How sad is this?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This is a splendid drama set on Nazi time with thoughtful plot and slick direction by Jim Goddard . The tale of Helmut (Bill Nighy) and Karl Hoffmann (John Shea) , their turbulent relationships , brotherhood , their loving with same girlfriend , a nightclub Singer called Mitzi Templer (Lucy Gutteridge) and final confrontation . Both come of age at the start of Hitler's power in Germany and experience misfortunes , pains and sufferings . Helmut joins the ¨SS¨ commanded by Heinrich Himmler (John Normington) and eventually becomes a successful flag rank officer thanks to Heydrich . Karl (John Shea) joins the SA commanded by SA Chief Ernst Röhm (Michael Elphick) and suffers the darker side of Nazism after the SA is disbanded and Karl is thrown into prison and later conscripted into the German army. Helmut meets Heydrich (David Warner reprised his role of SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich , whom he previously portrayed in Holocausto ,1978) and appoints him as second-in-command . The story also deals with a family formed by father (Robert Urquhart) , mother (Carrol Baker) and their three sons . Brother is pitted against brother under the shadow of the Third Reich until their relationship finishes at the end . As in 1945 Berlin stands in ruins staying both brothers battling against Russian invasion . The movie talks about various historic events , such as the confrontation between ¨SA¨ and ¨SS¨ , taking place ¨The Night of the Long Knives¨ , it was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from June 30 to July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders. Leading figures of the left-wing Strasserist faction of the Nazi Party, along with its figurehead, Gregor Strasser, were murdered, as were prominent conservative anti-Nazis . Many of those killed were leaders of the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary Brownshirts . Adolf Hitler moved against the SA and its leader, Ernst Röhm, because he saw the independence of the SA and the penchant of its members for street violence as a direct threat to his newly gained political power . At least 85 people died during the purge, although the final death toll may have been in the hundreds, and more than a thousand perceived opponents were arrested. Most of the killings were carried out by the Schutzstaffel (SS) and the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei), the regime's secret police .Röhm was held briefly at Prison in Munich, while Hitler considered his future. In the end, Hitler decided that Röhm had to die . On July 1, at Hitler's behest, Theodor Eicke, later Commandant of the Dachau concentration camp, and SS Officer Michel Lippert visited Röhm and killed him . Furthermore , ¨The night of the broken glass¨ , as the night of November 9, 1938, when terror attacks were made on Jewish synagogues and stores. Two days earlier, Vom Rath, Third Secretary of the German Embassy in Paris , had been assassinated by Grynszpan, a Polish Jew. In retaliation, Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the SD, ordered the destruction of all Jewish places of worship in Germany and Austria . The assault had been long prepared , the murder provided an opportunity to begin the attack. In fifteen hours 101 synagogues were destroyed by fire and 76 were demolished . The pillage and looting went on through the night , streets were covered with broken glass , hence the name Kristallnacht . Reinhard Heydrich artificer of the meeting of senior officials of Nazi Germany, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference, called by director of the Reich Main Security Office; RSHA, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, was to ensure the cooperation of administrative leaders of various government departments in the implementation of the final solution to the Jewish question, whereby most of the Jews of German-occupied Europe would be deported to Poland and murdered . Later on , Heydrich leaves Berlin to take up a new posting as Nazi Governor of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia) and there happens Heydrich's assassination, which being well recreated . Other events being finely narrated are the followings : Destruction radio station incriminating Polish rebels and subsequent Poland encroachment (1939) , siege and defeat Stalingrado (1943) , battle and fall Berlin (1945) .

at first sigh + a sketch about Nazi history . at the second - an inspired remember about birth and fall of a regime, about the touch of politics against family, about ideal and truth. it is not a movie for history fans and it is not the Schindler List. it could be an introduction to a large theme but, in same measure, slice of good acting. because it present in different manner the spirit of a period. and that fact is a good job. it introduce the viewer in the heart of evil not very convincing in many scenes but useful. and that fact is real important for understand a machine of power. Bill Naghy seems be a kind of clone of Peter O'Toole in the Night of Generals and this fact is an interesting detail. John Shea use a special experience who gives to role a nice game of nuances. Jose Ferrer is himself. and , without be a great movie, it is an useful remember.

This is a nice taut docu/drama about a fictional family the Hoffman's which chronicles life in Nazi Germany from the early 1930's up until 1945. When it was originally aired back in 1985 it was a two part TV mini series which has now been put together in a movie format. I said a fictional family, but in essence it could have been any family from Germany at that time. This British production is not as long or as well done as the better know American ones such as THE WINDS OF WAR (1983), or the NIGHTMARE YEARS (1989). Never the less don't let that put you off, it's still very entertaining and makes up for any production shortcomings with character chemistry and some great dialog. Also, events are put on the fast track here because from an historical point of view it doesn't dwell too much on any one aspect of the SS activities or the war as a whole, so film move's quickly.Karl Hoffman (John Shea) is the first in the family to be drawn to the Nazi doctrine and as a disgruntled worker joins the brown shirts or SA who are Hitler's storm troopers for the early part of his rule. Helmut Hoffman (Bill Nighy) who is more of an intellectual is less impressed by the excesses of the SA and initially wants to have no part the Nazi movement. However, but because of his blonde hair and blue eyes is eventually recruited to the more elitist and seemingly less boorish SS under Heinrich Himmler and his ruthless enforcer Reinhard Hydric (David Warner). So Helmut leaves his studies and moves up the ranks as Hydric's assistant and soon becomes immersed in some of the most critical decisions of that period.After the "night of the long knives" things take a turn for the worse for Karl. With the disbanding of the SA as well as the liquidation of it's top leaders he soon finds himself surplice to requirement and consequently is on the receiving end of some rough treatment as well as a taste of Nazi prison life in the notorious Dachau. Fortunately, Helmut using his position in the SS is able to spring his brother out of Dachau but after being so enthusiastic about Hitler from that moment onwards Karl is bitter, disillusioned and troubled by what he has experienced. Despite given promotion in the German army which by this time he was forced to join he is still unsettled and as things go from bad to worse in on the eastern front he deserts his unit and heads for home. In the mean time and despite not having the enthusiasm nor the stomach for, lets say the more unsavory aspects of life in the SS Helmut knuckles down. He strikes up a friendship with another assistant called Becker (brilliantly played by Warren Clarke) and soon realizes that once you have joined you can't just resign! Their parents also opt for the quiet life, the mother brings up the youngest brother Hans and the father works on the railways that seemingly always run on time. There is a poignant scene when he comes across a cattle truck crammed full of people and who are obviously in distress, but when he inquires about them his supervisor snaps " oh just some Dutch Jews, don't worry there in no hurry where there going". This is obviously a reference to the efforts made by some that the German people knew nothing of the cruelty and atrocities under the third Reich! As the war comes closer to home Karl returns to find his family and discovers that the house has been flattened and their parents killed an air raid. The youngest brother Hans now old enough to join the "Hitler youth" becomes a member of the "Volkstrum" a rag tag outfit of boys and old men that have the thankless task trying to stop the red army from over running Germany. Hans having been brainwashed for years can't be reasoned and decides to stay put and fight for the "vatherland",despite the best efforts from his brothers to convince him otherwise.In the final scenes as the Russians are closing in Helmut realizing that as a member of the SS he will be the victim of harsh retribution tries to abscond from active duty and tip toe away in civilian clothes. However he is recognized and executed by his own side for not fighting to the end. Finally when it's all over after the final battle Karl is comforted by a family friend Mitzi when they discover the body of his youngest brother Hans in the rubble. All in all an ironic ending to the movie because in the opening scene both Karl and Helmut are seen running to the church way back in 1931 for the christening of their younger brother Hans. In the end in the ashes and ruins of Germany this 12-13 year old boy who knew nothing but Hitler was just one of many millions killed, is surly testimony to the madness of the so called 1000 year Reich. There are some good performances, it's mostly a British cast but it is supported by Americans Jose Ferrer, John Shea and Tony Randal and is defiantly worth a watch. I'd highly recommend this particularly if who are interested in WWII history!

Handsomely produced TV film is an ambitious project in that it follows the rise of the Third Reich while telling the story of a German family, in particular, two brothers (BILL NIGHY and JOHN SHEA) who are swept into the wartime problems when the oldest joins the SS in 1931 and becomes a good Nazi (until he sees the scope of the horror) and the other eventually joins because he's under the illusion that he can change things from the inside.Although it covers a span of '33 to '45, none of the actors age noticeably, the one weakness in an otherwise carefully detailed production.This is not the first time this sort of subject has been handled. A less epic, more narrowly focused melodrama of two brothers with opposing viewpoints was made in the 1940s (UNDERGROUND - 1941) with JEFFREY LYNN and PHILIP DORN as German brothers taking opposite viewpoints of the wartime philosophy and directed by Vincent Sherman. Although it was a well done melodrama, it did not attempt to get the full flavor of the Third Reich and its various operations as this film does.JOHN SHEA is especially impressive as the brother who speaks his mind against some of the Nazi practices and at one point even ends up for awhile in Dachau, the concentration camp. The other brother manages to get him released but there are still many trials and tribulations for both of them before the film reaches a dramatic climax. CARROL BAKER does a nice job as a worried German mother.David WARNER is impressive as Reinhard Heydrich, the sarcastic and brutal Nazi officer who gets his comeuppance before the war is over. All of the performances are first rate and the story covers a good deal of actual history without ever losing track of its main characters.Absorbing stuff, lengthy, but well worth watching.