The Devil's General (Des Teufels General) - 1955

Directed by Helmut Käutner

Writers:

George Hurdalek (writer)
Helmut Käutner (writer)

In 1955 in West Germany, "Des Teufels General" was adapted into a black and white film of the same title. The film features Curd Jürgens as Harras, Marianne Koch as Dorothea 'Diddo' Geiss, Viktor de Kowa as SS-Gruppenführer Schmidt-Lausitz, Eva Ingeborg Scholz as Waltraut 'Pützchen' Mohrungen, and Harry Meyen as Leutnant Hartmann. At the German Film Awards of 1955 Marianne Koch won the Film Award in Silver for Outstanding Individual Achievement: Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.

Des Teufels General is a 1946 play written by German author and playwright Carl Zuckmayer. Translated directly, the title means "The Devil's General," referring to the main character of the play, General Harras, who is working under Adolf Hitler during World War II. The play is based upon his struggles during the war, simultaneously working under and openly being against the Nazi Party. Despite the serious scenario of it, a comical and satirical tone is often used throughout the play.

Harras, whose character is based upon actual German Luftwaffe General Ernst Udet.
Lüttjohann, Harras' adjutant.
Korrianke, Harras' Chauffeur.
Friedrich Eilers, Colonel & leader of the war front and military.
Hartmann, aviation officer.
Writzky, aviation officer.
Hastenteuffel, aviation officer.
Pfundtmayer, aviation officer.
Sigbert von Mohrungen, President of purchasing for crude metals.
Baron Pflungk, Attaché for the ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Schmidt-Lausitz, cultural leader.
Der Maler Schlick
Oberbruch, Engineer in the Air-Travel Ministry.
Anne Eilers, wife of Friedrich Eilers.
Waltraut von Mohrungen, who goes by the alias Pützchen. Anne's sister.
Olivia Geiss, diva.
Diddo Geiss, Olivia's niece; love interest of General Harras, despite how much younger than him she is.
Lyra Schoeppke, named "die Tankenstelle," which means "The Gas Station."
Otto, restaurant manager.
Francois, french speaking restaurant waiter.
Herr Detlev, restaurant waiter.
Buddy Lawrence, an American journalist.
Zwei Arbeiter, two workers.
Ein Polizeikomissar, a police commissionar.

Decision Before Down (1951)

Director: Anatole Litvak

Writers:

George Howe (novel)
Peter Viertel (writer)

Within the inflexible framework of a straight undercover spy film, which in this case goes by the title of "Decision Before Dawn," Twentieth Century-Fox and Anatole Litvak have packed not only lots of thrills but a clear and cold look at Western Germany in the last year of World War II. They have also worked into this thriller, which opened at the Rivoli yesterday, a persuasive amount of compassion for a German soldier who turns traitor on his own.

Lest this sequential information should lead anyone to suppose that the produce

rs are up to something such as the recent "Desert Fox," let this be acceptable assurance that there's no fraud in "Decision Before Dawn." Neither is there endeavor to whitewash the guilty or corrupt.

The humble hero of the adventure that is tensely unfolded in this film is a young German medical corpsman who has been, captured just west of the Rhine. On giving reliable indication that he is willing to serve as a spy, he is trained by American Intelligence and then dropped behind the German lines to locate and report the position of a panzer division that supposedly wants to quit. The major part of the story is of his adventures behind the lines.

And it is in this phase of the story that Peter Viertel, who wrote the script, and Mr. Litvak, who directed (as well as co-produced), have packed as stirring a drama as any you'll want to see, as well as a fair approximation of a nation's moral collapse. For in the soldier's narrow encounters while posing as a loyal Luftwaffer on leave, in his fortuitous meetings with German civilians in the depths of despair and in his fearful observations of the brutality of the Nazis' death-grip are caught not only twanging tension but a sobering sense of profound fatality. That which we see is the consequent degradation of a conqueror's shattered dreams, and the fact that the soldier is finally swallowed up in it completes the sense of doom. There is plainly no sentimentalizing, no passing the buck in this film.

To assure himself of authenticity, Mr, Litvak not only checked his script with the proper military authorities, but he went right to Germany and photographed his story in its shattered cities and still uncovered ruins. Here are the gaping shells and rubble in which the Germans lived the last years of the war, here are the broken bridges, the barbed-wire "check points," the crumbling autobahns. And here, in a cast of German actors, Mr. Litvak has reproduced some various types of Teutons that went down the Nazi drain.

First, there is Oskar Werner, a young actor from the Viennese stage, who does a remarkable job of making the hero a solid human being—a lad of very tentative courage but of decent instincts, none the less, who assigns himself to be a traitor and goes through with it because he thinks it best; Then there is Hans Christian Blech, who does an equally fine but briefer job as a suspiciously treacherous ex-criminal who also turns traitor for the gold.

As a watery-eyed "hostess' in a German cafe, Hildegarde Neff is affecting, too, conveying the pathos of desertion without making any piteous appeals. And, as assorted Nazi soldiers, Wilfried Seyferth, O. E. Hasse and several more give convincing illusions that you are seeing the genuine things.

In the roles of American officers who operate the intelligence machinery with impressive élan and efficiency, Richard Basehart and Gary Merrill put starch into the first part of the film. Only Dominique Blanchar is unconvincing as a French underground glamour girl.

True, there's nothing morally elaborate or conclusive about "Decision Before Dawn." But it packs some impulsive excitement and it plants a seed of understanding in the mind.

DECISION BEFORE DAWN, screen play by Peter Viertel, based on the novel "Call It Treason" by George Howe; directed by Anatole Litvak; produced by Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy, for Twentieth Century-Fox. At the Rivoli.
Lieutenant Rennick . . . . . Richard Basehart
Colonel Devlin . . . . . Gary Merrill
Happy . . . . . Oskar Werner
Hilde . . . . . Hildegarde Neff
Monique . . . . . Dominique Blanchar
Oberst von Ecker . . . . . O. E. Hasse
SS Man Scholtz . . . . . Wilfried Seyfert
Tiger . . . . . Hans Christian Blech
Fraulein Schneider . . . . . Helene Thimig
Paul . . . . . Robert Freytag

from: NYTimes

Sophie Scholl

Julia Jentsch	...	Sophie Magdalena Scholl
Gerald Alexander Held	...	Robert Mohr (as Alexander Held)
Fabian Hinrichs	...	Hans Scholl
Johanna Gastdorf	...	Else Gebel
André Hennicke	...	Richter Dr. Roland Freisler
Florian Stetter	...	Christoph Probst
Maximilian Brückner	...	Willi Graf
Johannes Suhm	...	Alexander Schmorell
Lilli Jung	...	Gisela Schertling
Klaus Händl	...	Lohner
Petra Kelling	...	Magdalena Scholl
Jörg Hube	...	Robert Scholl
Franz Staber	...	Werner Scholl
Maria Hofstätter	...	Wärterin
Wolfgang Pregler	...	Jakob Schmid

2005 Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Sophie Scholl - The Final Days is the true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine brought to thrilling, dramatic life.

Sophie Scholl stars Julia Jentsch (of recent cult fave The Edukators) in a luminous performance as the fearless activist of the underground student resistance group, The White Rose.

Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence in 1943 Munich. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to her comrades, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless.

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Valkyrie (2008)

Director: Bryan Singer

Writers: Christopher McQuarrie (written by) and
Nathan Alexander (written by)

Tom Cruise	...	Col. Claus von Stauffenberg
Manfred-Anton Algrang	...	Albert Speer
David Bamber	...	Adolf Hitler
Matthias Freihof	...	Heinrich Himmler
Stephen Fry
Andy Gatjen	...	Angry SS Officer
Christian Oliver	...	Sgt. Adams
Christopher Karl Hemeyer	...	Major Bunker
Carice van Houten	...	Nina Von Stauffenberg
Eddie Izzard	...	Erich Fellgiebel
Justus Kammerer	...	Heimeran
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Otto Ernst Remer
Bill Nighy	...	Friedrich Olbricht
Florian Panzner	...	Hans Wilhelm Hagen
Halina Reijn	...	Fraulein Van Oven

At the height of WW2, a group of high-ranking German officers hatched a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and seize power of the military command in order to end the war. The operation was codenamed "Valkyrie", for the emergency plan that was meant to be used in case of a revolt against the Nazi government. This plan had been modified by the conspirators to ensure their success, but for various reasons the plot failed when finally carried out on 20 July 1944. The conspirators of the inner circle were shot after a kangaroo trial or sentenced to death soon after.

Kenneth Branagh as General Henning von Tresckow. From a Prussian noble family, he was born in 1901 and was one of the youngest soldiers of the First World War, earning the Iron Cross (1st Class) at the Second Battle of the Marne. “Hitler is not only the arch-enemy of Germany, but the arch-enemy of the world.”


Bill Nighy as Gen. Friedrich Olbricht, a Saxon and son of a mathematician. Another veteran of the First World War, Olbricht was an early opponent of National Socialism, being wary of the movement from their unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, ten years before Hitler came to power. Germany plays herself in the film, though there are also a few scenes shot in Bohemia.
Terence Stamp as Gen. Ludwig Beck. Beck was originally a German expansionist, hoping to restore his native land to her previous military might. Yet he had become increasingly aware of Hitler’s madness so that by the time of the Czech crisis of 1938 he had primed an army plot to overthrow Hitler.

From: IMDb; Norumbega

Stauffenberg (2004)

July, 1944. As WWII raged on, a group of conspirators, led by Claus von Stauffenberg, plotted to assassinate Hitler and end his reign of terror. Using rare color footage, painstakingly recreated dramatizations, detailed CG reconstructions and exclusive interviews with leading historians, this thrilling documentary presents the definitive record of what happened before, during and after these pivotal events. Produced in collaboration with the German Resistant Organization Forschungsgemeinschaft 20 Juli 1944, Operation Valkyrie: The Stauffenberg Plot to Kill Hitler also features over 2 hours of in-depth bonus features. (by Amazon.com)
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In 1944, a group of high command officers plot an attempt against Hitler, and one of the leaders of the conspiracy, Stauffenberg (Sebastian Koch), goes to a meeting with the Fuhrer in charge of exploding the place. However, Hitler survives and the officers are executed. This unsuccessful operation was called "Valkyrie Operation", and this realistic movie discloses this true event. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (IMDb)

----------

Sebastian Koch	...	Oberst Claus Graf Schenk v. Stauffenberg
Ulrich Tukur	...	Henning v. Tresckow
Hardy Krüger Jr.	...	Werner v. Haeften
Christopher Buchholz	...	Berthold Graf v. Stauffenberg
Nina Kunzendorf	...	Nina Gräfin v. Stauffenberg
Stefania Rocca	...	Margarethe v. Oven
Axel Milberg	...	Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm
Olli Dittrich	...	Joseph Goebbels
Katharina Rivilis	...	Polja
Karl-Heinz von Liebezeit	...	Oberfeldwebel Kolbe
Michaela Wiebusch	...	Sekretärin Alix von Winterfeldt
Michael Lott	...	Schweizer
Christine Sommer	...	Deliah, 2. Sekretärin Stauffenberg
Thorsten Merten	...	Peter Graf Yorck v. Wartenburg
Joachim Bissmeier	...	Generalfeldmarschall Erwin v. Witzleben

The Night of the Generals

Directed: Anatole Litvak

... Peter O'toole	General Tanz
Omar Sharif	...	Major Grau
Tom Courtenay	...	Lance Cpl. Kurt Hartmann
Donald Pleasence	...	Maj. Gen. Kahlenberg
Joanna Pettet	...	Ulrike von Seydlitz-Gabler
Philippe Noiret	...	Insp. Morand
Charles Gray	...	General von Seidlitz-Gabler
Coral Browne	...	Eleanore von Seidlitz-Gabler
John Gregson	...	Col. Sandauer
Nigel Stock	...	Sgt. Otto Kopkie
Christopher Plummer	...	Field Marshal Rommel

As for the movie itself, it's in color, letterbox format, and it's just spectacular! It's a combination of two film genres, mixing a WW II film with a murder mystery -- and the scenes, setting, scenery, casting, special effects, storyline, soundtrack, and cinematography are all spot-on, terrific!

The story is about a Nazi officer (a really ethical guy!) who is assigned to investigate (like a regular policeman) the murder of a prostitute and to bring the perpetrator to justice. He soon discovers that very similar depraved murders have occurred in the past and, due to one terrified witness glimpsing the red stripe down a uniform trouser leg, a uniform feature which was exclusive to Nazi generals, the investigator knows that this will definitely be a difficult case to resolve.

He soon narrows the suspect generals down to three men, all of whom had both the bad temperment as well as the opportunity to kill and mutilate these women. But soon, most of the focus begins to center on one VERY strange general in particular (one of the three). All this takes place during an aggressive and brutal Nazi purge of "dissidents" in the town and that is the war side of the film. There's a lot more to the story, sub-plots, etc., but I don't want to convey any spoilers.

So, I guess I'm saying that if you can somehow obtain a good copy of this most excellent film, then go for it! My highest recomendation. (Amazon Customer)

Amen

Amen

Directed by Costa-Gavras

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Amazon Customer Reviews:

An important film, but flawed a bit historically and technically...
Overall, this is a must-have flick for WWII history buffs. It tells the story of Kurt Gerstein reasonably well and the fellow playing his part does a great job. The characters are good, the storyline is good, the historical events are a little off here and there, but overall, the movie stays on course and is worth buying.

My peeves with this movie may seem trivial, but I am a history buff and if you're going to do a movie like this, get the details right because those details kept distracting me. There were many errors in the movie regarding uniforms, rank insignia, flags, and a number of other things. The sinister looking black SS uniforms are used throughout the movie by Concentration Camp officers and SD personel, when in reality, those uniforms were gone by 1940. SD/SS officers also did not wear "SS" collar patches, nor did concentration camp personel. SD men wore blank black collar patches, camp guards and officers wore the Totenkopf skulls or blank black collar patches as well. Also, Gerstein's rank insignia changes inexplicably several times in the movie, which would seem to be a continuity problem. In addition to that, for some reason, the SS offices throughout the movie are festooned and bedecked with Hitler Youth flags, which made no sense to me at all, and early in the movie, SA and SS troops are marching carrying Hitler Youth banners - just seems like poor research on the technical end.

Lastly, the gassing which Gerstein witnessed is not portrayed accurately and I have no idea why, as this is the most important part of the movie. His "confession" is easily found and he describes the scene, and the scene in the movie doesn't match at all. Why? I have no idea.

Overall, despite all this, I like the movie a lot and highly recommend it. It does point out the Catholic church's refusal to deal with the persecusion of the Jews, and finally, it gives the outside world a look at Kurt Gerstein, who's been largely forgotten by history. Not all SS men were Godless monsters, and finally there's a movie which dares to touch on that subject.

All Catholics should watch this DVD
This film, in the framework of World War II, helps Catholics understand the silence of many local church leaders on injustices happening right now. Consider the Iraq War. John Paul II and Benedict XVI made multiple powerful statements that the Iraq War is unjust. Nonetheless, many Catholics are unaware of this in the US as US church leaders fear losing memberships and even student enrollments as some members earn their income from participating in the violence.

COSTA-GAVRAS, OPUS
***1/2 2002. Co-written and directed by Costa-Gavras. Seven nominations for the French César awards but only one win in the Best Writing category. The real story of SS Kurt Gerstein who tried to alert the world about concentration camps. The problem with this kind of film is that the people who should watch it will never buy or rent such a movie.

Aimée & Jaguar

Aimée & Jaguar is a 1999 German war and drama film set during World War II. It was written and directed by Max Färberböck, based upon Erica Fischer's book, chronicling the actual lives of Lilly Wust and Felice Schragenheim during that time period. The book also contains photos of the many letters shared between the two, and official correspondences post WWII with regards to Felice's whereabouts. It stars Maria Schrader, Juliane Köhler, Johanna Wokalek, Elisabeth Degen, Heike Makatsch, Detlev Buck.

The film explores the lives of the characters Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader), a Jewish woman who assumed a false name and who belongs to an underground organization, and Lilly Wust (Juliane Köhler), a married mother of four children, unsatisfied with her husband (a German soldier). Felice takes the initiative in the love affair. Lilly, fascinated with the strength of Felice and her friends, falls deeply in love because she realizes that she can give love with a cosmopolitan woman rather than merely receive love from a man. The film features both sensual erotic encounters and sentimental love poems (quoted from the book), and during one love scene a poetic line emerges in which Lilly is an Aimée to Felice as Jaguar.

Then one day Lilly’s husband gets leave from the front and arrives home, only to see Felice and Lilly in bed. Although he then hoped merely to punish her for her indiscretion so that his marriage would return to normal, Lilly surprises him by asking for a divorce. He later dies at the front. Felice and her friends stop seeing Lilly for the sake of her own survival.

On one occasion, Lilly erupts in anger over Felice’s unexplained absence for days, so Felice shares her secret that she is Jewish. After the July 20 Plot Lilly’s friends fear for their lives and arrange to flee Germany before they are rounded up. Felice prefers to take her chances in order to enjoy the love of her life, though unfortunately not for long, as Felice is captured by the gestapo. She died during a march from Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Poland to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.

The story has two bookends. When the film begins in 1997, an 83-year-old Lilly (then played by Inge Keller) is taking up residence in a dilapidated flat that once served as an underground hideout. Lilly’s German maid Ilse (played by Johanna Wokalek in the 1940s, by Kyra Mladeck in 1997), who was rounded up during 1945, is already a tenant. Lilly and Ilse reminisce as the film ends. Lilly, though saddened by the tragedy that she caused her friends and lovers, is unable to imagine how her life could have been any different, given her obsessive live-for-today-for-tomorrow-we-die mood, common among besieged Berliners.

Lilly Wust lived in Berlin till the day of her death on 31st March 2006. The tagline of the film, "Love Transcends Death," underscores how the book and film serve as sentimental memorials to Felice Schragenheim. However, the life of Lilly Wust is a paradigm of sorts for contemporary Germany.

The movie was nominated and won many German awards (both Köler and Schrader notably won the best actress Silver Bear) and also was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

Directed by	Max Färberböck
Produced by	Hanno Huth Günter Rohrbach Lew Rywin
Written by	Max Färberböck Erica Fischer (book) Rona Munro
Starring	Maria Schrader Juliane Köhler
Music by	Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
Cinematography	Tony Imi
Editing by	Barbara Hennings
Distributed by	Senator Film
Release date(s)	February 10, 1999
Running time	125 mins
Country	Germany
Language	German

• Maria Schrader as Felice Schragenheim (Jaguar)
• Juliane Köhler as Lilly Wust (Aimée)
• Johanna Wokalek as Ilse
• Heike Makatsch as Klärchen
• Elisabeth Degen as Lotte
• Detlev Buck as Günther Wust
• Inge Keller as Lilly Wust (1997)
• Kyra Mladeck as Ilse (1997)
• Sarah Camp as Frau Kappler
• Klaus Manchen as Herr Kappler
• Margit Bendokat as Frau Jäger
• Jochen Stern as Werner Lause
• Peter Weck as Chefredakteur Keller
• Lia Dultzkaya as Hulda
• Dani Levy as Fritz Borchert
• Rüdiger Hacker as Ernst Biermösel

from: wikipedia

View all Movies

• Aimée & Jaguar
• Ballad of Berlin, The (1948-Berliner Ballade)
• Conspiracy (2001)
• Cross of Iron (1977)
• Cuckoo in a Dark Forest (Kukacka v temném lese (19...
• Das Boot (The Boat - 1981 )
• Decision Before Down (1951)
• Der Untergang (Downfall - 2004)
• Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever! (Hunde, Wollt I...
• Enemy at the Gates
• Fronttheater (1942 - Germany)
• Germany Pale Mother (Deutschland bleiche Mutter (1...
• Germany Year Zero
• Hitler: the last ten days - Der Letzte Akt (1955)
• Life Goes On (1945-Propaganda-Germany)
• Marriage in the Shadows (1947 - Ehe im Schatten)
• Morituri (1948-Germany)
• Schindler's List
• Somewhere in Berlin (1946 - Irgendwo In Berlin)
• Sophie Scholl
• Stalingrad (1993)
• Stauffenberg (2004)
• Sergeant Steiner (Cross of Iron 2)
• Stukas (1941 - Germany)
• The Devil's General (Des Teufels General) - 1955
• The Doctor of Stalingrad - (1958 - Der Arzt von Stalingrad)
• The Fox of Paris (Der Fuchs von Paris (1957)
• The Last Illusion (1949-Der Ruf)
• The Lost One (1951-Germany)
• The Mackenzie Break (1970)
• The Night of the Generals
• The One That Got Away - 1957
• The Shark and the Little Fish (Haie und Kleine Fis...
• The Young Lions (1958)
• Valkyrie (2008)

Germany Year Zero

Germany Year Zero
Directed by Roberto Rossellini

Citizens fight for survival in the nightmarish devastation of post-World War II Berlin in this towering masterpiece of Italian neorealist cinema from groundbreaking director Robert Rossellini. Twelve-year-old Edmund, a child who has known only upheaval and terror, wanders from day to day trying to help his family and find money or food on the streets. One day he meets his former schoolteacher, who now profits from Nazi propaganda, and sets in motion a shocking new chain of violence. Filled with haunting imagery and unforgettable performances by real local citizens, this unflinching look at a country wracked with guilt and confusion will never leave your memory.

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Amazon Customers Reviews:

Filmed amid the spectral ruins of Berlin in 1947, and cast with actual residents of the rubble-strewn capital city, Rossellini's harrowing portrait of war's catastrophic impact on everyday people is a haunting classic of Italian neo-realism. Of particular interest is the character of Herr Enning, an ambiguous figure with vaguely pederastic leanings, whose worldview has been unalterably twisted by Nazi ideology. When he gives Edmund a set of tapes--speeches by Hitler--for him to sell on the black market, he also dispenses a bit of corrosive advice about the weak and the strong that Edmund takes, tragically, very much to heart. "Zero" in on this brutal, yet heartrending drama.
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Incredible
Masterful work of Italian neo-realism by the grand old man, Roberto Rossellini and filmed in war-torn Berlin and widely regarded as the precursor to Rossellini's 50's masterpieces.

A young boy is manipulated by his teacher who later turns out to be an appalling Nazi sympathizer who manipulates the boy into murdering his father.

Mesmerizing and always stylized and breathtaking form. This film conveys the horror and destructive inevitability of war far better than the gross Hollywood extravaganza's of the Longest Day variety.

Rossellini was criticized by the neo-realists for injecting greater melodrama and lighting control than was though appropriate, but the film still exists in a magnificent documentary style, and it runs circles around DeSica's Umberto D.
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Devastating statement!
This seminal, absorbing and arresting picture preceded by far, the famous ones Zinemmann `s The Search (1947), Joseph Losey 's The boy with the green hair (1948) and Rene Clement ` s Forbidden Games(1953). And comparing in what stature artistic concerns it with Andrei Tarkovsky `s Ivan childhood is just one echelon bellow, equaled with Forbidden games. .
I have seen them all these in the last two months and I can tell you with all the possible objectivity. This is another magisterial masterpiece of the Italian Realism. There is no way out along this struggling and gradually increasing tension. A true slap in the face that will make you think around a lot of things. An ethic deficit, perhaps?