Reviews

I too loved this film, it is one of the most depraved films ever made short of "Unspeakable", unless I am mistaken the film was changed slightly between the theater and the DVD, because the motel scene involving Otis and Priscilla Barnes character, the most disturbing of the whole film, seems to have had her breasts edited out by a sharp light effect. I doubt if anyone else will have noticed this but I saw the movie three times on its opening day and I know what I saw compared to what is on the DVD, maybe Priscilla asked them to delete the scene who knows? Well the .45 in the panties scene was sheer genius. Roger Ebert, who I usually disagree with, nailed this one and said its so deranged that its great. Much the way Romeros Dawn of the Dead was accepted. I predict this film will be a cult classic, like Dawn of the Dead for years to come. It also includes a fantastic cast of stars from all kinds of horror films anyone under 40 has probably never seen. Hey Rob, we noticed okay? Special mention of William Forsythe who is simply unforgettable as Sheriff Wydell!

There were so many historical inaccuracies in this film I had to laugh to myself a few times. You would think at least the Germans could have gotten it right. One of the first glaring inaccuracies was the scene in which Hitler is in the garden of the Chancellery decorating Hitler Youth Boys with the Iron Coss. This event actually happened and was filmed by newsreel cameramen as portrayed in the film. However the even took place in the week before March 22, 1945, and not the day after Hitlers birthday. These are widely regarded as the last films made of Hitler. Strike 1! the HJ boy portrayed receiving the Iron Cross, was not actually from Berlin,and at that time the Russians were no where near Berlin. Strike 2! HJ Leader Artur Axmann was the HJ official at the sight, not some low ranking HJ official. Strike 3! So maybe I was expecting too much, but when I go to see a historic dramatization I at least hope they will stick to the facts. They do not. If you want to see a film based closer to reality see Anthony Hopkins award winning performance in The Bunker. If you know nothing of the truth of this story, hey it's a good little war film. If you are going expecting to see history as we know it come alive, you can forget it.Also the uniforms were among the worst I have ever seen in this kind of dramatization. The Bunker at least used an acknowledged expert, Brian L Davis, as a uniform consultant. These were the cheapest knock offs ever. Furthermore Hopkin's Hitler was far more convincing.

Murnau and Fritz Arno Wagner will be spinning in their graves. Bloopers, bad editing, ridiculous plot, the only redeeming quality is Dafoes portrayal of Schreck. I would have rather it been a docudrama than a farce. Anyone with any knowledge of German film will be completely nauseated. Those who have absolutely no (read zilch) knowledge of Murnau or early German film will be satisfied. Should be out of local theaters in about 60 seconds.

Philippe Mora was the person who as a 19 year old film student discovered the now well known personal films of Eva Braun (that would make a fine film in itself). This fascinating color film footage is incorporated into this un narrated documentary along with a wide assortment of original Nazi newsreels and propaganda films to present life in Nazi Germany from 1933-45 as seen through the propaganda filmmakers (and Eva's) camera lens. A wonderful classical music score accompanies. This film is quite rare and is generally unavailable. I believe it was nominated for an award (or won an award). Nevertheless,if you get a chance to see it, buy it, etc, do it. It is the best documentary film on Nazi Germany of it's kind with much never before seen original footage.

Triumph of the Will is a remake of this film, Riefenstahls earlier effort. However only myself and a few others have seen this film in it's entirety as it is generally believed lost. It is a fantastic film in that one can truly see how Riefenstahl was developing her unique documentary style which would later result in Triumph of the Will, Day of Freedom Our Armed Forces and finally Olympia I and II. Sadly this film will probably never be released to the general public as it is heavily protected by the German Federal Archives and rights are administered through Transit Film Munich. Rating? Three of Five Stars!