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| Hitler: The Last Ten Days | 
 enlarge | Director: Ennio De Concini
Actors: Alec Guinness, Simon Ward, Adolfo Celi, Diane Cilento, Gabriele Frezetti
Studio: Legend Films
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $7.08
You Save: $7.87 (53%)
New (37) Used (6) from $7.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 16093
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 106
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: LF00120
UPC: 844503000125
EAN: 0844503000125
ASIN: B0016LFG38
Theatrical Release Date: 1973
Release Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW, Factory Sealed items direct from the Studios. 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee. Quick International Airmail!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Hitler: The Last Ten Days is cinema at its most powerful. Oscar winner Alec Guinness portrays the dictator in one of his most memorable performances. Spanning the final days from Hitler's 56th birthday to his death this unflinching peek into the bunker shows us the downfall of a madman. Guinness explores every facet of the challenging role and Doris Kunstmann co-stars as doomed mistress Eva Braun.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY UPC: 844503000125 Manufacturer No: LF00120
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| Customer Reviews:
My Favorite Hitler November 12, 2008
Alec Guinness is my all-time "favorite Hitler" in this very entertaining film--and before I get my keyboard fingers cut off--no, I do not like the "real" Hitler! Alec Guinness is an extremely gifted character actor and he pulls out all the stops in this marvelous performance. I say the movie is entertaining because some of the scenes amount to sly parodies of the personalities & situations involved. I can't really say for sure if the director planned it that way like the "Springtime for Hitler" theme in THE PRODUCERS.
Objectively judging the movie as a whole, it certainly has "B" written all over it. The film itself would benefit immensely from a really good restoration process. There are times when the color appears over saturated, and it has a somewhat fade in, fade out appearance. But even at that, somehow it works because, after all, the whole movie takes place in Hitler's underground bunker in Berlin as the entire city was under constant Allied bombing. To some extent the appearance sort of conveys a "home movie" feel to the production that works.
Another factor that enhances this "peek into the past" genre of HITLER is that certain scenes & speeches are juxtaposed with actual archival footage of the War. Often this is done in counterpoint. For example, the movie Hitler will be "predicting" that the Russian & Allied Forces will clash & turn against each other before they get any closer to the bunker. This tirade is montaged with archival film that shows these forces meeting, yes--but East & West embrace & there's singing & dancing & drinking & just general comradship. Hitler is wrong...again.
One of the humorous scenes--and forgive me if I don't name most of the characters: Hitler has summoned a Luftwaffer general back to Berlin because he (Hitler) has become paranoid of the people in his inner circle (for the exception of his secretaries & Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Gorbbels and his wife Magda.) Now this was an insane request not only because the general was needed where he was, but he--and his lover--almost got shot down before landing near the bunker. His lover is a female flying Ace too, and is a Nazi fanatic as well. When she & the general sit down with Hitler for de-briefing, she can't take her eyes off Eva Braun. Later when she's alone with one of the secretaries she says, "What does he see in her? You can't mean that they actually..." The secretary knowingly nods and the lady flyer says, "But she's so bourgeois!"
Later Hitler throws a small birthday party for the inner circle. As party favors, he hands out little boxes of cyanide capsules. The group begins to fantasize about their impending suicide. The lady flyer says that she and her flyer lover plan to fly over the enemy and release a hand grenade between them as engage in their last embrace. All the guests Woo! & Aah! in approval. The Cook says that she plans to stick her head in the oven. One of the guests says, "But, Frau Cook, the kitchen is all electric. The Cook replies, "Then I'll electrocute myself!"
Diane Cilento turns in an excellent performance as Hitler's long time mistress. She is pretty, fun-loving, loyal, sympathetic--and rather vaporous. While Hitler withdraws with a secretary to compose his Last Testament, Eva fulfills her role as hostess by going black face & singing "When You're Smiling" in an obvious Marlene Dietrich style. In the end she is a pathetic figure who has blithely allowed herself to be used as Hitler's doormat. It's true that he married her before the very end, but the ceremony is grotesque. When she and her brand new husband go into their private room to kill themselves, Hitler starts ranting about how he knew the war was lost in 1943 with the fiasco of Stalingrad. For the first time Eva hesitantly confronts Hitler. "You knew two years ago...then why did all those people have to die?" Hitler has his back to her and immediately becomes abusive, screaming about her being nothing more than a stupid woman, a cow, etc. Then he turns to face her--and she's dead.
While the walls are literally falling down all around them, Alex Guinness pedantically muses about everything from vegetarianism to his conviction that Wagnerian opera singers should perform in the nude. It is a maudlin, morose & ridiculous Hitler, but there is menace & malice as well. Actors are often taught that if they play an evil character, they should find at least one good quality to portray. I think Guinness must have had an almost impossible job of doing that. His Hitler is a totally self-obsessed, evil buffoon without one iota of insight. I think Alec Guiness really nailed the S.O.B.
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Nearly as good as Downfall September 6, 2008
Hitler the Last Ten Days is based on a book written by a German Captain who was in the bunker at the time. It is told from his point of view and the majority of the action takes place in the bunker. It is true to the book and provides great insight to the figures who visited Hitler in the last few days of the war. I had it on VHS and upgraded to the DVD.
the last ten days July 8, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I think this movie is great,
You can really believe in Alec Gunniss
Alec Guinness--An Outstanding Hitler June 23, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
At long last, this 1973 British-Italian production has come out on DVD. I found it well done, although a bit unusual. The director seems to have wanted Hitler's Germany to appear in an ironic way, showing Nazi pomp and circumstance one minute and Germany's devastation and starvation the next. The film moves in and out of these moods and from black-and-white to color. Some reviewers have found this strange if not humorous. I believe it's meant to be ironic and to mock the ridiculous theories of the Third Reich.
"Hitler's Last Ten Days" tells an important story not only from an historical standpoint but also to help in understanding today's world. Moreover, the movie follows the facts pretty well, with an occasional lapse of literary license. In an insightful scene, Hitler declares that SS Gen. Fegelein, who had married Eva Braun's sister Gretl, was guilty of treason in the last few days of the Third Reich. Hitler rightly saw that Fegelein was in league with his boss, SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler, to present Hitler's corpse to the Allies as a peace offering. In contrast, Hitler is shown cursing out his new wife Eva at the end of the movie for betraying him by committing suicide before he did. That was a sheer invention of the screenwriters. Nevertheless, I'm giving the movie five stars for its fine acting and overall impact.
It's difficult to compare "Hitler's Last Ten Days" to other productions covering the end of Hitler and his Third Reich. These are all done in a straight, serious vein and include a made-for-TV piece, "The Death of Adolph Hitler," from the BBC, 1973, starring Frank Finlay as Hitler. Also, there is 1981's "The Bunker" with Anthony Hopkins as Hitler--another TV drama done for HBO. Finally, we have the very theatrical and gloomy German production, "Downfall," with Bruno Ganz playing the Nazi dictator, 2005. While all these all have their moments, I think the one with Alec Guinness is the best. This is for its wit, irony, and above all, Sir Alec's performance. His is the best Hitler rendering I've seen to date, with Derek Jacobi a close second in the TV miniseries, "Inside the Third Reich," 1982.
To be a bit critical of "Hitler's Last Ten Days," Simon Ward plays a fictional Nazi soldier who starts out as a hero-worshipper but later becomes disenchanted with Hitler's ways. Though entrusted with a copy of the dictator's political testament at the end he tears up the document once he escapes from the bunker and is never seen again. Also odd is the fact that no one plays Albert Speer in "Hitler's Last Ten Days," despite Guinness's Hitler saying he was, "a genius." Moreover, Speer did play a key role in Hitler's end game, as most authors and historians will agree.
It must be pointed out that "Hitler's Last Ten Days" has not been digitally remastered, as would help its audio and video quality. Also, casting is surprising in places with Italian actors playing Germans. But that may be nit-picking since they all do a decent job. Finally, there are no special features or subtitles with the new DVD, which is unfortunate. The price of the DVD is modest so we may have to wait further for a collector's edition.
To make up for the lack of special features in "Hitler's Last Ten Days," viewers might wish to acquire the documentary DVD, "Death in the Bunker." It was produced in 2005, by Spiegel TV of Germany. This is an excellent production and carries interviews with several eye witnesses. These include Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, Rochus Misch, the telephone switchboard operator and SS bodyguard, and even Dr. Schenk, one of Hitler's attending physicians. There are a number of other good testimonials, too. It's apparent that several wartime films were remastered and blended into the DVD. Other clips are left as they were which may be disappointing but perhaps are meant to stand out in contrast.
In summing up, "Hitler's Last Ten Days" is an important and valuable production. The portrayal of Hitler by Alec Guinness is first-rate, if not somewhat mocking to the dictator's depleted emotional state. I'd strongly recommend that others interested in Hitler and World War II add this DVD to their library. Now to complete the picture we need a DVD of Marvin Chomsky's "Inside the Third Reich." Despite the literary license it takes, "Inside the Third Reich," with its all-star cast, deserves to be remastered on DVD and made available to the viewing public.
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