Best portrait of a german soldier on a movie

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Topspeed
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#31

Post by Topspeed » 03 Sep 2004, 12:25

Enemy at the gates !

Who was the actor of the main german caracter ? Any good ?

rgrds,

Juke T

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HPL2008
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#32

Post by HPL2008 » 03 Sep 2004, 12:49

Topspeed wrote:Enemy at the gates !

Who was the actor of the main german caracter ? Any good ?
That was Ed Harris. Good performance, but it was killed by the script when Major König totally acts out of character at the end of the movie by hanging that Russian boy... Which transforms him from a human character into just another Hollywood-style Nazi monster.
Don't get me wrong - of course war crimes were committed against the Russian civilian population in real life, but this plot twist was totally unnecessary.
For most of the film, König appears as just a capable, professional soldier, and quite an honorable one, too. The character is even given a tragical dimension by the grief for his son, who was killed in action, as we eventually find out. And then... It is almost as if Mr. Scripwriter halted his work for a moment and thought: "But wait! He's a German officer! We can't make him look human; he's a NAZI! Let's stop making him likeable on the double and have him do something REALLY terrible before the end credits!" Just dumb.
(As was the movie itself, despite its really good production design and impressive sets and special effects work.)


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Topspeed
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#33

Post by Topspeed » 03 Sep 2004, 13:28

I liked Ed Harris in the " RIGHT STUFF ".

I never saw Enemy at the gates, that is why I asked. I did see a trailer at http://www.mymovies.net.

cheers,

Juke T
Last edited by Topspeed on 03 Sep 2004, 14:09, edited 1 time in total.

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Grünherz
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best portrait...

#34

Post by Grünherz » 03 Sep 2004, 13:54

HPL2008,
A good call...Curt Jurgens in "The Enemy Below".
I was just breezing through this this thread and was trying to remember his name--like I should have to (one of the all-time great WWII movies)!
Mitchum was also particularly good in this one.
I was also trying to think of Hardy Kruger in "The One Who Got Away"--a rare film.
Not to question any other suggestion on this list. Fiennes, etc.? They are all great.
I was just trying to come up with some unusual ones and they have already been mentioned! This forum is too knowledgeable.
Tom

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melbar16
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#35

Post by melbar16 » 03 Sep 2004, 22:13

What did you think of Des Teufels General? I'm considering buying it on dvd... is it worth getting do you think?

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HPL2008
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#36

Post by HPL2008 » 03 Sep 2004, 23:40

melbar16 wrote:What did you think of Des Teufels General? I'm considering buying it on dvd... is it worth getting do you think?
I've always liked the film a lot - especially Jürgens' performance - and watched it several times on TV over the years, although I must admit it's been a while since I saw it the last time.
This is one of those classical 1950s German-made Third Reich dramas, along the lines of "Canaris", "Der 20. Juli", "Die Brücke" and quite a few others. Those were films that certainly had a lot of authentic flair to them, which I am sure is to no small degree due to the fact that practically all cast members lived through the Third Reich in Germany and had personal experiences and observations to bring to their roles.

By the way - Checking on the DVD on amazon.de, I found that one customer review stated that the DVD's picture quality is quite poor, while another customer remarked that the film has been cut for some reason, with some significant dialogue missing:

http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/B ... 18-4970465

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Hamirubi
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#37

Post by Hamirubi » 05 Sep 2004, 22:41

Still like my favorite scene (http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 254#528254) in Band of Brothers, where a young boy is being seen as a real human with feelings (it is, I admit, a very short scene).

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Anwar bin Zapari
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#38

Post by Anwar bin Zapari » 06 Sep 2004, 17:00

Maybe we can get something different if somebody decides to make a mini-series out of Panzer Commander They did it with Hitler, maybe it's time for a German soldier like Colonel von Luck to appear in popular culture.

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#39

Post by Hawk » 08 Sep 2004, 02:31

HPL2008 wrote: This is one of those classical 1950s German-made Third Reich dramas, along the lines of "Canaris", "Der 20. Juli", "Die Brücke" and quite a few others. Those were films that certainly had a lot of authentic flair to them, which I am sure is to no small degree due to the fact that practically all cast members lived through the Third Reich in Germany and had personal experiences and observations to bring to their roles.

I agree. Die Brücke is one of my favorite WWII films. I saw it as a kid in the mid 60s for the first time amd was impressed

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#40

Post by Jeremy Chan » 10 Sep 2004, 03:35

ttboy wrote:The Eagle has Landed is one of my favorite war movies with Michael Caine and Robert Duvall playing German officers was great.
Not just German officers, they were the protagonists. While Robert Duvall gave a good performance in The Eagle has Landed, he and Caine were too old for the roles of Radl and Steiner respectively; they were about 20 years older than the ones in the book! And Caine acted out Steiner as if it was a drama more than a thriller. Donald Pleasance did a great Himmler, acted him out as if he was a reincarnation.
Maximillian Schell, James Mason and David Warner as Captain Stransky, Colonel Brandt and Captain Kiesel in Cross of Iron. They were very dramatic.
Jürgen Prochnow and Hubertus Brengsch (dammit did I spell it right!) in Das Boot as the captain and the First Watch Officer (the younger one who grew up in Mexico). The latter was one of my favourite characters.

Another display of callousness and brutality in Enemy at the Gates, besides hanging Sacha; when König's train was pulling in at the station, he pulled down the curtains on the wounded troops in the other train. :x And when the captured Vladimir was brought to König, after interrogation, he instructed: "take off his clothes and dress him in our own". An awful disappointment, Enemy at the Gates.

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#41

Post by Panzermahn » 10 Sep 2004, 12:23

Another display of callousness and brutality in Enemy at the Gates, besides hanging Sacha; when König's train was pulling in at the station, he pulled down the curtains on the wounded troops in the other train. And when the captured Vladimir was brought to König, after interrogation, he instructed: "take off his clothes and dress him in our own". An awful disappointment, Enemy at the Gates.
Hi Steelfist, nice to see you back here again..By the way major Konig hang sacha because he broke his promise to the Major by not staying at home and worse, betrayed the Major's position's to Zaitsev. Initially Major Konig treated Sacha well, (etc giving him chocolates) but when it was apparent that sacha is a betrayer, then it is Sacha himself that reaped what he had sown... :roll: closing the curtains because Major Konig doesn't want the wounded troops to see his train courage is not actually a sign of brutality but a sign of indifferent..that's all..

the russian soldier who was captured is not Vladimir but Volodya.. :wink:

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WalterS
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#42

Post by WalterS » 12 Sep 2004, 07:08

Hands down, Jürgen Prochnow as the German skipper in Das Boot.

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Cor
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#43

Post by Cor » 13 Sep 2004, 14:39

For me that's also Ralph Fiennes in Schindlers List. In those pics above he looks like a real SS-officer.

Also in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a acter who plays a good role as an SS-officer. Especially when he slaps Sean Connery in the face with his gloves.

It's the officer who dies in the tank, but i can not remember who plays the role.

By the way this is my first post here!

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HPL2008
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#44

Post by HPL2008 » 13 Sep 2004, 16:40

Cor wrote:Also in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a acter who plays a good role as an SS-officer. Especially when he slaps Sean Connery in the face with his gloves.

It's the officer who dies in the tank, but i can not remember who plays the role.

By the way this is my first post here!

It's Michael Byrne, who had cinematically opposed Harrison Ford once before, playing another German officer in "Force 10 from Navarone". (By the way: As the ultimate contrast to his SS role, he had also played a Holocaust survivor in "Apt Pupil"...)

Oh, and welcome to the Forum!

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Hamirubi
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#45

Post by Hamirubi » 13 Sep 2004, 20:11

Byrne indeed. I also find the Gestapo-man in the first Indiana Jones to be a very convincing agent.

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