Stunning!

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2005)

I could have sworn I was in Berlin in April 1945, instead of the Sydney cinema I was comfortably seated in. It felt like the Russian shells were landing around me. I was absolutely in awe of the actors portrayals of the historical figures. I have seen a number of documentaries of the Third Reich, and watched archive footage of the Nazi leaders and I was fully convinced that I was seeing Hitler, Goebbels, Speer, Himmler, etc. as they were in the final throes of the thousand year Reich. I found myself crying when Blondi (Hitler's Alsatian) was poisoned, and when Magda Goebbels inserted the poison capsules into the mouths of her five children. I left the film with more tears, listening to Traudl Junge's closing statement. I actually felt sorry for the German people. Hitler had condemned them to death for he felt they had failed him. Yet some still wanted to fight for him even when all was lost. A true masterpiece and undoubtedly the best film I will see in 2005.