whiz" suggestion from Hitler that the Hitler Youth be used as the last line of defense at key bridges. "But they are children!" says one officer. "What difference does it make how old you are when you die for National Socialism?" is the response.
2. The wedding of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, as performed by an extremely nervous local bureaucrat, Walter Wagner. Wagner was killed shortly thereafter during the Battle of Berlin, so he had no chance to tell his claim to fame to any future grandchildren or his agent.
3. The distribution of gifts from the newlyweds to their guests. Little boxes with cyanide doses. He gave Magda Goebbels enough extras so that she could kill her six children.
4. The reaction from his clique when they realized Hitler was dead. They did what they could not do while he was alive. They lit up their cigarettes and cigars.
An interesting look at a Wolkenkuckucksheim. But not nearly as terrifying as the ordinary group of people assembled for "Conspiracy."
I think it was a commenter on imdb.com who said Alec Guinness was best known as Obi-Wan Kenobi, which made me laugh. I'd think him as Henry Holland or Colonel Nicholson long before I'd associate him with "Star Wars." I would also rank his portrayal of Adolf Hitler well above Obi-Wan.
The opening credits included a magnificent Wagnerian selection and a fascinating map depicting the fortunes of the German war machine. The advances were really remarkable and the retreats equally so. The story opened with just a red dot left -- Berlin and its environs. And underneath that red dot were about four dozen people in a Wolkenkuckucksheim, or a Hitlerian Cloud Cuckoo Land.
Hitler relaxes by working on his architectural model of Berlin. He confuses his staff and officers with conflicting orders. He entertains his associates with discussions about the best way to commit suicide. He had hoped to die on May 5 à la Napoleon. But there is no chance his forces could hold off the Red Army that long. He shot himself 10 days after his 56th birthday, on April 30, 1945.
A few of the most striking images from this film:
1. The "gee whiz" suggestion from Hitler that the Hitler Youth be used as the last line of defense at key bridges. "But they are children!" says one officer. "What difference does it make how old you are when you die for National Socialism?" is the response.
2. The wedding of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, as performed by an extremely nervous local bureaucrat, Walter Wagner. Wagner was killed shortly thereafter during the Battle of Berlin, so he had no chance to tell his claim to fame to any future grandchildren or his agent.
3. The distribution of gifts from the newlyweds to their guests. Little boxes with cyanide doses. He gave Magda Goebbels enough extras so that she could kill her six children.
4. The reaction from his clique when they realized Hitler was dead. They did what they could not do while he was alive. They lit up their cigarettes and cigars.
An interesting look at a Wolkenkuckucksheim. But not nearly as terrifying as the ordinary group of people assembled for "Conspiracy."