Review of Hitler: The Rise of Evil

Introduction

Robert Carlyle stars in this autobiography of one of history`s most loathed figures, Hitler. Charting his rise from lowly private in the German army to his position of power over the German nation, this made for TV movie was recently nominated for a total of 7 Emmy Awards. So it`s got a bit of a reputation to live up to, does it manage to pull it off?

Video

Being a TV movie this is nothing particularly special, what you do get is a very crisp clear picture though and the quality of the video compression is quite good. Basically don`t expect anything fancy and you won`t be disappointed.

Audio

Overall the audio quality is of a decent standard though again it`s not big cinema release quality but then it was never intended to be! The sound is solid and clear, indeed about the only real gripe about this aspect of the film would be the fact that most characters make no attempt at an accent, hearing Hitler speaking with a Scottish accent is rather disorientating at first but forgivable nonetheless.

Features

Unfortunately this is one area which the DVD is sadly lacking, it comes only with a Trailer and…well that`s it really unless you count the interactive menus and scene access as extras! A commentary of sorts would have been nice and is sadly a bit of a missed opportunity.

Conclusion

Nominated for seven Emmy awards and after watching it it`s not hard to see why. Featuring a gripping performance by Robert Carlyle as Hitler, this made for TV movie is a compelling insight into his rise to power. Starting off with some of his earlier years as a child, through his youth and spell as a Private in WWI, till eventually reaching his position of devastating power in Germany. It`s a startlingly scary tale which just shows how easy it was really for him to persuade people to his way of thinking.

The DVD release itself perhaps could have benefited more with a few more extras but overall it`s the main feature that matters and in this case it is high quality. The acting for the most part is top notch featuring a fairly solid cast, video and sound quality is good. Overall it`s a gripping autobiography though also manages not to squeeze too many facts by focusing primarily on his later years.

Definitely worth viewing though the only thing that would put me off buying it on DVD is that it has been shown on TV and I`m not so sure it`s one that warrants repeat viewing.