Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers (WGA):

John Pielmeier (written by) and
G. Ross Parker (written by)

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Plot:

A unique slant, profiling the life of Adolf Hitler as a child and his rise through the ranks of the National German Workers' Party prior to World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Germany | Austria | Reporter | Rise To Power

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Adolf Hitler
Stockard Channing	...	Klara Hitler
Jena Malone	...	Geli Raubal
Julianna Margulies	...	Helene Hanfstaengl
Matthew Modine	...	Fritz Gerlich
Liev Schreiber	...	Ernst Hanfstaengl
Peter Stormare	...	Ernst Röhm
Friedrich von Thun	...	General Erich Ludendorff
Peter O'Toole	...	President Paul von Hindenburg
Zoe Telford	...	Eva Braun
Terence Harvey	...	Gustav von Kahr
Justin Salinger	...	Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Chris Larkin	...	Hermann Göring
James Babson	...	Rudolf Hess
Patricia Netzer	...	Sophie Gerlich

Also Known As:

Hitler: La naissance du mal (Canada: French title)
Hitler - Aufstieg des Bösen (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Hitler - Der Aufstieg des Bösen (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Hitler - La naissance du mal (France) [fr]
Hitler - Ondskans natur (Sweden) [sv]
Hitler - Uspon zla (Serbia) [sr]
Hitler - ondskans födelse (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Hitler - pahan nousu (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
Hitler - pahuuden nousu (Finland) [fi]
Hitler: El reinado del mal (Spain) (DVD title) [es]
Hitler: I arhi tou kakou (Greece) [el]
Hitler: La naissance du mal (Switzerland: French title) [fr]
Il giovane Hitler (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

Australia:179 min (video version) | France:130 min | USA:240 min (including commercials) | Spain:177 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The producers originally wanted Ewan McGregor to play Hitler.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Hitler's father did not die at home - he died at a beer hall.

Quotes:

Dr. Joseph Goebbels: The opposition papers are implying things about your relationship with your niece.
Adolf Hitler: Trust these Jews to paint everyone as dirty as they are.
Dr. Joseph Goebbels: But it's not just them. People in the party are also beginning to object...
Adolf Hitler: [outraged] *She's my niece, for God's sake! We go to the opera together!*

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemania: I anodos kai i ptosi tou Nazismou" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Das Deutschlandlied

Excellent history and entertaining too

For a series that covers four hours and is constrained to history, this was not only educational but gripping drama too. I disagree with the popular pronouncement that this is some attempt to humanize Hitler. Hitler doesn't need humanizing, he was human and all that is necessary to fear somebody like Hitler is to understand his personal history better. This movie goes a long way towards doing that.

An important point that the series makes is that Hitler was not all there was to Nazi Germany, there was the Nazi party too and the social, historical and cultural forces that brought it into being. All these things are nicely fitted in to the story.

The cast is excellent and the acting is not bad for television and especially good for the characters we see. The cinematography -- or videography -- is excellent and little was spared to create an authentic sense of place. Costumes especially were thoughtful and well crafted.

Nazi Germany is one of those periods of history that will always have some corner that will make a good movie or good television and I hope this will not be the last.