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I would take a guess and suggest that part of the reason Constantin Film issued a take-down is that they think it's making light of Hitler - many Germans I know

by redcap 16y ago

I would take a guess and suggest that part of the reason Constantin Film issued a take-down is that they think it's making light of Hitler - many Germans I know are very strongly anti-nazi (e.g. a friend of mine who at a Tokyo punk gig would put down the arms of Japanese patrons who performed nazi salutes to a german-themed Japanese band). My personal opinion is that this is fair use and beneficial to the company - I see several comments from people saying the only reason they watched Downfall is because of the various videos they watched. But that doesn't seem to ring with a company that I presume mainly makes for the domestic German market (and art-house cinema overseas to a lesser degree) and probably doesn't have a good grip of the benefits of allowing limited remixing of original content.

adrianwaj 16y ago
Around 60 million people died as result of this megalomaniac. Making a mockery of this figure with voice over is fair game in my view: it dissipates negative energy, and, while still showing the visuals without alteration means to me that the real Hitler is simultaneously not hidden. There are of course going to be mixed reactions to these clips, but with myself having distant family perish (as with many others), it's not offensive but rather makes light of (as in confronts) a terrible time.
- redcap 16y ago
  I agree with you that Hitler is fair game for mockery. However, I think part of the equation for the film distributors is that they may think it distracts from the gravity of the scene and of the movie as a whole. The particular scene is where Hitler is confronted with the facts that the defence of Berlin is completely fucked. I would not be alone in enjoying a very malicious kind of schaedenfreud in just how fucked they are - they're going to fry. Maybe not the kind of punishment he and his kind deserve, but knowing that they knew... While I appreciate the meme that the subtitling activities has generated, being able to speak and understand a little German leads me to the opinion that it is a little cheapening towards the actual movie. I believe it's this element, plus perhaps a lack of understanding how media remixing and social networking benefits content producers, that led to the film makers issuing the take down.

by redcap 16y ago

adrianwaj 16y ago

Around 60 million people died as result of this megalomaniac. Making a mockery of this figure with voice over is fair game in my view: it dissipates negative energy, and, while still showing the visuals without alteration means to me that the real Hitler is simultaneously not hidden. There are of course going to be mixed reactions to these clips, but with myself having distant family perish (as with many others), it's not offensive but rather makes light of (as in confronts) a terrible time.

redcap 16y ago
I agree with you that Hitler is fair game for mockery. However, I think part of the equation for the film distributors is that they may think it distracts from the gravity of the scene and of the movie as a whole. The particular scene is where Hitler is confronted with the facts that the defence of Berlin is completely fucked. I would not be alone in enjoying a very malicious kind of schaedenfreud in just how fucked they are - they're going to fry. Maybe not the kind of punishment he and his kind deserve, but knowing that they knew... While I appreciate the meme that the subtitling activities has generated, being able to speak and understand a little German leads me to the opinion that it is a little cheapening towards the actual movie. I believe it's this element, plus perhaps a lack of understanding how media remixing and social networking benefits content producers, that led to the film makers issuing the take down.