Hitler in the Movies: Finding Der F?hrer on Film [Hardcover]

In Hitler in the Movies: Finding Der F?hrer on Film, a Shakespearean and a sociologist explore the fascination our popular culture has with Adolf Hitler. What made him & Hitler? Do our explanations tell us more about the perceiver than the actual historical figure? We ask such question by viewing the Hitler character in the movies. How have directors, actors, film critics, and audiences accounted for this monster in a medium that reflects public tastes and opinions?

The book first looks at comedic films, such as Chaplains The Great Dictator or Ernst Lubitschs To Be or Not to Be (1942), along with the Mel Brookss 1983 version. Then, there is the Hitler of fantasy, from trash films like The Saved Hitlers Brain to a serious work like The Boys from Brazil where Hitler is cloned. Psychological portraits include Anthony Hopkinss The Bunker, the surreal The Empty Mirror, and Max, a portrait of Hitler in his days in Vienna as a would-be artist. Documentaries and docudramas range from Leni Reinfenstahls iconic The Triumph of the Will or The Hidden F?hrer, to the controversial Hitler: A Film from Germany and Quentin Tarantinos fanciful Inglourious Basterds.

Hitler in the Movies also considers the ways Der F?hrer remains today, as a ghostly presence, if not an actual character. Why is he still with us in everything from political smears to video games to merchandise? In trying to explain this and the man himself, what might we learn about ourselves and our society?

Sidney Homan is Professor of English at the University of Florida and Visiting Professor at Jilin University in the Peoples Republic of China.

The late Hern?n Vera was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida.

Preface: Hitler in the Movies
Chapter 1: The Comic Hitler
Chapter 2: The Hitler of Fantasy Films
Chapter 3: Hitler the Character
Chapter 4: Documentaries and Docudramas: Playing with the Facts
Chapter 5: The Presence of Hitler