The Bunker (1981 film)

The Bunker
File:The Bunker 1981.jpg
Based on	The Bunker by James P. O'Donnell
Screenplay by	John Gay
Directed by	George Schaefer
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Richard Jordan Cliff Gorman Susan Blakely
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Executive producer(s)	Bernard Sofronski
Producer(s)	David Susskind Diana Kerew
Running time	154 minutes
Release
Original network	CBS Time-Life Productions
Original release	January 27, 1981 (1981-01-27)

The Bunker is a 1981 CBS television film, Time/Life production based on the book The Bunker by James P. O'Donnell.

The film, directed by George Schaefer and adapted for the screen by John Gay, is a dramatisation depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

The film opens in 1945, with O'Donnell (James Naughton) gaining entry to the Führerbunker by bribing a Soviet sentry with a packet of cigarettes.

Anthony Hopkins won an Emmy for his portrayal of Adolf Hitler. Actors on the set claimed his performance was so convincing that those playing German soldiers snapped to attention whenever Hopkins came onto the set, even if he wasn't in character.

The actors' interpretations of the events differ in ways from the traditional accounts. For example, during the final meeting between Hitler and Albert Speer, Hopkins adopts a sarcastic tone and gestures (including mock applause) that suggest that Hitler was already aware of Speer's betrayal, even though he uses the exact words recounted by the witnesses. This became a fairly controversial scene due to a perception in some circles that the resemblance to Jesus Christ's legendary foreseeing of Judas's betrayal was intentional. These accusations were consistently denied, as were reports regarding a rumoured on-set romance between Piper Laurie (Magda Goebbels) and Cliff Gorman (Joseph Goebbels).

Also, the film constantly shifts the point-of-view character. This includes characters who are not known to have left their experiences on record. For example, Dr. Werner Haase is used in this manner, even though he was never interviewed (having died in late 1950). Likewise, two scenes are written from the viewpoint of Hitler's cook, Constanze Manziarly, and in one scene, Manziarly actually has a flashback, remembering happier days. However, Manziarly disappeared while escaping from the bunker, so neither O'Donnell nor any other person was able to interview her or get her viewpoint.

Ironically, given O'Donnell's work on the breakout, the film ends just as the groups are leaving the bunker complex of the Reich Chancellery, and there is never any explanation given for the flamboyant caviar scene.

The film was critically acclaimed, as the list of honors shows:

Won:

• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie: Anthony Hopkins

Nominated:

• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie: Piper Laurie
• Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
• René Magnol (production mixer)
• Robert L. Harman (re-recording mixer)
• William L. McCaughey (re-recording mixer)
• Howard S. Wollman (re-recording mixer)

Cast

• Anthony Hopkins as Adolf Hitler
• Richard Jordan as Albert Speer
• Cliff Gorman as Joseph Goebbels
• James Naughton as James P. O'Donnell
• Michael Lonsdale as Martin Bormann
• Piper Laurie as Magda Goebbels
• Susan Blakely as Eva Braun
• Martin Jarvis as Johannes Hentschel
• Michael Kitchen as Rochus Misch
• Robert Austin as Walter Wagner
• Andrew Ray as Otto Günsche
• Yves Brainville as Heinz Guderian
• Michael Culver as Wilhelm Mohnke
• Julian Fellowes as Nicolaus von Below
• Frank Gatliff as Ernst-Günther Schenck
• Terrence Hardiman as Hermann Fegelein
• Edward Hardwicke as Dieter Stahl
• Karl Held as Hans Baur
• David King as Hermann Göring
• Sarah Marshall as Traudl Junge
• John Paul as Wilhelm Keitel
• Morris Perry as Werner Haase
• Pam St. Clement as Constanze Manziarly
• John Sharp as Theodor Morell
• Michael Sheard as Heinrich Himmler
• Tony Steedman as Alfred Jodl
• Peggy Frankston as Margarete Speer

In a short scene at the beginning of the film, a younger O'Donnell is played by actor James Naughton. O'Donnell himself provided brief voice-over narrations at the beginning and end of the film.

See also

Downfall (2004 film)

External links

• The Bunker at IMDb