Les dix derniers jours d'Hitler

Good rendition about the last days of Hitler with exceptional performance from Alec Guinness .This is the true story of the infamous Nazi dictator with his historic downfall . The story of Hitler's last days in an underground bunker gives insight to his madness . Here in the midst of his lackeys , the dictator played out the final act of his life . It's very well played by Alec Guinness who does a first rate acting . The film deals with the history of Hitler's last days in underground bunker , it's the true story of the historic downfall and death( 1945 at age 55 ) of the infamous Nazi dictator , culprit of death about 50 million people during second war world and killing of 6 million Jewish in concentration camps . The Fuhrer's last few tortured days in his underground bunker against a Berlin background and adding some documentary scenes from exterior . Hitler had height five feet, seven inches, eyes black, hair black, shaggy locks hung over forehead, complexion sallow, wide mustache, various hairs on each side, besides had marked devotion to brown shirts and old trench-coat and always surrounded by armed thugs and expert gunmen . He had demented gaze with tendency to become hysterical on slight provocation with delusions, particularly upon his place in history and his powers over vast numbers of people and addicted to public hysteria on race purity, he has known to throw himself on the floor and gnaw rugs,guttural voice apt to rise to shrill tones when excited or thwarted . He was a congenital liar suffering from dreams of persecution . Almost all these physical descriptions and particulars of Hitler are perfectly incarnated by Guinness . Thus , he plays him as sadistic, malicious , dangerous, vengeful, mystical and maniacal . Guinness's portrayal is the perfection in the Hitler role one would expect at least on the surface , he gives insight to his madness and with persuasive qualities of his interpretation . This flick is finely written and professionally directed by Ennio DeConcini , a prestigious screenwriter in his only film . Other adaptations about this historical character are the following : ¨Hitler(1962)¨ by Stuart Heisler with Richard Basehart, ¨Hitler : The last days(1958) by W.G.Pabst and the best is ¨The Downfall¨ by Oliver Hischbiegel with Bruno Ganz , furthermore for TV , ¨The bunker¨ with Anthony Hopkins .

The picture is correctly based on real events , adding more details , the deeds happened of the following manner : ¨Fuehererbunker¨ (Leader's Bunker)is the subterranean headquarter below the Chancellery and its garden in Berlin where Hitler spent his last days, from April 20 to 30, 1945 . It was constructed during WW2 some 50 feet below the ground . It could be reached through the New Chancellery by descending a stairway from the butler's pantry. There were two levels, on the upper level was a dining passage separating six rooms on each side . At the end of the central passage a curved stair led down to Hitler's own deeper bunker. This area had seventeen rooms , all small, cramped , and uncomfortable : Hitler's suite of three rooms, a map room used for conferences, the dressing room and bedroom of Eva Braun(Doris Kuntsmann), the bedroom of Dr Paul Joseph Goebbles(John Bennett) and wife (Barbara Jefford), the rooms of Dr Ludwig , lavatories and bathrooms, an emergency telephone exchange, a drawing room, guardroom, cloakroom and a dog bunker for Hitler's Alsatian bitch named Blondi, with her four puppies . Hitler spent hours before giant war maps, shifting colored pins about to locate units that no longer existed . By this time he was in a state of extreme nervous exhaustion : although only fifty-six, he moved as if he were prematurely senile. His health grew even worse the ministrations of his doctors. With the exception of Goebbles and Martin Bormann (Kingston), his secretaries and several others, his lieutenants began to desert him . He denounced Herrmann Goering for trying to usurp his leadership and Heimrich Himmler for seeking to negotiate with the count Bernadotte and Allied. Albert Speer his minister of Armaments and War Production , refused to carry out his orders for a scorched-earth policy. At last acknowledge defeat, the Fuehrer decided to leave the world in a gesture of Wagnerian self-immolation . In the early hours of April 29, 1945, he married Eva and immediately afterward dictated his last will and political testament, in which he justified his life and work . The next day he retreated into his suite and shot himself while Eva took poison to end her life. In accordance with his instructions, the bodies were dumped into a trough in the Chencellery garden,doused with gasoline and burned. From April 22 to May 1, 1945 , the following were present in the Bunker: Gen Keitel (Gabriele Ferzetti), Gen. Hans Guderian , Col.Von Below (Richard Pescud) , Gen. Alfred Jodl(Philip Stone) , Major Gen. Rattenhuber, Lieutenant Genen Fegelein (Julian Glover), Fraulein Junge (Ann Lynn) Dr. Ludwig Stumpfegger ( John Barron) , among others.

How does one approach the towering figure of Adolf Hitler, a figure so out-sized in his cruelty, so colossal in his infamy, that it staggers the imagination to conceive that he actually lived and breathed? Yet he was as human as you and I and gifted with some of the virtues and most of the flaws that flesh is heir to. One could examine him from a historical, psychological, or sociological perspective. Taking a position on Hitler's moral character is not difficult; he was the embodiment of evil. But did he have greatness, as well? His nemesis, Winston Churchill offered this assessment, "If evil can be great, we cannot deny him greatness." He certainly had genius. Not as a painter as he probably wished. His genius lay elsewhere. He was probably the greatest actor of the twentieth-century who used first Germany and then the World as his stage, mesmerizing it with performances of such messianic passion that he transported his audiences away with him to some unattainable inner Valhalla of their own making. Watching one of his performances-I call his speeches performances-because it was not what he said, but how he said it that was extraordinary, one is immediately struck by how well thought out and structured they were, with every gesture and movement of the body orchestrated to give meaning to the the torrent of words pouring forth.

Hitler has been well served in cinema. As an enthusiastic cineaste and certifiable egomaniac, he probably would not have been pleased by the portrayals. He likely would have viewed himself as a tragic hero, or worse a misunderstood martyr. He would never have understood that his crimes were too heinous and numerous for cinema to depict him in that light. Some notable interpretations of Der Fuhrer have been, Charles Chaplin, "The Great Dictator" (1940) Ludwig Donath, "The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler" (1943) Luther Adler, "The Desert Fox" (1951) Albin Skoda, "The Last Ten Days" (1955) Richard Basehart, "Hitler" (1962) Billy Frick, "Is Paris Burning?" (1966) Frank Finlay, "The Death of Adolf Hitler" (1973) Alec Guinness, "Hitler: The Last Ten Days" (1973) Ian Bannen, "The Gathering Storm" (1974) Anthony Hopkins, "The Bunker" (1981) Derek Jacobi, "Inside The Third Reich" (1982) Norman Rodway, "The Empty Mirror" (1996) Noah Taylor as a young Hitler in "Max" (2002) Robert Carlyle, "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" (2003) Bruno Ganz, "Der Untergang" (2004). All of these actor have illuminated aspects of the man's complex personality, so in many ways the performer we "like best" as Hitler is the one who best captures those qualities we associate with the man. Alec Guinness best captured my view of Hitler as performing artist. The bunker was his stage and his entourage, his last captive audience for his final, most terrible performance, the initiator of Gotterdammerung. It is an impressive acting turn by Guinness because the script does not allow him to indulge in any great histrionic oration. Instead, he brings all the vanity and egocentricity of a frustrated actor desperately needing the approbation of his audience-however small. Whether launching into a monologue about the great old days of his rise to power, or haranguing his generals to "will" their way to victory, that need for approval, to be the center of attention is like a spoiled child who is never satisfied with the love and attention he receives, can never fill the gaping void that is the core of his existence.

Guinness, who made a career both on stage and film portraying "little men" illuminates beautifully the inner life of the man, capturing Hitler's pettiness of spirit, and essential provincialism. A wonderful example of this is the scene where Hitler having decided to kill himself and have his body burned, smugly tells Goebbels who has decided to do the same, that there may not be enough petrol because he is hoarding all of it for himself, all the while spreading gobs of cream on his chocolate cake like a little boy satisfying his sweet tooth. This is for the most part a quieter Hitler than previous shown, and with one notable exception, mercifully free from the usual hysterics and ravings that have long since become cliché. At the same time Guinness manages to capture the drug-ridden, bleary-eyed, broken, ex-dictator shuffling his way to the grave. One could almost feel pity for this creature, if only he himself were not so pitiless. Even at the end he is the eternal actor, never comfortable with being himself, always assuming a new role in order to define not only himself but his relationship to others. Whether playing the charismatic father figure to a still believing Captain Hoffman, (Simon Ward) the sly old matchmaker between General Von Greim, (Eric Porter) and Hanna Reitsch, (Diane Cilento) the betrayed friend and mentor when he hears of Himmler's attempts to negotiated a truce with the allies, or justifying his barbarity ("Nature is cruel, so I too must be cruel!") to his final, penultimate audience, Eva Baum just before they commit suicide, Guinness keeps this Hitler even with his monstrous ego, intensely and uncomfortably human. And with his uncanny chameleon like ability he easily incorporates the man's gestures and mannerisms without ever slipping into caricature. Guinnes always considered his portrayal of Hitler to be among his five greatest film performances and it wouldn't be until he played William Dorrit in "Little Dorrit" (1988) would he have another film role that would challenge his abilities as an actor.

"Hitler: The Last Ten Days," is a fine film and one of the better attempts -- in events, in people, in atmosphere and personal quirks -- at historical accuracy on any subject. Alec Guinness is excellent as Hitler and captures well his stiff mannerisms and stern bearing, as well as his hysterical outbursts. Beginning with a celebration of the Fuhrer's last birthday, the atmosphere grows gradually more and more depressing, while Hitler from time to time peppers his entourage with his disoriented visions of an actual victory to come; this is foiled with very brief "real" vignettes of historical truth--what is actually happening as Hitler speaks. Oh well, there are a lot of pretty women (certainly, Doris Kuntsmann is much more attractive than was Eva Braun) and cream desserts, as well as musical interludes, to keep one still interested.

Hitler's ravings at his generals and their reactions are very well done, as in "Winds of War." Adolfo Celi, best known as Largo in "Thunderball," is good as General Krebs, not a household name, but Hitler's chief sounding board in the film. In his countenance we see the growing despair, the occasional protest, the sad and awkward facial expressions indicating wait, aren't there checks and limits (and reality) to you, can people really be as evil as you want them to be, are those who stand accused by you really deserving of your characterization? The final scene, with Hitler and Eva just before their suicide, is an interesting interpretation and captures the extreme utter selfishness and cruelty of the Fuhrer's character.

This starts with a recap of the Nazi rise to power. The opening credits roll as German forces roll through a map and then they retreat back towards Berlin. It's April 20, 1945 and the Russians are closing in on his Berlin bunker. It's the 56th birthday of Adolf Hitler (Alec Guinness) and ten days before he commits suicide. It's a delusional place where Hitler directs non-existent and depleted forces. There is an air of unreality. After Hitler's death, the remaining personnel light up their cigarettes which was forbidden during his life. It's purported to be based on eye-witness accounts of the true events. Guinness brings his legendary acting prowess to the character. It's not the most thrilling story especially since the ending is inevitable. It's a methodical telling. It is the performance that holds it all together.

"Hitler: The Last Ten Days" is a powerful and stunning film based upon the demise of one of the most evil men that have ever lived. At the start of the film, the producers stated that they attempted to portray everything as it was historically documented. It worked. It explored Hitler's obvious mental problems, his charisma and how he managed to unite a disgruntled country under him. Sir Alec Guinness is a perfect choice to portray the Fuhrer, and he brings experience to an otherwise unknown cast. **** out of *****.