CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973)

post #1 of 3
2/15/10 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Hadn't seen this in years until I bought the Legend dvd 3 weeks ago. Alec Guinness does a remarkable job and the opening credits make sure that you remember Lohengrin. The supporting cast also does wonders. Gabriele Ferzetti, and Adolfo Celi are great as Keitel and Krebs. Julian Glover has a great scene as the cowardly Fegelein.

I had forgotten that this was an Italian production, but Guinness takes the role and runs. Especially towards the end when he knows that he's been defeated. The sequence where he and his inner circle discuss how they will commit suicide is damn disturbing.
Reply
post #2 of 3
2/16/10 at 1:57am
The funny thing about this is the weird sense of sympathy engendered by simply having someone like Guinness play Hitler. His older and more dottering quality makes for a much more fragile portrayal (especially when compared to Anthony Hopkins' ferociously rabid take).

It's a good deal more accurate than other Hitler biopics that predate the ABC miniseries INSIDE THE THIRD REICH and benefits greatly from the wise decision to play Hitler more as a human being rather than a monsterous caricature.
Reply
post #3 of 3
2/16/10 at 10:59am
This film came to my mind while I was watching Inglorious Basterds. You know, the "Nein, nein, nein!" scene. I thought of this Hitler, Guinness' portrayal of a 'real, defeated’ Hitler seems like it would not work in that film. It's interesting to see when the more 'exaggerated' version is more appropriate. It’s as if we need to make him as buffoonish as we can as a reminder of his malice and evil, and portray him as a comic book supervillian.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Films in Release or On Video
CHUD.com Community › Forums › SPECIFIC FILMS › Films in Release or On Video › Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973)