Rent Downfall for FREE

Start your 30 day FREE trial » Find out more

+70,000 other titles and counting

Thousands of movies and TV series to watch instantly
NO late fees or long term contracts - cancel anytime
FREE first class post for Britain’s largest range of DVDs, Blu-rays & Games

Downfall Reviews

2004

80
from 37,180 members

Not since G.W. Pabst's 1956 effort, 'Letste Akt' (The Last Act) has a German film attempted to tackle the subject of their most famous leader, Adolf Hitler. Breaking a long-standing taboo, the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, has made a film that has sparked much debate in Germany and the rest of the world. Downfall features an .. Read more

Starring	Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes
Director	Oliver Hirschbiegel
Genres	Drama, World Cinema

Sign up Downfall DVD, Blu-ray

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

Critic's review of Downfall
View all critics' reviews (6)
- A superb study of the collapse of an individual and an ideology, with fine performances, notably from Bruno Ganz as Hitler, visibly shrinking and shaking as he contemplates the end of the Third Reich, and alternating between despair and madness as he orde
- 35086
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:44
Write your own review »
Most helpful member's review of Downfall
View all members' reviews (479)
- - 113
  - 21
  Fascinating, but overly long ...
  
  Bruno Ganz pulls off an unbelievably realistic and gripping portrayal of Adolf Hitler, and his final years as leader of Nazi Germany. Set in an underground ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 89080
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Edinburgh
  - 06 Apr 2005 at 02:25
Most recent members' reviews of Downfall
View all members' reviews (479)
- - 1
  - 0
  in twenty words review
  
  Fantastic performances from all make this an amazingly real portrait of blind loyalty, absolute madness, utter despair and sheer futility
  
  Report this review
- 1107415
- - pablocapaldi
  - 13 reviews
  - 01 Apr 2012 at 20:41
- - 0
  - 2
  simply life changing
  
  Stunning brilliant amazing, genius from Ganz, but f++k the yank voice over on the trailer what the f++k is that about?
  
  Report this review
- 1105619
- - Colonel1968
  - 138 reviews
  - 25 Mar 2012 at 19:53
- - 1
  - 0
  Great educational film
  
  Great Movie - very sobering view of how life was within the Nazi regime in their final few days.
  
  Didn't mind actually reading the subtitiles as ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1101659
- - AshbyDog
  - 1 review
  - 12 Mar 2012 at 12:13
- - 0
  - 0
  Hittler as we've never seen him before!
  
  It's not the insanity or the blind hatred of this man that facinates most, it's his ocassional moments of compassion and humanity which we are really ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1089105
- - SiT
  - 15 reviews
  - 05 Feb 2012 at 18:02
- - 0
  - 0
  A superb study of motivation and emotion
  
  A study of those driven to their doom by ideology, superbly written and acted and powerful drama.
  
  Exposes all the mixed emotions of the individual ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1079030
- - Willingham
  - 5 reviews
  - Cambridge
  - 06 Jan 2012 at 10:29
- - 0
  - 0
  Rivetting and beautiful
  
  A brave and compelling drama about Hitler's last days as told by the German people themselves. There is a cathartic quality and a purging from memory about ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1069694
- - thatjenx
  - 2 reviews
  - 03 Dec 2011 at 09:59
- - 0
  - 0
  Downfall of a strong leader
  
  An excellent portrayal of Hitler's Downfall. Strong storyline and acting from all the cast. Particularly harrowing at times well worth watching.
  
  Report this review
- 1064880
- - a customer
  - 20 Nov 2011 at 10:47
- - 0
  - 0
  Superb Insight
  
  Oh yes, oh yes. This film by a well know German director, has hit all the right buttons. Filmed beautifully, and with a real understanding of all the characters... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1064493
- - a customer
  - 19 Nov 2011 at 11:22
- - 1
  - 0
  Hitler: He was a human monster.
  
  This film is as gripping as they come. Some have criticised this movie as it portrays Hitler as a human. I say it's exactly this exposure of his more human ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1048012
- - Exile_WCB
  - 4 reviews
  - 05 Oct 2011 at 13:54
- - 1
  - 0
  Brilliant and gripping!
  
  Brilliant! A thoroughly convincing portrail of Hitler's last moments in his Berlin bunker. Whilst the film is admittedly very long, it is easy to be ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 1047998
- - a customer
  - 05 Oct 2011 at 13:27
View all members' reviews (479)

- - 113
  - 21
  Fascinating, but overly long ...
  
  Bruno Ganz pulls off an unbelievably realistic and gripping portrayal of Adolf Hitler, and his final years as leader of Nazi Germany. Set in an underground ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 89080
- [Highly rated reviewer]
  - a customer
  - Edinburgh
  - 06 Apr 2005 at 02:25
- - 62
  - 1
  A brilliant film that tells the story from inside the Bunker where Hitler and his close confidents spent the last days of the war and in some cases their lives
  
  I am a history student who studies the third reich and its downfall. This film is based on first hand accounts of what happened inside Hitlers bunker in the ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 130487
- - Dan Paterson
  - Ilkley, Yorkshire, Great Britain
  - 03 Aug 2005 at 02:51
- - 55
  - 1
  A Cinematic Triumph
  
  A number of reviewers say here that Downfall was overlong; I can honestly say that I hadn't noticed its length until I looked at the 149 min duration just ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 159090
- - RJTaylor
  - 31 reviews
  - Manchester
  - 10 Oct 2005 at 13:57
- - 43
  - 3
  Provokative and compelling film...
  
  An excellent film that deserves to be regarded with the same status as other classics such as Saving Private Ryan and Schindlers List. The subject matter, which... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 330914
- - Miff
  - London
  - 13 Apr 2005 at 23:49
- - 33
  - 4
  Downfall
  
  1945. The Russian army is closing in on Berlin, it will fall in 12 days. A completely insane Adolf Hitler (Ganz) sits in his bunker, moving armies long since ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 142279
- - SAI81
  - 360 reviews
  - Tonbridge
  - 20 Aug 2005 at 21:54
- - 26
  - 9
  Spellbinding
  
  An ambitious project on all accounts, this meticulously detailed reconstruction of the oft-filmed final days in the bunker, with its vast cast of characters and... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 330581
- - ATfilmcritic
  - London
  - 11 Apr 2005 at 22:42
- - 32
  - 27
  Subtitle's Subtitle's Subtitle's
  
  Did not know the film was all in Subtitle's, you would have to watch the film twice, once to read the Subs then to watch the film, i wish they dubbed it in... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 504144
- - a customer
  - LONDON
  - 14 Dec 2007 at 19:32
- - 17
  - 0
  Definitive Docudrama of Hitler’s last days
  
  This is by far the best reconstruction of Hitler’s last days trapped in the bunkers beneath the Reich Chancellery in Berlin as the Russians are advancing ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 352463
- - milnerv
  - Dorset
  - 17 Nov 2005 at 08:06
- - 16
  - 1
  Best realisation of Hitler
  
  This is an amazing film simply due to the powerful and well studied performance by Bruno Ganz as Hitler. The film is obviously dark in nature as it deals with ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 128121
- - SamFromMaidenhead
  - 256 reviews
  - Maidenhead
  - 27 Jul 2005 at 14:48
- - 16
  - 3
  All in ordnung
  
  Solid mainstream melodrama. Like a BBC made for TV production. In German.
  
  You get the sordid sequence of events all slotted in their right places. ... read more »
  
  Report this review
- 567436
- - janmecir
  - 54 reviews
  - Buckfastleigh
  - 22 May 2008 at 11:49

< Prev
1
2
3
4
5
...
» of 48
Next >

Critics' reviews
- A superb study of the collapse of an individual and an ideology, with fine performances, notably from Bruno Ganz as Hitler, visibly shrinking and shaking as he contemplates the end of the Third Reich, and alternating between despair and madness as he orde
- 35086
- - Halliwell's Film Guide
  - 02 Mar 2006 at 15:44
- The pace of a thriller, the authenticity of a documentary and the action of a blockbuster...a masterful achievement
- 24054
- - Sunday Express
  - 29 Jan 2006 at 16:11
- At heart, Oliver Hirschbiegelâs film about Hitlerâs final 12 days conforms to the same claustrophobic, morally... read more on Time Out
- 48404
- - Time Out
  - 04 Nov 2008 at 00:18
- Solid history, fine cinema; gripping and moving, and - in the end - genuinely horrifying.
- 24053
- - Empire
  - 29 Jan 2006 at 16:11
- Powerful, stunning, meticulous, spellbinding, grippingly entertaining...A must see
- 24056
- - The Sun
  - 29 Jan 2006 at 16:11
- Brilliant, incredible, will take your breath away, a film of terrifying intensity.
- 24052
- - Daily Mirror
  - 29 Jan 2006 at 16:11

Agree or disagree? Write your own review

Review title: Give it a rating:

Write your review:

Tips for writing helpful reviews

Only review titles you've actually seen!
Talk about what you liked and disliked
Compare this title with other similar titles
Provide plenty of detail - at least 20 words
Space things out - use blank lines between paragraphs.
Be appropriate - no adult content, libellous statements or naughty words
Don't SPAM! No promoting of other websites or services
Don't plaguerise! Your submission must be your own original work
Don't talk about LOVEFiLM by name

Give it a title:

Tips for an eye catching title

Don't just repeat the name of the title you're reviewing
Don't summarise your entire review in one word - a minimum of 2 words please.
Give people a reason to read your full review - create a sense of intrigue or curiosity!

Keep me anonymous Keep me anonymous Contains spoiler? This review contains spoilers (or might spoil it for someone who hasn't seen it yet)

New users register here

Email address:
Password:
Preferred user name:
I agree to LOVEFiLMs Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
I'd like to receive film news and reviews as well as info about all the other good stuff LOVEFiLM offers

Already a member? Sign in here

Email address:
Password:Forgotten password?

By clicking Preview review you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy

Buy from Amazon.co.uk

- - Buy
- Downfall - Blu-ray
  
  Not since G.W. Pabst's 1956 effort, 'Der Letzte Akt' (The Last Act) has a German film attempted to tackle the subject of their most famous leader, Adolf Hitler. Breaking a long-standing taboo, the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, has made a film that has sparked much debate in Germany and the rest of ...

- - Buy
- Downfall
  
  Not since G.W. Pabst's 1956 effort, 'Letste Akt' (The Last Act) has a German film attempted to tackle the subject of their most famous leader, Adolf Hitler. Breaking a long-standing taboo, the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel, has made a film that has sparked much debate in Germany and the rest of the ...