Hitler - La naissance du mal

Le film suit Adolf Hitler depuis sa sans-abrisme sous un pont, à travers ses premiers discours dans un bar en buvant de la bière, la proposition du symbole de la croix gammée à la maison autour de la table, jusqu'à ses négociations ambitieuses avec le président Hindenburg. Je ne peux qu'espérer la crédibilité des faits présentés dans le film, mais je le fais volontiers car il est bien réalisé et joué pour une production télévisée, et il répond en détail à ma question sur la façon dont un tel homme (sans même avoir la citoyenneté allemande) a pu accéder à un tel pouvoir. Hitler est présenté non seulement comme un psychopathe avec une fanatisme et une haine qui débordent de ses yeux, mais aussi comme un manipulateur génial qui a réussi à tisser des liens avec les plus hauts politiciens malgré sa position inférieure. (14/11/2005)

From a historical perspective, there could be some reservations about this film, however, the atmosphere of the rise of Nazism is portrayed convincingly and the casting is well-done. The television format of the film did not allow for any grand spectacle, but the focus here is primarily on the story and the performances. Robert Carlyle excelled in the lead role, maturing into a first-class character actor. Overall impression: 80%. (16/06/2006)

Hitler: The Rise of Evil has a very ridiculous cast, Geli is blonde (!), and overall a lot of other key moments had to be "suppressed" in the name of blind drama. Well, it makes sense to travel with Adolf on the road to total collapse, but when doing so, a better choice is, for example, the older project Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil. (27/12/2010)

An extraordinarily made film. Really detailed and extremely powerful for a TV movie. The story of one of the biggest monsters in the history of Europe dissected to the smallest detail. Great cast. Carlyle is an exceptionally talented actor and handles his transformation from feeble worm to the most powerful and feared man in Nazi Germany without any problem whatsoever. The picture has you almost incredulously following the string of events leading up to the Second World War. So many coincidences, so many crucial moments that were absolutely dependent on perfect timing... it’s unbelievable that things went that far. Uncle Adolf! (20/03/2011)

Carlyle is a great actor, but his “Hitler-like" roaring (which he is paradoxically good at unlike in the non-rhetorical scenes where he’s tragic) together with his English spiced by his wannabe German accent resulted in me not being able to believe his character even for a second. Which, given the fact that he doesn’t leave the screen for the whole of the three hours, is a bit of a problem. The screenplay and its really, really very simplified take on Hitler, doesn’t do much to improve the overall impression. Something like this might have been expected immediately after the war, but not sixty years later. There are so many far better films about Hitler (so much more impressive and more chilling due to their non black-and-white perspectives) and documentaries that there is no real point in dealing with it yet again. But it’s not all that bad and as a movie mapping the ups and downs of a fictive dictator in a fictive land it might even have worked. (13/11/2004)