A stunning study of megalomania

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2013)

Having seen this movie a few times, it still sends shivers down my spine every time I merely think about it. It was criticized heavily for portraying Hitler as "too humane" before and after it was released, but people who say things like this are missing the point. Bruno Ganz's masterful interpretation of the most demonized human being ever is exactly the greatest strength of this movie.
Hitler may have been a megalomaniac, despicable dictator whose hands are stained by the blood of millions, but he wasn't a demon. He was a human being, and thanks to Ganz we now have the possibility to see that human being for ourselves and be touched in a way that no amount of text and numbers on the pages of a history book can ever touch us. You can easily believe that you're looking at the man who was the driving force behind mankind's most destructive conflict ever. No other cinematic portrayal of Adolf Hitler is anywhere near to Ganz's in terms of realism and quality. Truly, this is one of the best performances ever put on film.
And that is just the beginning. Everything is exactly where it should be in this movie. The desperate atmosphere of the "throne room" of a crumbling empire is astoundingly presented to the viewer, whose only option is to devour it with one's eyes and ears and be sucked in to the thick of it.
You feel the artillery shells exploding as the Red Army closes in. You feel the devotion of a maddened mother who murders her children because she thinks life without Führer is not worth living for anyone. You feel the desperation of an SS doctor who still has a shred of humanity in him despite all the horrors of the war he has witnessed, as the Nazis blame the innocent civilians of Berlin of their own failures and take their revenge on them. You feel the growing insanity of everyone as their entire world rapidly spirals towards its inevitable and complete doom. And yes, you even end up feeling pity and sympathy towards the devastated and trembling shell of a man, Hitler, even though you know he only has himself to blame for his downfall and that of millions of others.
There is nothing to be taken out from this movie, and nothing to be added. It's as close to cinematic perfection as mere men and women can get, and will hold you in its grips for a very long time.