Das Adlon. Eine Familiensaga

once again German TV productions proof how easy one can burn 10'' or 20'' $ on a historical content and get ZERO out of it. Aldon chains up with the latest ken follett miniseries or 'wanderhure' where you would need a 3-digit-million-budget to cover the books. these historical contents could be the next gladiator movie or boardwalk empire miniseries, however with only a few million plus some German amateur actors from the kiddy club program you get 100% bs. also i thought it would be easy to produce a hotel story with 90% indoor shots and the historical site still alive in Berlin, i was terribly wrong. after seeing kaiser William ii. for the first time in part 1 i simply switched off my TV. that guy looked exactly like the English political cartoons during ww1. and all of this rubbish payed for by all German citizens, coz it was a ZDF production by the non-private network where every German is so happy to pay $200 p.a. ROFL.

I wouldn't want to let onkelyogi's review stand unanswered, because I think his is a minority opinion. The record-high ratings (one in ten Germans watched this TV mini-series and the audience for the last episode was even bigger than for the first) and the very positive user reviews on amazon.de and elsewhere are proof enough that the majority of Germans really liked this show. In my opinion it is one of the best German mini-series in the last 10 years - an instant classic - and it doesn't have to hide behind series like Downton Abbey and similar shows.

Downton Abbey has better/wittier dialogue and may be a little more subtle, but Das Adlon certainly is more emotional and some scenes (such as the courtroom scene in the last episode) are truly sublime.

By telling the very personal stories of a few interesting characters over several decades, the script somehow manages to paint a picture of the general German history in the 20th century. The story stays true to the historical facts and the fates of the (real) Adlon family are cleverly and believably interwoven with the fates of the (fictional) Schadt family. You really care for these characters and all of them are played very well (I really couldn't single out one of the actors; they're all wonderful).

Das Adlon is very lively directed by Uli Edel (Christiane F., Last Exit to Brooklyn, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex), the cinematography is beautiful and the production design and costumes (which are well chosen for the different epochs) are sumptuous. Several of the actors age in their roles from adolescent to middle-aged very credibly thanks to the excellent make-up.

A final word about Wilhelm II.: In my opinion the Kaiser was portrayed pretty accurately in the series. For all I know he really was something like a caricature of himself in public and he was arguably the worst of the nine kings Prussia ever had (to the misfortune of Germany).

I've been a fan of Uli Edel for many years, and his best work- CHRISTIANE F., LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN, PURGATORY, THE BAADER-MEINHOF COMPLEX- usually concerns the dregs of society. How surprising then to find him venturing into Merchant-Ivory territory with this extended historical portrait of German wealth and privilege. As an American, I went in assuming the family struggles over a famous Berlin hotel would be of little-to-no interest, yet I was immediately taken by the stories and characters who never come off as rich stereotypes. Like Luchino Visconti, Edel has great affection for the manners and trappings of bygone eras, and he ably depicts the changing decades with smart, compact scenes. Unlike Visconti, he's also enough of an old-fashioned entertainer to hang all the period detail on compelling story lines. You get all the expected German saga moments: mysterious births, tragic deaths, love affairs, betrayals, class differences, business success and failure, decadence, and Nazis, but the sharp direction, evocative misc-en-scene, and solid pacing keeps it above and beyond the TV soap level. If you enjoy Visconti's lush portraits of the aristocracy like THE LEOPARD, DEATH IN VENICE, or THE DAMNED, you'll find DAS ADLON a comparable treat.

I have to agree on both previous reviews. It is not as bad as Onkelyogi wrote but not as good as ChrisWasser praises it. Kaiser Wilhelm is played as a total jerk, close to Helge Schneider style of acting. The classic German actors like Ferch and Möhring deliver some decent acting. But the unknown ones (like Kaiser Wilhelm and others) really bad. As the gap between them is visible so clearly, the quality of some scenes jumps from zero to hero and down again depending on the actors. The artwork is really nice so if you don't like the storyline, the picture work makes up for it. Costumes are nice, too. Some shots within the surroundings or city of Berlin would have been added some reference to the lifestyle of that time.