Editorial Review:

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.

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.

Average Rating:

Rating: - Nearly as good as Downfall
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.

Rating: - the last ten days
I think this movie is great,
You can really believe in Alec Gunniss

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Rating: - Alec Guinness--An Outstanding Hitler
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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