Rate The Last Movie You Saw

Wow, I always thought that woman was kinda older. Thanks Mark!

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) -
The Fall (2006) - +
The Playhouse (1921) -
Work (1915) -
Where the River Bends (1952) - +

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The Ones Below (2015) 7/10

Tape - 8/10

Re-watch. Movie was better the first time around since I didn't know what was going to happen. I probably don't need to see this again.

Well damn. Looks like we saw two different movies.

Whatever "comedy" might be in there, that of which I would personally describe more as absurdity, irony or otherwise, which is used to show the state/point of war and Hitler's mind state and point of view.

That you would supposedly find it rib-crackingly hilarious or at least mock the movie in that matter, now that is absurd and amusing, in my opinion.

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I don't laugh at bad comedies.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/200...atures.review1

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The problem with The Downfall is that Eichinger and Hirschbiegel wanted to make a film that highlighted the facts without prejudice ("Hintergrundbeleuchtung statt Vorverurteilung" as it's often said in German), but it was based almost entirely on the notes of Hitler's personal secretary, so obviously there was going to be a pro-Hitler slant there. It doesn't simply state historical facts like they claimed it would. Though the ultimate point of the film was supposed to be that the so-called "monsters" responsible for wartime atrocities were human just like the rest of us, and I think the movie does at least succeed at that. After all, we do get an image of a deeply flawed Hitler that is very different from how he is presented in other films.

I was curious to read that article myself, but the review on their website doesn't say anything like that, unless it's since been edited or I missed it as I was skimming through. It would be nice if the article you linked to had a source for that, but I can't seem to find one. Maybe their printed paper and website are different.

... and for me, she came across as daft and naive, from start to finish (especially the real her, in the opening and closing interview footage).

A shame. There are many good fun ones out there. Der Untergang is indeed not one of them though.

Nevertheless, I understand if you dislike it but I just thought you were a bit extreme that's all. And a majority of Germans are bound to hate that movie, so I wouldn't call it a strong example to quote bad reviews from German critics, but I guess it shows your standpoint.

Rebecca -

Hitch does it again! At this point i'm expecting to dislike his films but nah 16 in and i've found another one i adore. Another reason i wasn't sure was because i had heard some people say things along the lines of "the only Hitchcock film to win Best Picture was Rebecca. It is a fine film but c'mon it is just average Hitch". Well from what i've seen so far i would say it was as good as any. Beautiful film, stunning cinematography. I'm almost always interested in Hitchs films visually because of all of the differnt angles, techniques, etc he uses. In addition to that though the scenery was amazing, DeWinters beautiful house, the breathtaking view, just about every scene was a pleasure to look at.

I think this was my second time seeing Olivier. He is my mums favourite actor, funny thing is one of the main reasons she loves him so much is his performance in Wuthering Heights and some of this reminded me of the Wuthering Heights book. He was very good. He had a genuine charm but also a bit of a dark streak; kind of would have liked to have seen a bit more of him during the first half but at the same time i wouldn't have because i get the point was for her to feel completely isolated alone with Mrs Danvers and all of the memories of his dead wife. The scene where he confesses his true feelings for Rebecca and what happened was incredible. Joan Fontaine was very good, admittedly there were a few parts i thought she was noticeably bad like when she was crying in the car near the start or when she had to pretend she was looking at a real video of her and Maxs wedding; i was cringing a bit when she was saying stuff like "ooh remember that". Those were only small things though as soon as she started interacting with Mrs Danvers she became much more interesting.

One thing i often have a problem with is romances depicted too quickly, i know they are called whirlwind romances but sometimes it is just done too quickly that i don't buy into the relationship. Here i was fine with it, i'd encourage it even because they had a whole other story to tell and i'm glad they got into it fairly quickly. The thing i loved about that was the first 25 minute story of him wooing then marrying her could've been stretched into a perfectly fine romantic film, that hotel scene could've been the finale where he stops her from going to New York; it would've been generic and forgotten just one of the dozens studios pumped out every year, but regardless that is pretty amazing to me.

From when she entered the house on it was just incredible. Pretty vague word to use but i don't think you can descibe it as anything other than haunting. Those long creepy halls and large rooms, and Mrs Danvers! She was so great, extremely cold; she had such a great glare and always appeared like a ghost at the exact right moments. The mystery was very well done. So glad i went into this blind. I loved how it was almost as if Rebecca was still in the house, her memory lingered about the house, Mrs DeWinter barely being able to enter a room in the house without being confronted by her. Decent ending but i would've liked to have seen Mrs Danvers going mad.

Fantastic film. Maybe i'm rating it too high because i've just watched it but i'm thinking this may join my big four of Hitch along with Vertigo, North By Northwest and Notorious.

As an outsider, it's certainly easy to see her as being ignorant to the truth of what Hitler did, but she was just one of many people who were genuinely enamoured with the man. They fell for the parades, the propaganda, and the Nationalism. That probably does make her naive, but politicians are still using those tactics today, and people are still falling for it. Most people now think of Hitler as a crazed lunatic looking to take over the world, but her inclusion in the film serves to remind audiences that not everyone felt that way at the time. People believed in him and what he stood for, and saw him as a saviour, rather than a tyrant. It's another attempt to humanize the man, and to give an "unbiased" account of their side of the story (though like I said already, it did fail at being a purely historical documentation).

Wasn't this a primarily German movie, in German, for a German audience?

Sure, but it's a strong subject for all and even a stronger and more difficult subject for Germans. No matter if a German historian or Hitler himself had directed the movie it's bound to devide people; especially a movie so focused on Hitler himself and with a story drawn from the inside of "Hitler's Empire" and those close to him. It's bound to be a colorful and probably not "commonly correct" vision/side of the story...

Which is why I wouldn't discount any of their reviews as bad. On the contrary, I would look to the German press for various opinions, first.

Here's a line from the Tagesspiegel article I mentioned earlier:

And here's quick translation from me since I assume most people here don't speak German:
According to these guys, the critical response to the film was indeed very mixed. So the mixed reception this film has gotten here does seem rather appropriate, haha.

Similar to Max, I didn't really enjoy the movie that much. But I do appreciate what it tried to accomplish, and I think there are some valuable lessons to be learned there. Now I haven't seen this movie in about 8 years, but from what I recall I did like the portrayal of the mentally unstable Hitler, because it gave us a glimpse at how things completely fell apart from him before the end, and debunks the rumour that Hitler only killed himself because he was losing the war.

"The Downfall" gives representation of last days of German Reich that will be accepted as most accurate in decades to come if it isn't accepted already. It gives human face to demonized icon that relates more to immediate surroundings rather than being purely demagogic/ ethical tool to be used in political/ conflict situations.

They make fun of his bipolar disorder for over 2 hours, while others laugh, dance, drink, strip and make jokes. They should have tried for a musical.

I would love to admire your point of view, Max, but the lack of constructive criticism really makes it hard for me to take serious.

I mean, you're not exactly going to convice anybody of the goofy nature of Downfall by acting a goof yourself. If you are doing anything, you're proving my point more than your own.

Now I understand your objections to the Downfall, it wasn't PC enough. That reminds me of Omni's 'no horse riding' movie watching requirement clause. PC think is a danger to creativity in films.