Downfall
April 1945, a nation awaits its... Downfall
2004 | 155m | German
Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Oliver Hirschbiegel |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Joachim Fest, Bernd Eichinger, Traudl Junge, Melissa Müller |
| Staring: |
| In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender. | |
| Release Date: | Sep 16, 2004 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| Writer: | Joachim Fest, Bernd Eichinger, Traudl Junge, Melissa Müller |
| Genres: | Drama, History, War |
| Keywords | poison, dictator, based on novel or book, clerk, ideology, world war ii, traitor, despair, bunker, destroy, nazi, testament, capitulation, soviet military, race politics, national socialism, minister, national socialist party, dying and death, historical figure, german shepherd, 1940s, adolf hitler |
| Production Companies | WDR, Constantin Film, ARD Degeto, RAI, EOS Entertainment, ORF, NDR |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $92,181,574
Budget: $16,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 11, 2025 Entered: Aug 15, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Bruno Ganz | Adolf Hitler |
| Alexandra Maria Lara | Traudl Junge |
| Corinna Harfouch | Magda Goebbels |
| Ulrich Matthes | Joseph Goebbels |
| Juliane Köhler | Eva Braun |
| Heino Ferch | Albert Speer |
| Christian Berkel | Prof. Dr. Ernst-Günter Schenck |
| Thomas Kretschmann | SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein |
| Ulrich Noethen | Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler |
| Birgit Minichmayr | Gerda Christian |
| Rolf Kanies | General der Infanterie Hans Krebs |
| Justus von Dohnányi | General der Infanterie Wilhelm Burgdorf |
| Michael Mendl | General der Artillerie Helmuth Weidling |
| André Hennicke | SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke |
| Christian Redl | Generaloberst Alfred Jodl |
| Götz Otto | SS-Hauptsturmführer Otto Günsche |
| Thomas Limpinsel | Kammerdiener Heinz Linge |
| Thomas Thieme | Martin Bormann |
| Donevan Gunia | Peter Kranz |
| Matthias Habich | Prof. Dr. Werner Haase |
| Alexander Held | Walter Hewel |
| Devid Striesow | Feldwebel Tornow |
| Dieter Mann | Feldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel |
| Bettina Redlich | Frl. Constanze Manziarly |
| Heinrich Schmieder | Rochus Misch |
| Anna Thalbach | Hanna Reitsch |
| Dietrich Hollinderbäumer | Ritter Robert von Greim |
| Ulrike Krumbiegel | Dorothee Kranz |
| Karl Kranzkowski | Wilhelm Kranz |
| Thorsten Krohn | Dr. Stumpfegger |
| Jürgen Tonkel | Erich Kempka |
| Fabian Busch | Obersturmbannführer Stehr |
| Christian Hoening | Reichsarzt SS Grawitz |
| Dirk Borchardt | Panzerkommandant |
| Elizaveta Boyarskaya | Schwester Erna |
| Michael Brandner | H. Fritzche |
| Igor Bubenchikov | Schadle |
| Martin Butzke | SS-Soldat 1 |
| Dmitriy Bykovskiy-Romashov | Soldat 2 |
| Mathias Gnädinger | Hermann Göring |
| Bohdan Graczyk | Oberst Clausen |
| Norbert Heckner | Standesbeamter Wagner |
| Enno Hesse | Oberleutnant |
| Julia Jentsch | Hanna Potrowski |
| Michael Kind | SA-Mann / Ruinenkeller |
| Elisabeth von Koch | Margarete Lorenz |
| Konstantin Lukashov | Älterer Soldat |
| Stefan Mehren | Verwundeter Soldat |
| Katerina Poladjan | Russische Arzthelferin |
| Tanja Schleiff | Russische Ärztin |
| Christian Schmidt | SS-Mann Greifkommando |
| August Schmölzer | Baur |
| Jurij Schrader | Dolmetscher |
| Mariya Semyonova | Rothaarige Frau |
| Klaus-Jürgen Steinmann | Offizier 1 |
| Veit Stübner | Obergruppenführer Tellermann |
| Oliver Stritzel | Maschinist Hentschel |
| Vsevolod Tsurilo | Russischer Adjutant |
| Henning Peker | Wachsoldat vor der Wolfsschanze (uncredited) |
| Dieter Rupp | Mohnke's Adjutant im Bunker (uncredited) |
| Andrey Blagoslovenskiy | Soldat im Ruinenkeller |
| Valeriy Salomakhin | Staryy Tsivilist |
| Igor Sergeev | Russischer Soldat |
| Traudl Junge | Self (archive footage) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Tom Tykwer | Thanks |
| Oskar Roehler | Thanks |
| Oliver Hirschbiegel | Director |
| Ekaterina Omakhanova | Property Master |
| Irina Melnikova | Property Master |
| Galina Zaigraeva | Property Master |
| Rainer Klausmann | Director of Photography |
| Joachim Fest | Author |
| Stephan Zacharias | Original Music Composer |
| An Dorthe Braker | Casting |
| Bernd Lepel | Production Design |
| Claudia Bobsin | Costume Design |
| Nico Krebs | Sound Designer |
| Lisa Geffcken-Reinhard | Sound Effects Editor |
| Bernd Eichinger | Screenplay |
| Elena Zhukova | Art Direction |
| Hans Funck | Editor |
| Margrit Neufink | Makeup Artist |
| Waldemar Pokromski | Makeup Artist |
| Aleksey Filatov | Assistant Art Director |
| Sergey Fukalov | Assistant Art Director |
| Norbert Zich | Dolby Consultant |
| Carsten Richter | Foley |
| Jörn Poetzl | Foley |
| Abi Schneider | Sound Re-Recording Mixer |
| Fabian Schmidt | Dialogue Editor |
| Natasha Grachova | Special Effects Coordinator |
| Stefanie Stalf | Visual Effects Producer |
| Thomas Zauner | Visual Effects Supervisor |
| Oleg Korytin | Stunt Coordinator |
| Konstantin Kostin | Gaffer |
| Marcus Pohlus | Steadicam Operator |
| Sebastian Meuschel | Steadicam Operator |
| Tilman Büttner | Steadicam Operator |
| Jürgen Olczyk | Still Photographer |
| Natalya Zamakhina | Costume Supervisor |
| Mila Koudriashova | Publicist |
| Bettina Bartl | Publicist |
| Kerstin Böck | Publicist |
| Yakov Gordin | Location Manager |
| Svetlana Lukash | Location Manager |
| Vladimir Plyatskovsky | Location Manager |
| Oksana Rusalinova | Location Manager |
| Maxim Volodin | Location Manager |
| Philipp Sellier | Foley |
| Christine Jahn | Post Production Supervisor |
| Bohdan Graczyk | Assistant Director |
| Sergey Golovkin | Stunts |
| Dirk Eichler | Lighting Technician |
| Carol Burandt von Kameke | First Assistant Camera |
| Andrew Mollo | Other |
| Hanuš Polak jr. | Assistant Director |
| Nonna Velikaya | Translator |
| Traudl Junge | Author |
| Melissa Müller | Author |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Bernd Eichinger | Producer |
| Christine Rothe | Executive Producer |
| Wolf-Dietrich Brücker | Co-Producer |
| Doris J. Heinze | Co-Producer |
| Jörn Klamroth | Co-Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Globes | Best Picture | N/A | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best International Feature | N/A | Nominated |
| BAFTA Awards | Best International Feature | N/A | Nominated |
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 34 | 46 | 25 |
| 2024 | 5 | 46 | 81 | 28 |
| 2024 | 6 | 33 | 46 | 23 |
| 2024 | 7 | 33 | 54 | 21 |
| 2024 | 8 | 23 | 34 | 15 |
| 2024 | 9 | 18 | 29 | 12 |
| 2024 | 10 | 31 | 48 | 21 |
| 2024 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 14 |
| 2024 | 12 | 23 | 40 | 16 |
| 2025 | 1 | 26 | 49 | 17 |
| 2025 | 2 | 15 | 29 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 2025 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 2025 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| 2025 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
Trending Position
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | 750 | 862 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 510 | 805 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | 251 | 686 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7 | 796 | 908 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 | 330 | 671 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | 121 | 546 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 | 258 | 575 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3 | 257 | 701 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2 | 242 | 564 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1 | 598 | 819 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 12 | 495 | 806 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 11 | 385 | 723 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10 | 86 | 275 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | 102 | 537 |
| Year | Month | High | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 8 | 870 | 870 |
Wuchak
7.0
**_Hitler’s end_** As the Red Army encroaches upon Berlin in late April, 1945, the final days of Hitler in his bunker (Bruno Ganz) are told from the perspective of his secretary, Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). "Downfall” (2004) is not a conventional war movie due to its downbeat subject ... and is more educational than entertaining, but it’s a necessary piece of the puzzle in understanding WW2. If you appreciate movies like "Enemy at the Gates" (2001), "The Pianist" (2002), "Black Book" (2006), "Valkyrie" (2008), "Rommel" (2012), "Warsaw '44" (2014) and "Fury" (2014), you’ll appreciate this one too. It's hard to rate a flick like this because it’s not an enjoyable experience, but it works superbly as means to go back in history and view Hitler’s final days. The film runs 2 hours, 36 minutes, and was shot in Germany (Berlin, Munich and Bavaria Studios) and Russia (St. Petersburg). GRADE: B
May 30, 2023