The last few days of the third Reich as seen from Hitler's bunker

Rating: 9/10 (22 September 2005)

This is surely one of the best, not to mention bravest World War II movies ever made; worthy of mention alongside Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan.
The last few days of Hitler and his followers as the Third Reich collapses around them have been captured in chilling detail.
The performances are excellent all round, especially from Bruno Ganz as Hitler, who achieves the maniacal tyranny of his character without turning it into a comical caricature.
The director brilliantly re-creates the claustrophobic, surreal atmosphere of the underground Fuhrerbunker, where SS guards drink themselves insensible, while outside soldiers and civilians alike are slaughtered by the thousand, hospitals overflow and children are used as cannon-fodder.
The chaos, carnage, and above all, the futility of war has rarely been better described. I would recommend this film to anyone.
The only criticism I have is with the DVD version available in the UK. The English subtitles are presented in the 'hard of hearing' format only. This means that they don't just translate the dialogue (which is of course in German) but they describe everything else that goes on as well: When a gun is fired the word 'shot' appears on the screen; when a telephone rings the words 'phone rings' appear, and so on and so forth. After a while this gets quite irritating and detracts from the overall dramatic effect of the film. I think it's a shame that the producers/distributors couldn't have included basic dialogue subtitles as well.