Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil tells the story of this para-military force. the personal enforcement arm of Adolph Hitler in the Nazi movement and the Hoffman brothers and their connections.

Bill Nighy is the cleverer of the two brothers, recognizing the Nazi Party as the coming force in Germany in 1931 and decides to join this elite group. His brother John Shea likes a good time which includes a brawl every now and then. The SA under Ernest Roehm seems like his place in the Nazi movement.

Well we all know what happened to Roehm as his ambitions began to exceed even Hitler's. Shea gets himself tossed into Dachau for a little Nazi style rehabilitation. During the Thirties before the war, places like Dachau were not yet the systematic slaughter camps they later became. Shea eventually is released and is drafted into the army.

In the meantime Nighy becomes an upwardly mobile guy in the S.S. and a special favorite of Reinhard Heydrich, very chillingly played by David Warner.

Through all this Carroll Baker their mother worries about her boys. She's never been crazy about the Nazi movement, she sees what it's doing to Germany and her family. She's most of all concerned with her youngest son who is played by three different juvenile actors who is an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth.

What becomes of the Hoffman family is a tale tragically told many times over in Germany of that period. In this most British cast film, Tony Randall as a German comedian with trenchant observations of the time and Jose Ferrer as a Jewish professor have two excellent cameo roles.

No new ground is broken here, but this is a story that deserves retelling thousands of times over.

in a long list of films about Nazi Germany, this movie seems be an exception. first because it is story of people, seduced, proud, discovering the truth and the fall of a regime who, for a time, was the image of personal success. sure, the critics are many about it. because its ambition is to be a large fresco of a dictatorship. and an embroidery with too many motifs. because it use stereotypes who , not always, are real convincing. because , after its end, you feel something missing. but it is an interesting trip in the essence of the perceptions about a dictatorship. and this virtue remains not insignificant.

In order to understand and appreciate "Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil" I should probably explain the context for this made for TV movie. Back in the years before the Nazis took control of Germany, the devoted followers of the party often joined the SA, also known as the 'Brown Shirts' because of their uniforms. These were the enforcers of the party....crazed Nazis who were not averse from using violence or even killing to further their cause. They helped Hitler and the Nazis rise to power by 1933 and were organized thugs. In its prime the SA was huge....and loyal to the gay leader of the organization, Ernst Röhm. But Hitler felt Röhm posed a threat to his power and ordered the smaller but more ruthless SS to depose Röhm and the rest of the leaders of the SA. Certainly the SS was evil (as well as being the architects and foot soldiers who instituted the 'final solution'), but the SA wasn't exactly a group of boy scouts....they were vicious thugs...just not as well organized or quite as ruthless as the SS.

When the story begins, you see that two brothers gravitate towards joining the SA (John Shea) and SS (Bill Nighy). Now Karl (Shea) didn't make a lot of sense...he was not a violent or vicious person yet he joined the SA...but Helmut (Nighy) was a better fit with the SS as he craved power and money. Ultimately, you KNOW that their being on different sides in the struggle for power will ultimately lead to problems....but what exactly you'll have to see for yourself.

This story is not one about the 'good brother and bad brother'. It's not a struggle over good and evil...it's a struggle for power. This is a subject you rarely hear about in films or even documentaries..and it does represent an amazing period in German history.

So is it worth watching? Well, it is well made and quite interesting...and makes an interesting accompaniment if you first watch the mini series "Holocaust" or a documentary about the Nazis circa 1932-1934. The acting and costumes are quite good as well. My only major is that the film makes the SA look a lot nicer than they were...and it's hard to imagine a nice guy like Karl even fitting in with these degenerates. A minor complaint is that the film might have benefited from some editing, as it does drag a bit in spots and the latter portion seemed a bit episodic.

This film follows two German brothers through the history of Nazi Germany from 1931 to 1945. The film seemed pretty much to be historically accurate although there are a few points, which are arguable. What is different about this war movie is that you watch the rise to power of the Third Reich, the war, and the interaction of ordinary people from the perspective of two German brothers who take different paths in life. It's a very interesting and thought provoking movie that keeps your attention throughout. My only problem with this movie is that it touches on so many issues I wish the movie could have been longer so they could have gone into them more in depth. This movie is more about the lives and relationships of people and does not show as many fighting and battle scenes as most war movies would. If you like a lot of military action, this may not be for you although the movie does have some of this. Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil is an excellent movie, under rated and for those interested in the history of World War II, is a must see movie.

What I particularly liked about this movie was the fact that it showed a view of the Nazi regime from a different perspective, that of two young German brothers.

In the beginning when the Nazi party is first coming to power we see the life of two young German men. Like everyone else in Germany at that time they too are caught up in Hitler's fanaticism. One brother joins the S.A. and is chided by the other for going along with that "rubbish". But he ends up getting caught up in the S.S. when he is confronted by Heydrich at his university who then persuades him to join not for his beliefs in politics but for his intelligence. Neither knew what they were getting themselves into.

What's most interesting about this story is the emotional aspects. Seeing how the brothers reacted to things that were starting to happen in the Third Reich. It was all minuscule all first. Seeing S.A. officers push an old man down some stairs. The noble but innocent younger brother tries throughout the war to change the evil that was happening all around him but finds that he is blatantly overwhelmed by opposition from his fellow Germans. While the older brother accepts what he cannot change and tries to help his younger brother into being smarter about his actions. Both are forced along a path that is becoming increasingly harder to follow. It definitely shows how some Germans were forced to go along with what was happening or be killed themselves.

The acting in this movie was really well done. My only gripe was that the actors had British accents all throughout the movie which made you wake up from the story and detract from the realism. Some parts I busted up laughing seeing these guys in Nazi uniforms talking in thick British accents. But the acting by the two brothers was very good and believable. It was very emotional to see what they were going through and felt as they watched people die and the world change around them.