Downfall (2004 film)

Downfall (German: Der Untergang) is a 2004 historical war drama film written and produced by Bernd Eichinger and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It depicts the final days of Adolf Hitler (portrayed by Bruno Ganz), during the Battle of Berlin in World War II, when Nazi Germany is on the verge of total defeat at the hands of the Allies. The cast includes Alexandra Maria Lara, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Alexander Held, Matthias Habich, and Thomas Kretschmann. The film is a German-Austrian-Italian co-production.

Principal photography took place from September to November 2003, on location in Berlin, Munich, and Saint Petersburg, Russia. As the film is set in and around the Führerbunker, Hirschbiegel used eyewitness accounts, survivors' memoirs, and other historical sources during production to reconstruct the look and atmosphere of 1940s Berlin. The screenplay was based on the books Inside Hitler's Bunker by historian Joachim Fest and Until the Final Hour by Traudl Junge, one of Hitler's secretaries, among other accounts of the period.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 14 September 2004. It was controversial with audiences for showing a human side of Hitler and members of the Third Reich. It later received a wide theatrical release in Germany under its production company Constantin Film. The film grossed over $92 million. Downfall was a critical and commercial success, with international acclaim for the cast's performances (especially Ganz's portrayal of Hitler), Hirschbiegel's direction, and Eichinger's screenplay. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards.