Rating: - Outstanding Miniseries
This movie is one of my favorites. It runs 4 hours so you have to have time available to view it all. The show starts out showing some of the horrors of the holocaust and some of the death and destruction caused by World War II. Let the squeamish beware.

No question, this miniseries comes from the early-1980's and is limited by special effects and budget available at the time. By comparison, "Hitler: The Rise of Evil," from 2003, is as good if not better. Still, if one pays attention to the main story and the performances given by the many featured actors, "Inside the Third Reich" is worth anyone's time.

The cast is a star-studded one. Rutger Hauer plays Albert Speer and John Gielgud plays his father. Derek Jacobi is Adolph Hitler and Blythe Danner plays Speer's wife, Marguerite. Among other notable actors are Randy Quaid, Robert Vaughn, Maria Schell, Viveca Lindfors, Stephen Collins, Ian Holm, and Elke Sommer. There are others, too. In a TV miniseries, we'll probably never see their like again.

There are several memorable scenes in this show, but the one that strikes me most occurs about 25 minutes from the start. It's where Hitler addresses a university audience in Germany during the early-1930's. Included in the audience is the story's hero, Albert Speer. (Speer would later become Hitler's architect and chief armaments minister). Hitler tells of pawnbrokers taking money from elderly Germans, "so they can eat one more day." He brings the house down several times with his remarks: "Yes, I do over-use that word [unshakeable]. No more pawnbrokers! I need your help!" Even the skeptical Speer is seen rising with the crowd as if captured by an invisible force.

For me, the performance of Derek Jacobi is absolutely riveting. You wonder what scenes he may have been in that were edited out due to length of the show; also, if they'd be added back in should a DVD ever be produced. Those scenes would be worth the price of the disk, in my book.

Another memorable scene occurs earlier in the show where Albert Speer is a child and John Gielgud is his noble father. Albert is shown sleeping on the hard floor of his bedroom rather than in his bed. The father wonders about this and then discovers that Albert is doing this because he wants to share the hardships of troops returning from battle during World War-I. Quite touching.

Yet another scene is where Hitler inspects the new Chancellory building, designed by his protege, Speer. At the end of an impressive tour of the place, Hitler turns to Speer with tears in his eyes and says, "Well done."

A disturbing scene occurs in the 2nd half of the movie where Speer goes on a field trip to a slave labor camp. He's upset at the low production level and finds that the laborers, mainly Russian POW's, are on starvation rations. One of the laborers is asked questions and then speaks up to Speer. After Speer departs, the Russian is slugged by guards and probably dies.

Toward the end, Speer visits Hitler and confesses he hasn't carried out the Fuhrer's order on scorched earth. Instead of ordering Speer to be punished, as you'd expect, Hitler says they'll "talk about it later." Speer escapes and lives to tell the tale.

Finally, when Speer is told of Hitler's death he breaks down and cries. Very odd, but effective.

Of all the stars and production value, I think Derek Jacobi, as Hitler, stands out most for me. His performance explains a lot about how a man like Hitler could do what he did. Yes, there are the ranting and raving scenes, like at the airport where Hitler is barnstorming Germany trying to get elected. But he had strange, instinctive qualities and was able to entice and persuade. You wonder what unnatural powers may have sustained and encouraged him, the embodiment of true evil.

With all the productions that are coming out on DVD, this one deserves special treatment. It's a 5-star production and everyone concerned about rising fascism today, should see it.

Inside the Third Reich