Downfall

Downfall is a 2004 historical war drama film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a screenplay by its producer, Bernd Eichinger. It is set during the Battle of Berlin in World War II, when Nazi Germany is on the verge of defeat, and depicts the final days of Adolf Hitler (portrayed by Bruno Ganz). The cast includes Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Alexander Held, Matthias Habich, and Thomas Kretschmann. The film is a German-Austrian-Italian co-production. Principal photography took place from September to November 2003, on location in Berlin, Munich, and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As the film is set in and around the Führerbunker, Hirschbiegel used eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs, and other historical sources during production to reconstruct the look and atmosphere of 1940s Berlin. The screenplay was based on the books Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest and Until the Final Hour by Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, among other accounts of the period. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 14 September 2004. It was controversial with audiences for showing a human side of Hitler, and for its portrayal of members of the Third Reich. It later received a wide theatrical release in Germany under its production company Constantin Film. The film grossed over $92million. Critics gave favourable reviews, particularly for Ganz's performance as Adolf Hitler and Eichinger's screenplay. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards. Plot In November 1942 Adolf Hitler invites a number of women to interview for the position of personal secretary. Traudl Junge is overjoyed when he chooses her. Two and a half years later, the Red Army has pushed Germany's forces back and surrounded Berlin. On Hitler's 56th birthday, shelling of Berlin's city centre starts. Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler tries to persuade Hitler to start negotiations with the Western Allies, but Hitler refuses. Himmler leaves to negotiate in secret. Later, Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, Himmler's liaison officer at Hitler's headquarters, attempts to persuade Hitler to flee, but Hitler insists that he will win or die in Berlin. SS doctor Obersturmbannführer Ernst-Günther Schenck is ordered to leave Berlin in Operation Clausewitz, but persuades an SS general to let him stay in Berlin.