The Bunker, 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins

The Bunker is a 1981 film starring Anthony Hopkins as Adolf Hitler during the last days of WWII in Germany. Trapped in the bunker, his forces losing, his health ailing, blaming his generals for incompetence... this film is considered to be one of the most historically accurate accounts of what happened during the last weeks and days as British and Russian forces were closing in on both sides.

Anthony Hopkins won an Emmy for his performance in the film.

Many films have touched on the subject of the last days in Hitler's bunker. Many of them are considered to be less than historically accurate. They include the 2004 film "Downfall", which has been highly criticized for being too sympathetic to the characters. (The Downfall film was also the target of many YouTube parodies wherein people have changed the translation of Hitler's rant scene to something funnier.)

There is also "The Death of Adolf Hitler", which an even older film from 1973 made by the British and starring Frank Finlay as Adolf Hitler. It was made for television and due to budget constraints it is an "okay" film, has more historical inaccuracies, but nowhere near as good as the 1981 version.

Lastly, there is also "The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler", made in 1943 by Universal Pictures, before Hitler even died. The plot follows a man who plans to murder Adolf Hitler and steal his identity. It is a complete work of fiction. Very difficult to find a copy of that film however so I am unable to review it.

So in conclusion, if you are going to watch any film about the last days of Hitler's bunker, watch the old 1981 version with Anthony Hopkins. It is simply a much better film and hasn't been parodied a gazillion times.

And its free to watch on YouTube.




And below is a parody of the Downfall film wherein the translation has been changed to Hitler ranting about all the parodies of the Downfall film.