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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Koch Vision
Salesrank: 12112
Released: October 9, 2007 |
| Our Price: $11.49 |
| Used Price: $11.45 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Featuring a star-studded cast, this epic mini-series traces the mind of a burgeoning madman as he begins his ruthless climb to power. From his emergence out of the ashes of World War I through the birth of the Nazi Party, acclaimed actor Robert Carlyle portrays Adolph Hitler in a performance that "conveys the depths of the tyrant’s evil" (San Francisco Chronicle).
Includes the Bonus Documentaries:
"Hitler and I: Reflections of Evil" (directed by David Cherniack)
"Hitler: A Career" (written and directed by Joachim C. Fest)
Description of Hitler - The Rise of Evil:
Had the many folks who were outraged by the very existence of Hitler: The Rise of Evil seen it before it was aired by CBS-TV in 2003, they would have realized that their fears that this three-hour miniseries would somehow paint a sympathetic portrait of the man generally regarded as the 20th Century's most irredeemable monster were unfounded. There's very little shading here. By and large, this Adolf Hitler is a wicked, vengeful, paranoid, anti-Semitic lunatic pretty much from the get-go; indeed, the opening credits aren't even over before he is revealed as an angry boy who was beaten and belittled by his father and smothered by his mother, an aspiring artist embittered by repeated rejections of his work, and an impressionable young man who was convinced that Jews were the root of all that's wrong with the world. And that's all before the role is assumed by Robert Carlyle, who dominates the proceedings thereafter with a commanding, convincing performance. Hitler: The Rise of Evil chronicles the major events leading up to his assumption of power in the mid-1930s, including his time in the trenches in World War I and fury at Germany's signing of the Treaty of Versailles; his gradual emergence as a charismatic and powerful orator and eventual dominance of the National Socialist party; his first attempted takeover of the government, which resulted in failure (and a brief stay in prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf); and his eventual emergence as the all-powerful Fuhrer who devised the Final Solution and led his country into a disastrous war (the film ends in '34, several years before World War II began). It all feels true to life, if sometimes overly dramatic (the scenes in which he perfects his moustache, practices his various poses and gestures, and adopts the swastika as his symbol are like something out of the first Spider-man movie). And while various other characters, friend and foe alike, occasionally share the spotlight (the cast also includes Matthew Modine, Liev Schreiber, Julianna Margulies, Jena Malone, and Peter O'Toole), it's all about Hitler, and this handsomely-mounted miniseries, directed by Christian Duguay, is at the very least a compelling, eminently watchable effort to capture the inexplicable. Weighing in at a hefty 200-plus minutes, the bonus features (included on a second disc) are longer than the miniseries itself. They consist of Hitler: a Career, an informative 1977 documentary with ample file footage of the real Fuhrer (as good as Carlyle is, there's no way any actor can fully portray how truly scary the guy was), and Hitler and I: Reflections of Evil, an unusually thoughtful "making of" doc by David Cherniack that goes well beyond the typical puffery of such items. --Sam Graham
Hitler - The Rise of Evil Reviews:
Great Choice 
2009-08-18 - This movie is extremely excellent. I suggest this movie to anyone who is interested in the Nazi era of history, and if you want to know how a mad man came to power. It is very important to remember how history becomes, and this is one movie that gives us the warnings for future problems.
HITLER AND BLUE EYES
2009-08-10 - HITLER HAD PIERCING BLUE EYES, IN THE MOVIE HIS EYES APPEAR BROWN. IS THIS TO MAKE HIM APPEAR MORE EVIL OR WHAT, LESS CHARMING? THEY COULD HAVE USED PIERCING BLUE EYE CONTACTS. SEEMS PROPAGANDA IS AGAIN AT WORK TO DEVIATE FROM THE TRUTH TO SATISFY CERTAIN GROUPS. ALSO, HITLER NEVER HIT THE DOG AS SHOWN IN THE MOVIE.
WRONG DVD 
2009-07-04 - I am annoyed that I have been sent a DVD compatible with USA to a UK address!
Hitler was the greatest speaker, Robert Carlyle playing Hitler makes it seem real!!
2009-06-20 - I first watched this in my German class in high school. I was expecting a 90 minute boring documentary. Man, was I ever wrong. It starts off as Adolf as a child. For about the first 10 minutes or so, it shows how his childhood was like all the way until he wanted to become an artist. The music that was playing through these scenes just sends chills down your spine. From this point on, the movie does exactly what the title is, how he came into to power. Robert Carlyle played Hitler perfectly because anytime he got up to speak, everyone that heard him was easily persuaded by anything he said. At times, I felt like I was watched Hitler in real life. That's how good the acting was. Throughout the movie, people started to see what Hitler was after and tried to stop him. But no matter what they did or how hard they tried, he just kept getting stronger.
So, the bottom-line, this is one of the best history movies you can see. It's very educational, but most of the time you wouldn't realize it because it's so good. I'd definitely check it out. It's well worth the $11.
Surprisingly good 
2009-02-19 - I had very low expectations for this English language movie - saw some stills from the movie and the British/Scottish actor playing Hitler Robert Carlyle didn't look the part - with the title "The Rise of Evil" - I thought it would be a typical "OH THOSE NAZIS ARE SO COMPLETELY EVIL".
I am familiar with the true history and this movie is the best depiction of the character and events I have seen.
Robert Carlyle is very believable as Hitler - who appears from seemingly nowhere, a nobody and yet a spokesman for everybody in this chaotic, distressful time for Germans, in Bavaria and everywhere.
Robert Carlyle does an excellent job of showing how the loner Hitler who thinks about everything yet seems to have no friends or associates outside of a association with the German army and with Germany, German mythology - he finds his voice and quickly connects with large groups of workers, ex soldiers and then... he is introduced into high, rich German society and connects just as well with them, he is a charmer and not really an actor, he is what he is and he is the man of the time.
Yes, there are some liberties taken from history - the depiction of Hitler's WW I combat service looks to portray Hitler as not a great soldier, kind of a psycho let to the front who beats dogs. Hitler never beat dogs, he loved dogs, more than a lot of people, sad to say.
Anyway, the movie is excellent and shows a glimpse of the power of a messianic figure, who comes from nowhere yet everywhere.
Excellent movie.
