"Das Leben von Adolf Hitler" or "Life of Adolf Hitler" is a West German movie from 1961. This one runs shortly under 100 minutes and it was directed and co-written by Paul Rotha more than a decade after his Oscar nomination. Anyway, this film we have here had its 55th anniversary last year and at this age it is of course a black-and-white film, but it is certainly not old enough to have sound. So why did I give this one such a high rating? Is it any better than most recent Hitler / WWII documentaries. Maybe not. But the key to it is its age. At that time filmmakers mostly made feature films (like Käutner e.g.) that dealt with the cruelties of the war or the life of the average German citizen caught between his individual struggles and the political climate. Many of these films are not a revelation at all gently-speaking. But this documentary here is really a trail blazer as even today new non-fiction films about Hitler are being made. And many of these aren't any better than this one here. Narrator Horst Fleck may sometimes go a bit overboard in terms of bias and lack of neutral perspective (for example when he talks about the suicide at the very end), but as the subject here is one of the worst criminals in global history, you probably cannot blame him.
For the most part of its slightly over 1.5 hours the film does a solid job in managing strong focus on Hitler and what was relevant related to Hitler from that time. I personally also liked the fact that it was all chronologically and pretty much ended the moment Hitler died. I believe that this film is a solid choice to show student in a history class for example as it perfectly summarizes the years of Hitler's life (early and late). It may not teach too many new things to experts on the subject, but you cannot blame Rotha for that as even if you may have heard it all before, it all wasn't made before Rotha made it in 1961. And at some occasions, there may be even 1 or 2 new facts in here. And for those without great information on Germany in the first half of the 20th century it is as good of a summary as for students really. Really strong focus, never complicated, solid narration and many many excellent recordings from back then. I honestly prefer these a lot about interviews with contemporary witnesses to be honest, but again this is just subjective. So what you see is probably still on completely another level than what you hear, with the exception of judge Freisler perhaps in his really famous "Schäbiger Lump" moment. This is a scene that many have seen probably, just like the last video recordings of Hitler and the new generation of soldiers/Germans. The fact that these scenes have become so we--known in the last decades and that they are included here also shows Rotha's hand for the essential. It's one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time and I highly recommend checking this one out.
For the most part of its slightly over 1.5 hours the film does a solid job in managing strong focus on Hitler and what was relevant related to Hitler from that time. I personally also liked the fact that it was all chronologically and pretty much ended the moment Hitler died. I believe that this film is a solid choice to show student in a history class for example as it perfectly summarizes the years of Hitler's life (early and late). It may not teach too many new things to experts on the subject, but you cannot blame Rotha for that as even if you may have heard it all before, it all wasn't made before Rotha made it in 1961. And at some occasions, there may be even 1 or 2 new facts in here. And for those without great information on Germany in the first half of the 20th century it is as good of a summary as for students really. Really strong focus, never complicated, solid narration and many many excellent recordings from back then. I honestly prefer these a lot about interviews with contemporary witnesses to be honest, but again this is just subjective. So what you see is probably still on completely another level than what you hear, with the exception of judge Freisler perhaps in his really famous "Schäbiger Lump" moment. This is a scene that many have seen probably, just like the last video recordings of Hitler and the new generation of soldiers/Germans. The fact that these scenes have become so we--known in the last decades and that they are included here also shows Rotha's hand for the essential. It's one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time and I highly recommend checking this one out.
