Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free First Class Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
26 used & new from £3.50

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004]
 
See larger image
 

Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004]

DVD ~ Bruno Ganz
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.98 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £15.01 (75%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Items for dispatch to UK will be sold by Amazon's Preferred Merchant. (Why?) Gift-wrap available.

14 new from £4.48 10 used from £3.50 2 collectible from £5.99
Learn about Lovefilm
Amazon's choice for DVD rental.
With a 14 day FREE trial. Learn more

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this item with The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Martina Gedeck

Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004] + The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007]
  • This item: Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004] DVD ~ Bruno Ganz

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007] DVD ~ Martina Gedeck

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    Eligible for FREE UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004]
80% buy the item featured on this page:
Downfall (2 Disc Edition) [2005] [DVD] [2004] 4.8 out of 5 stars (120)
£4.98
The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007]
10% buy
The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007] 4.7 out of 5 stars (115)
£3.87
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas [DVD] [2008]
5% buy
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas [DVD] [2008] 4.4 out of 5 stars (129)
£4.98
The Pianist [2002] [DVD]
3% buy
The Pianist [2002] [DVD] 4.9 out of 5 stars (11)
£4.98

Product details

  • Actors: Bruno Ganz, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes
  • Directors: Oliver Hirschbiegel
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language German
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Momentum Pictures
  • DVD Release Date: 19 Sep 2005
  • Run Time: 149 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (120 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0009WB4UY
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 502 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #93 in  DVD > Drama

Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The riveting subject of Downfall is nothing less than the disintegration of Adolph Hitler in mind, body, and soul. A 2005 Academy Award nominee for best foreign language film, this German historical drama stars Bruno Ganz as Hitler, whose psychic meltdown is depicted in sobering detail, suggesting a fallen, pathetic dictator on the verge on insanity, resorting to suicide (along with Eva Braun and Joseph and Magda Goebbels) as his Nazi empire burns amidst chaos in mid-1945. While staging most of the film in the claustrophobic bunker where Hitler spent his final days, director Oliver Hirschbiegel dares to show the gentler human side of der Fuehrer, as opposed to the pure embodiment of evil so familiar from many other Nazi-era dramas. This balanced portrayal does not inspire sympathy, however: We simply see the complexity of Hitler's character in the greater context of his inevitable downfall, and a more realistic (and therefore more horrifying) biographical portrait of madness on both epic and intimate scales. By ending with a chilling clip from the 2002 documentary Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, this unforgettable film gains another dimension of sobering authenticity. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Charting the final days of World War II in Nazi Germany, DOWNFALL shows what went on in the bunker where Hitler (Bruno Ganz), his secretary (Alexandra Maria Lara), and a few close colleagues waited for their inevitable demise.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007]

The Lives Of Others [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Martina Gedeck
4.7 out of 5 stars (115)  £3.87
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days [2005] [DVD]

Sophie Scholl - The Final Days [2005] [DVD]

DVD ~ Julia Jentsch
4.6 out of 5 stars (30)  £6.98
The Counterfeiters [2007] [DVD]

The Counterfeiters [2007] [DVD]

DVD ~ August Diehl
4.3 out of 5 stars (13)  £5.98
Auschwitz - The Nazis And The Final Solution [DVD]

Auschwitz - The Nazis And The Final Solution [DVD]

DVD ~ Dominic Sutherland
4.8 out of 5 stars (26)  £6.98
Run Lola Run [DVD] [1999]

Run Lola Run [DVD] [1999]

DVD ~ Franka Potente
4.4 out of 5 stars (63)  £4.68
Explore similar items

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(6)
(4)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

120 Reviews
5 star:
 (105)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (120 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A magnificent piece of film making, 14 Oct 2006
By Mike J. Wheeler (Kingswinford, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I don't usually go in for watching foreign language films. Not because I dislike them, merely that living in the provinces mean we sadly don't get to see them up here! However, this had a limited run at a cinema in Birmingham and I was lucky enough to see it. This is a magnificent piece of film making.

Bruno Ganz in the lead role of Hitler is superb, capturing the very essence of the madness that was Hitler and the total self-delusion of the last days of the Third Reich. The contrast between his tenderness towards his secretaries and the complete disdain for the rest of the world is remarkable. Ganz acts out a very difficult role, but comes through with flying colours. The depiction of the secretary Traudl Junge is perhaps a little sentimentalised, but any film has to have some humanity. Perhaps she was blameless, perhaps not.

The films most chilling scene features the killing of the Goebbels children by their mother, played chillingly by Corinna Harfouch. This is particularly uncomfortable viewing.

The real reason that this film is so successful IS that it humanises the Nazis. One has a distinct respect and even sympathy with some of the characters. This is hard to take when we know what they accomplished and makes for very uncomfortable reflection. This is intelligent film-making and well worth giving over an evening for. Hitler and the end of the Reich have never been portrayed as well as this.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, 31 Jan 2007
Having bought this as a spot purchase and knowing nothing about it beforehand, my wife and I watched it. To say we were surprised would be unfair but it was so much better than I could and would have imagined. The film focuses on the very end period of the war. Hitler, in his bunker with high ranking officers of the German army with his devoted secretary Traudl Junge. It is an astonishing piece of film. Bruno Ganz is superb as Adolf Hitler. His performance ranks as one of the best I have ever witnessed. It is simply breathtaking. I would recommend this film to anyone with an interest in the 2nd World War as this focus on the very last parts of the War is very well scripted and filmed. It is one of the best films in my extensive collection. Buy it and you will be buying a masterpiece.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding! Wunderbar!, 2 Jan 2007
By Mr. S. D. Berla "simon_dimatteo" (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In my opinion the best film to have ever come out of Germany.

The effects, the acting, the emotion - truly outstanding. Based on the last days in the bunker as retold by Hitlers' late secretary Traudl Junge.

Bruno Ganz is powerful as the tired Hitler suffering from early effects of what appears to be parkinsons disease. The acting on his part is breathtaking as he shows what you can only imagine as the desperation and fantasy of a man who knows he is defeatedbut will not admit it and those who know he is deluded still dare not defy the man who led them out of a stagnant republic to what was a strong third reich.

If you aren't a fan of subtitles do not get this film as they are on throughout but the effect wouldn't be the same if it were dubbed and it would the lose the raw reality.

What i found outstanding was it shows how human Hitler was, in that at the end he was feeble and neurotic - paranoid with every minute that passed until his final demise and the downfall of the third reich.

I can recommend this film to those;
-with a strong stomach - due to the quite gory and bloody scenes
-anyone studying german (the language is quite easy to follow in parts) or german/european history
-anyone who likes foreign films

Enjoy.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Downfall
This has to be, for me at least, one of the most harrowing yet remarkable films of the last days of Hitler and his staff I've ever seen. Read more
Published 1 day ago by T. Manning

3.0 out of 5 stars Downfall
The only comment I can make about this film is that I would like to have been informed that it is sub-titled to the extent of explaining what the sounds are! Read more
Published 11 days ago by D. E. Jefferson

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly the best film of all time
A few years ago I was in college studying media production. A local cinema put a special screening of Downfall on for us and I'm so glad I took the opportunity to go and see it... Read more
Published 20 days ago by K. Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars The tragedy of WW2 from the "Villain's" perspective
Berlin itself is under attack, the city is being destroyed, most people are fleeing, some are staying through devotion to the German Reich. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sam (Leeds, England)

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and should be made essential viewing for senior schools
This is one of the finest, if not THE finest, film ever made about WW2. It is extremely well made and acted. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Road Rocket

5.0 out of 5 stars Best WWII film ever made
This film is a masterpiece. I cannot believe Bruno Ganz did not win an Oscar for his gripping portrayal of Hitler in this film. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. J. P. Shields

5.0 out of 5 stars Downfall and Making of Downfall
There is no humour at all in this dark,serious dramatisation of Hitler's last days in his bunker. The casting, direction and acting are brilliant. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. T. A. Ford

5.0 out of 5 stars Downfall
this movie is Gripping!Compelling!and Brilliantly acted a Masterful achievement!!!! it gives you everything it said on the box and much more!!!!!!!!!
Published 4 months ago by J. B. Dermody

2.0 out of 5 stars A superb movie with a huge flaw right at the end !
I would have given this impressive movie 5 stars, but only if at the end
of the film, where a great effort had been spent on trying to show the
entire story as close... Read more
Published 4 months ago by ANDREJS JANSONS

5.0 out of 5 stars Humans are Monsters
I agree with everything others have said on the brilliance of the actors, the script, the direction and the sets. Read more
Published 5 months ago by James Mcallister

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (1 discussion)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
Subtitles 0 January 2008
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


The Body Shop

The Body Shop - Vitamin C Skin Boost
Protect and boost your glow with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Boost.

Shop The Body Shop

 

Beauty without the Beast

Olay Regenerist Daily 3 Point Treatment Cream
From au naturel to party glam, we have all the best names in cosmetics and skincare.

Discover Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

 

Boys Smell

Lynx Africa Body Spray and After Shave Gift set
But we make sure they smell good...

Discover male grooming at Amazon.co.uk

 

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

Learn more about Gift Certificates

 
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates