Sunday, February 27, 2005
You'll want to leave your bunker for this one...
Last night, I had a special opportunity to see Downfall (aka Der Untergang) at the Arclight in Hollywood. The director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, and the DP, Rainer Klausmann, were in attendance, along with the beautiful Alexandra Maria Lara (photos below), Cristian Berkel, and another guy whose name I was unable to catch. They did a brief Q&A after the film for a packed house.
I hate to even attempt to write anything about this film. It is an amazing piece of work, by far one of the most incredible war films ever made. It belongs among the ranks of Saving Private Ryan and Das Boot. Hirschbiegel directs an amazing cast, among which Bruno Ganz is a standout. He brings Hitler to life in unbelievable fashion. You see the madness of a man bent on domination. And Hirschbiegel in no way, shape, or form allows any excuses for any of the Nazis. They are evil characters and that is the way it should be. Really, I can't do this film justice. All I can say is that this film has set a pretty high bar to beat for my pick for best film of the year... If you have the chance to go see this in theaters, DO IT!!! It is very powerful, but I really think that it will lose a little seeing it only on a television. You really need to have the gunfire and shelling shaking the floors in order to truly experience this film.
I hate to even attempt to write anything about this film. It is an amazing piece of work, by far one of the most incredible war films ever made. It belongs among the ranks of Saving Private Ryan and Das Boot. Hirschbiegel directs an amazing cast, among which Bruno Ganz is a standout. He brings Hitler to life in unbelievable fashion. You see the madness of a man bent on domination. And Hirschbiegel in no way, shape, or form allows any excuses for any of the Nazis. They are evil characters and that is the way it should be. Really, I can't do this film justice. All I can say is that this film has set a pretty high bar to beat for my pick for best film of the year... If you have the chance to go see this in theaters, DO IT!!! It is very powerful, but I really think that it will lose a little seeing it only on a television. You really need to have the gunfire and shelling shaking the floors in order to truly experience this film.
