Reviewed by Louise Bolotin
Narrated by Robert Powell | UK cert E | UK RRP £9.99 | Runtime 600 minutes | Directed by Alexander Kluge
Now that 70 years have passed since the start of WWII, it’s becoming ever easier with hindsight, the passage of time and the emergence of new historical material to try and analyse both events and the main players on the stage.
Hitler’s Bodyguard is an interesting attempt to view the man, the politician, the leader, the sociopath and, of course, what happened, through his own eyes. Archive footage and eyewitness testimony from his own security guard help to shed light into some previously dark corners and add some extra pieces to the overall puzzle. There are fascinating glimpses into Hitler’s daily life – the trivia and minutiae that help to build the picture of something and someone bigger and more complex. More importantly, there are illuminating insights into Hitler’s specific personality problems – he was charismatic yet riddled with insecurities, some bizarre phobias and obsessions. As the war lengthened, he became someone increasingly fragile and isolated yet unable to grasp that he, his sick vision and his reich were ultimately doomed.
This is an ambitious documentary series that achieves much of what it sets out to do and has rightfully earned its place in the growing canon of modern filmic investigations into the Nazi era. It falls down on the high level of repeat material – as a 13-part TV series, a brief introduction at the start of each 50-minute segment plus a recap of earlier highlights was justified. As a four-disc set, it would have benefited immensely from some editing to cut those annoying segments. I would also have reshuffled some sections into chronological order so that each disc of three and a half hours stood strongly in its own right and had a linear narrative. Gripes aside, the archive footage is excellent and adds to our general knowledge of the period. It’s not definitive, however – other recent series such as The Nazis: A Warning from History are superior. One strictly for fans of military history.
EXTRAS None