The Bunker (1981) is a film directed by George Schaefer , according to the book by James P. O’Donnell , and starring veteran actor Anthony Hopkins who plays the role of Adolf Hitler in the film.
Argument
The film narrates the last months of Hitler, his stay in the bunker of Berlin , the betrayal of many of his closest friends, as well as causes of diseases such as Parkinson’s begins to have delusions of grandeur or the unstoppable advance of the allies towards the heart Of Germany .
Development of the film
The film takes us back to the beginning of 1945, Hitler moves to his bunker to be more safe. At that time, many of his close friends are already beginning to suspect that Hitler is losing his mind and that the war is lost. One of them is his minister Albert Speer and one of the most trusted men of the ” Fuehrer” . Hitler is informed by his generals that the Americans have taken the Rhine and that the Russians advance from Prussia with a relentless advance. Hitler is convinced that the war is not lost and continues to plan almost impossible offensives. His minister and personal architect, Speer is convinced that the war is lost and is the only one that tells Hitler. Speer bluntly rejects the idea and orders Speer to order the destruction of cities, towns, farms, churches and any element that can be used by the enemy, so Speer is trapped between the sword and the wall, on the one hand does not want To execute Hitler’s devilish plan but his oath of allegiance prevents him from rejecting the order, Speer desperately plans to assassinate Hitler using gas and all his collaborators, but soon rejects the idea when he realizes that it is impossible, so he resigns to comply with Orders from Hitler but will try to delay the maximum possible time, at least until Germany surrenders. On the other hand, his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is convinced that Hitler can succeed, although he says it more by fanaticism than by realism. The war advances and the generals try to explain to Hitler that any type of counterattack is impossible since most commanders either flee or have been captured. Hitler continues to reject defeat and blames his incompetent and traitorous generals. Until in the end, Hitler recognizes that the war is lost.
Hitler grants permission to leave the bunker to many of the workers who work there, but not Martin Bormann who is eager to leave the city. The Russians take Vienna and advance towards the city with steady pace. At the beginning of April, Hitler celebrates his birthday with his closest collaborators and the Russians have already begun to besiege the city. Among those attending the birthday of the Fuehrer are the commander in chief of the Luftwaffe , Hermann Goering , the head of the SS , Heinrich Himmler , staff minister and Hitler ‘s architect, Albert Speer , propaganda minister and his closest collaborator, Joseph Goebbels , his mistress, Eva Braun and one of his closest collaborators, Martin Bormann . But with the passage of time and the war near its end, Hitler’s intimate friends begin to betray him, Heinrich Himmler tries to sign an armistice with the Allies and declares Hitler insane and unable to lead Germany any further , Hermann Goering alludes To its position of second in the line of succession and declares new ¨ Fuehrer¨ of Germany since it considers that Hitler has gone all of the hands. The Russians are getting closer to Hitler’s bunker and he decides to marry his lover, Eva Braun . Just married they celebrate the party in the bunker with the Russians to 300 ms of the bunker. To say goodbye to Albert Speer who, unlike Bormann, tells Hitler that he must stay in the city and die with his men, Hitler agrees, he also confesses that he sabotaged his plans for destruction although Hitler did not seem to care . Hitler finally decides to commit suicide next to Eva taking a capsule of cyanide and shooting itself in the temple, Eva dies when ingesting the capsule. To prevent their bodies being captured and outraged, Bormann, Goebbels and some of his faithful collaborators who still remain in the bunker incinerate the body of Hitler and Eve. Without Hitler, Goebbels and his wife Magda poison their 6 children who were next to them in the bunker and next to his wife, Magda Goebbels, commit suicide. Bormann, his secretaries and some collaborators escape from the bunker and try to cross the Soviet encirclement, the only one that in the end remains in the bunker is the mechanic of this who listens indignantly as the radio notifies the death of Hitler as he died with his mens.
Cast
- Anthony Hopkins : Adolf Hitler
- Richard Jordan : Albert Speer
- Cliff Gorman : Joseph Goebbels
- James Naughton : James O’Donnell
- Michael Lonsdale : Martin Bormann
- Piper Laurie : Magda Goebbels
- Susan Blakely : Eva Braun
- Martin Jarvis : Johannes Hentschel
- Michael Kitchen : Rochus Misch