Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) (TV)

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers (WGA):

John Pielmeier (written by) and
G. Ross Parker (written by)

Release Date:

18 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

"The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Plot:

A unique slant, profiling the life of Adolf Hitler as a child and his rise through the ranks of the National German Workers' Party prior to World War II.

Plot Keywords:

Germany | Nazi | Austria | Weimar Republic | SS

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Adolf Hitler
Stockard Channing	...	Klara Hitler
Jena Malone	...	Geli Raubal
Julianna Margulies	...	Helene Hanfstaengl
Matthew Modine	...	Fritz Gerlich
Liev Schreiber	...	Ernst Hanfstaengl
Peter Stormare	...	Ernst Röhm
Friedrich von Thun	...	General Erich Ludendorff
Peter O'Toole	...	President Paul von Hindenburg
Zoe Telford	...	Eva Braun
Terence Harvey	...	Gustav von Kahr
Justin Salinger	...	Dr. Joseph Goebbels
Chris Larkin	...	Hermann Göring
James Babson	...	Rudolf Hess
Patricia Netzer	...	Sophie Gerlich
Harvey Friedman	...	Friedrich Hollaender
Nicole Marischka	...	Blandine Ebinger
Julie-Ann Hassett	...	Angela Raubal
Thomas Sangster	...	Adolf Hitler (10 yrs)
Simon Sullivan	...	Adolf Hitler (17 yrs)
Robert Glenister	...	Anton Drexler
Ian Hogg	...	Alois Hitler
Filip Hess	...	Egon Hanfstaengl
Brendan Hughes	...	Lieutenant Guffman
Howie Lotker	...	Hans (soldier)
Robert Russell	...	Franz von Papen
David Fisher	...	Georg Bell
Hana Frejkova	...	Frieda
Wolfgang Müller	...	Gregor Strasser
Christopher Ettridge	...	General Kurt von Schleicher
David Calder	...	Dosch
Marek Vasut	...	Max Amann
Bruce Byron	...	Mueller
George Pensotti	...	Judge Neithardt
Joel Kirby	...	Prosecutor Stenglein
Julian Wadham	...	Captain Mayr
Richard Haas	...	Karl Lueger
Richard Katz	...	Dr. Eduard Bloch
Laurence Kennedy	...	Military Doctor
Simon Chandler	...	School Teacher
Ned Vukovic	...	DAP Speaker
David O'Kelly	...	Art Teacher (as David O'Kelley)
Gavin Stewart	...	Munich Police Officer
Rod Grover	...	Heinrich Hoffmann
Richard Rowlands	...	Art Rector
John Comer	...	Lueger Pamphleteer
Terence Longdon	...	Baron #1
Christopher Bowen	...	Baron #2
Liliana Komorowska	...	Baroness
Todd Kramer	...	Hitler's Landsberg Prison Guard
Max von Thun	...	Munich Reporter #2
Jiri Zeman	...	Emil Maurice
Jirí Novotny	...	Von Lossow (as Jiri Dalet Novotny)
Mikulás Kren	...	Julius Uhl (as Miki Kren)
Robert Orr	...	Speaker (war rally)
Jan Petrina	...	Soldier #1 (trenches)
Jan Vosmik	...	Dispatch Runner
Mike McGuffie	...	Wounded Soldier #1
Ryan James	...	Wounded Soldier
Jirí Knot	...	Custom Officer
Dagmar Bláhová	...	Frau Schmidt (as Dasha Blahova)
Jan Kuzelka	...	Man (Beer Hall)
Jeff Smith	...	Red #1
Adam Bradley	...	Red #2
Joel Sugerman	...	Von Kahr Functionary
Jan Budar	...	Schmidt
Vladimir Kulhavy	...	Prisoner (Dachau)
Tomas Zastera	...	Wolf (SA)
Roger Denesha	...	Courtroom Reporter
Jan Unger	...	Vienna Vagrant
Avi Muyderman	...	Men's Hostel Employee
Tim Otis	...	Reichstag Reporter #1
Nancy Bishop	...	Reichstag Reporter #2
Brian Caspe	...	Red Protestor
Vitezslav Bouchner	...	von Seisser
Curtis Matthew	...	Munich Reporter #1
Erik Johanson	...	Newsboy
Jirí M. Sieber	...	Ulrich Graf (as Jiri Sieber)

Directed by
Christian Duguay

Writing credits (WGA)
John Pielmeier		(written by) and
G. Ross Parker		(written by)

Produced by
Christian Duguay	....	co-executive producer
Ed Gernon	....	executive producer
Diana Kerew	....	co-executive producer
Ian McDougall	....	supervising producer
John Pielmeier	....	co-producer
John Ryan	....	producer
Peter Sussman	....	executive producer
Philip von Alvensleben	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
Normand Corbeil

Cinematography by
Pierre Gill

Film Editing by
Sylvain Lebel
Stephen R. Myers
Henk Van Eeghen

Casting by
Deirdre Bowen
Anja Dihrberg
Susan Glicksman
Sue Jones
Alex Wald

Production Design by
Marek Dobrowolski

Art Direction by
Albrecht Konrad
Martin Martinec

Set Decoration by
Milan Babik
Karel Vanásek		(as Karel Vanasek)

Costume Design by
Maria Schicker

Makeup Department
Jan Archibald	....	key hair stylist
Libuse Barlova	....	hair stylist
Linda Dvorakova	....	hair stylist
Sandra Feijoo	....	makeup artist
Tahira Herold	....	makeup artist
Gabriela Rezacova	....	makeup interpreter
Benjamin Robin	....	hair designer
Benjamin Robin	....	makeup artist
Benjamin Robin	....	makeup department head
Ivo Strangmüller	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Simon Borecky	....	unit manager
Steve D'Onofrio	....	post-production supervisor
Martina Rejzkova	....	assistant unit manager
Gerhard Rupp	....	production manager: Austria
Ales Tybl	....	production manager
Paul Vella	....	executive in charge of production
Gordon Yang	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Martin Barta	....	third assistant director
Petr Hartl	....	first assistant director
Petr Kaderabek	....	second assistant director
Bethan Mowat	....	second assistant director
Tomas Pavlacky	....	first assistant director: second unit
Anne Sirois	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Ales Cepelka	....	assistant art director
Axel Eichhorst	....	storyboard artist
Milan Janostik	....	property master
Radan Kapinos	....	on-set proops: second unit
Radan Kapinos	....	swing gang
Francis Politzer	....	storyboard artist
Manu Poupard	....	property master
Veronika Skarlandtova	....	art department coordinator
David Vondrasek	....	assistant art director
Miroslav Zdenek	....	draughtsman

Sound Department
Marina Adam	....	foley artist
Rob Bertola	....	sound editor
Tom Bjelic	....	supervising sound effects editor
Tomas Cervenka	....	boom operator
Colin Cooper	....	adr recordist
Tony Currie	....	dialogue editor
Chris Czopnik	....	assistant sound editor (as Christopher Czopnik)
Allan Fung	....	adr editor
Garrett Kerr	....	dialogue editor
Jirí Kríz	....	sound mixer: second unit
Martin Lee	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kirk Lynds	....	foley recordist
Steven Moore	....	sound re-recording assistant
John Palmieri	....	assistant sound editor
Donna Powell	....	foley artist
Ian Rankin	....	sound re-recording mixer
James Robb	....	assistant sound editor (as Jimmy Robb)
Paul Shikata	....	sound effects editor
John Douglas Smith	....	supervising sound editor
Reinhard Stergar	....	sound recordist (as Reinhard Sterger)
David Yonson	....	adr recordist
David Yonson	....	foley recordist
Eric Apps	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)
Dale Sheldrake	....	adr editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Dominik Janda	....	special effects crew
Martin Kulhánek	....	special effects coordinator (as Martin Kulhanek)
Pavel Policar	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Ales Dlabac	....	Inferno artist
Miro Gal	....	Inferno artist
Vít Komrzý	....	visual effects producer
Robert Loudil	....	animator
Peter Nemec	....	Flame artist
Jiri Stamfest	....	matte artist: digital painter
David Vána	....	visual effects supervisor
Jan Vseticek	....	visual effects coordinator

Stunts
Jiri First	....	stunts (as Jiri Firt)
Michal Grün	....	stunts (as Michael Grun)
Jan Holicek	....	stunts
Jiri Horky	....	stunts
Jindrich Klaus	....	stunts
Pavel Kratky	....	stunts
Jiri Kraus	....	stunts
Miroslav Lhotka	....	stunts
Dimo Liptkovsky	....	stunts (as Dimo Lipitkovsky)
David Listvan	....	stunts
David Motl	....	stunts
Leo Stransky	....	stunt coordinator (as Leos Stransky)
Tomas Tobola	....	stunts
Rudolf Vrba	....	stunts
Jan Petrina	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Alexander Bscheidl	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Jan Carda	....	focus puller
Petr Dvorak	....	grip
Petr Granilla	....	key grip
Martin Grosup	....	director of photography: second unit
René Guillard	....	gaffer
Bohumil Havlicek	....	best boy
Michael Hersalek	....	best boy grip
Mark Hoffmann	....	first assistant camera
Patrick Lima	....	dolly grip
Martin Lippert	....	crane grip
Slavek Mikovec	....	gaffer
Petr Zavrel	....	assistant camera
Zdenek Pozar	....	rigging electrician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Nancy Bishop	....	casting: Czech Republic
Anja Dihrberg	....	casting: Berlin
Inessa Freylekhman	....	casting assistant
Minna Pyyhkala	....	casting associate: Prague
Christopher Richards	....	casting assistant
Olga Záhorbenská	....	casting assistant: Prague

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anette Czagany	....	assistant costume designer
Liba Malerova	....	costumer
Petr Pluhar	....	costumer
Ladislav Procházka	....	costumer
Carola Raum	....	costume supervisor
Patricie Soptenková	....	costumer
Claudia Vasekova	....	translator: costume department
Jaroslava Vesela	....	costume supervisor
Jindriska Vorlova	....	wardrobe coordinator

Editorial Department
Christopher Berg	....	telecine assistant
Andrea Folprecht	....	additional editor
Attila Kovacs	....	assistant editor
Jeff Krebs	....	on-line editor (as Jeffrey Krebs)
Mark Kueper	....	tape-to-tape colorist
Jennifer Macleod	....	post-production coordinator
Stephen R. Myers	....	additional editor
Andrea Pugner	....	assistant editor
Steve Sahagun	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Christopher Dedrick	....	composer: additional music
Yuri Gorbachow	....	music editor
David Greene	....	executive music consultant
Roger Hewett	....	orchestrator
Erin Hunt	....	music coordination: S.L. Feldman & Associates
Adam Klemens	....	conductor
Michael Perlmutter	....	music supervisor: S.L. Feldman & Associates
Craig Pettigrew	....	music editor
John Timperley	....	music recordist

Transportation Department
Leona Kosova	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Cynthia Amsden	....	unit publicist
Julie Andaloro	....	publicist
Marie-Elaine Bailly	....	production coordinator
Christopher Berg	....	technical coordinator
Claire Berrie	....	assistant: Robert Carlyle
Jan Bílek	....	production executive
Tim Blundell	....	assistant: Christian Duguay
Jill Carter	....	script supervisor
Jane Douglas	....	first assistant accountant
Hugo Felfel	....	assistant: John Ryan
Ales Hudsky	....	assistant: Ed Gernon
Lubomir Janci	....	body double: James Babson
Maryse Lesage	....	assistant production coordinator
Walter Ludwig	....	assistant location manager: Austria
Desmond Paes	....	first assistant accountant
Irene Phelps	....	production controller
Katerina Pokorova	....	production coordinator
Rene Ridinger	....	publicity executive
Josef Stanek	....	animal wrangler
Patrick Vagner	....	head accountant: Czech
Jirí Vojtik	....	location manager
Gioia von Thun	....	assistant to director
Zdenek Vrubel	....	cashier
Ned Vukovic	....	dialect coach
Pharaba Witt	....	assistant to executive producer
Lori Wyant	....	script supervisor
Dale Wyatt	....	dialogue coach
Kaja Zloch	....	first assistant accountant

Production Companies

• Alliance Atlantis Communications

Distributors

• Alliance Atlantis Communications (2003) (Canada) (TV)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (2003) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• ATV+ (2004) (Austria) (TV)
• Channel 4 (2003-) (UK) (TV)
• Crest Films (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Koch Vision (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• RTL Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL7)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2005) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Carter White Effects
• Universal Production Partners (UPP)

Other Companies

• Arri Rental  camera equipment provided by
• Elizabeth Bardsley & Associates  script annotation
• S.L. Feldman & Associates  music supervision

Also Known As:

Hitler: La naissance du mal (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

Australia:179 min (video version) | France:130 min | USA:240 min (including commercials) | Spain:177 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Trivia:

The producers originally wanted Ewan McGregor to play Hitler.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the segment set in "July 1918" the Lieutenant informs a young Hitler that the unit is to be redeployed to the Eastern Front. Russia had already signed a peace treaty with Germany in 1917 so by this point in the war there was no longer any "Eastern Front".

Quotes:

Adolf Hitler: [speaking about Hindenburg's death] Today, the old Reich and it's finest leader enter Valhalla. At the same time, we mark the beginning of a new era. A time of peace and prosperity await us. The thousand year Reich has began. Sieg Heil!
[Crowd repeats phrase]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Cinemania: I anodos kai i ptosi tou Nazismou" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Das Deutschlandlied

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

"Hitler: The Rise of Evil" was shrouded in controversy before it ever aired, and that controversy may obscure the accomplishment of the film.

Those who criticzed the film, which they hadn't seen, did so with good intentions, based on the misguided thought that it would be overly sympathetic to Hitler. However, they misunderstood the point: to humanize the evil Hitler is not sympathize with him. It is far more disturbing to realize that the unspeakable acts committed by one of history's greatest villains were committed by a human being. A sick, diseased maniac, to be sure, but a human being nonetheless. It is necessary to know the story of how Hitler was able to come to power to prevent it from happening again.

"Rise of Evil" is highlighted by a brilliant, career best performance from Robert Carlyle, who makes Hitler a human being without ever redeeming him in any way. Carlyle flawlessly captures the look and mannerisms of the Nazi leader, while never letting the impersonation become cartoonish or distance us (something Anthony Hopkins was not quite able to accomplish when he portrayed Hitler in "The Bunker", another very good made-for-television film). While were are repulsed by Hitler's depravity and virulent ant-Semitism, Carlyle gives him a certain magnetism and power the real Adolf Hitler must have possesed. After all, while else would a nation have followed him?

Of the various subplots, by far the most compelling features Matthew Modine as reporter Fritz Gehrlich, who makes it his life's work to draw attention to the reality of of Hitler and Nazism. While Modine's performance is a little stilted in part 1, by part 2 he seems to have settled in, the character gives us a real-life hero in a film full of villains. Peter Stormare and Liev Schrieber also give strong support.

Part 1 of this two-part mini series suffered a little bit from being overly choppy, including a look at Hitler's childhood which lasts only the duration of the opening credits. And in part 2, sections detailing Hitler's relationship's with his niece, and his mistress Eva Braun, are less successful than the central plot, but do serve to give us further insight into his mental and emotional state.

Ultimately, no film about Hitler can make us understand him. The average person is, thankfully, incapable of ever understanding a man who would try to exterminate an entire race of people. "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" tries less to make us understand Hitler, and more to make us understand how he came to be power. It is an important story that must be told, and it is impossible to believe anyone who has seen the film would accuse it of having anything but the best of intentions, and the capability of doing anything but good.

9 out of 10. *** 1/2