(aka "Tod im Fuhrerbunker" )

directed by Michael Kloft
Germany 2004

Hitler’s last days have received plenty of cinematic attention over the past few years. With the documentary “Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary” (2002) and the feature film “Der Untergang” (“Downfall” – 2004), a TV program like “Death in the Bunker” has a tough time carving out a niche for itself. While it is nowhere near as compelling as either of the first two films, “Death in the Bunker” justifies its existence simply by presenting us with authentic archival footage of Hitler’s final days hiding out in the Reich Chancellery as Soviet forces rolled ever closer to Berlin, and even some footage from the days after the former paper-hanger ate German steel.

The program mixes archival footage with talking head interviews, mostly from eye-witnesses from those fateful days, including the now famous Traudl Junge of “Hitler’s Secretary” fame. They don’t really have much new to tell, but the film’s real strength is in the images it has recovered from historical archives. Most of it is in black and white, but one stunning color sequence shows a smiling and quite pretty Eva Braun posing in front of a distant mountain. In one heart-breaking sequence, all the Goebbels’ girls pose for a picture, dressed as pretty as can be, and blissfully unaware of the fate in store for them. As many times as I’ve seen it, I still can’t help but feel a shiver up my spine every time I see a moving picture of Hitler actually smiling. Hey, Hitler painted roses too.

Koch Vision has released several WW2 archival documentaries in the past few months: Embedded’ 45: The Shooting War in Germany (also directed by Michael Kloft), They Filmed the War in Color: France is Free, and They Filmed the War in Color: The Pacific War. Of the four, “Death in the Bunker” is the least compelling, because it relies on so many talking heads, and covers ground more familiar to most viewers. But just for the sheer sake of actually documenting the events and preserving them for a general audience, the program and the DVD is worthwhile.

Though originally filmed for German television, the version on this DVD has been re-dubbed with English voice-over to appeal to the American markets.
 

Theatrical Release: Spiegel TV (2004)

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DVD Review: Koch Vision - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Christopher Long for the Review!

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