Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Trailer—Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Sir Alec Guinness 's portrayal of Adolf Hitler at some moments in the film, sent chills up my spine. In the opening scene, a Nazi is requesting a promotion to some position. He of course was syncopathic and apologetic, Hitler (Guinness) says nothing, just stares at him. The Nazi completely folds, as if in the presence of pure evil, who could, at a wimp, have him killed. Hitler smiles, sort of, and signs off on the Nazis paperwork. It was the most chilling, authentic portrayal of Hitler I ever saw, except perhaps for Hitler himself.

Not particularly cinematic but still fairly arresting thanks to Alec Guinness's riveting performance in the title role. Guinness's interpretation of Hitler portrays him as both a doddering old coot AND a paranoid lunatic. He's pretty scary. Director Ennio de Concini juxtaposes the outré goings on in Hitler's bunker with newsreel footage of Germany's decimation at the hands of allied forces. The dialog is at times comical (Hitler discussing the obesity problem of German music stars) and at times creepy (Hitler ordering the flooding of German subway tunnels being used as a make-shift hospital by injured German soldiers). Guinness is great and is supported by many fine character actors including Adolfo Celi, Simon Ward and Eric Porter. Doris Kunstmann makes an appropriately bourgeois Eva Braun and, in a cameo, Diana Cilento plays a resourceful flying ace. The chilling music score is by Mischa Spoliansky.

Alex plays Hitler so well, I do not think anyone played Hitler as well. Maybe, tomorrow's CBS movie on this will give such a accurate portrayal. The sad part of this movie is its budget. It's done on the cheap, and is more like a play that is set in his bunker. This makes the movie a bit long. The strong acting makes up for this shorfall. Worth watching on the History Channel. 7 out of 10.

In June 2012, "Hitler: The Last Ten Days" was released on DVD in Brazil and I have just watched it. I found it boring and weird, with Adolf Hitler and his high command speaking British English. Alec Guinness is kind of histrionic and seems to be in a theater in London instead of in a German bunker. Eva Braun, performed by Doris Kunstmann, looks like a dull soap opera actress. Maybe the greatest problem is that I have seen this dated movie after watching the magnificent "Der Untergang". My vote is three. Title (Brazil): "Hitler - Os Últimos 10 Dias" ("Hitler: The Last Ten Days")

"The last ten days" was dwarfed by another recent movie dealing with the same subject.This latter movie ,however ,owes a good deal to the Italian/German effort which was made 35 years ago and which holds up very well,thanks to Alec Guiness's sensational performance which easily equals that of Bruno Ganz .Ganz was more credible only because he used his first language: German speaking English,it does not always ring true .Historians often write that the 1973 effort was often historically accurate. Filmed in color (in the bunker) or in bleak black and white in Berlin in ruin: pictures of destruction,of death and of terror ,with snatches of "Das Lied der Deutschen" as a pathetic dirge.Inside the bunker,a man who still believes he is something like a messiah ,and in front of his "apostles", he seems to play the part of a martyr.Outside the walls ,soldier boys are fighting -one of them even gets a laughable medal- "Hitler:the last ten days" is a movie to remember.