Fatherland (1994) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Christopher Menaul

Writers (WGA):

Robert Harris (novel)
Stanley Weiser (teleplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

It's 1964. What if Hitler had won the war?

Plot:

Fictional account of what might have happend if Hitler had won the war. It is now the 1960s and Germany's war crimes have so far been kept a secret...

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title | Hitler | SS | Alternative History | Detective

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	SS-Sturmbannführer Xavier March
Miranda Richardson	...	Charlie Maguire
Peter Vaughan	...	SS-Oberstgruppenführer Artur Nebe
Michael Kitchen	...	SS-Untersturmführer Max Jäger
Jean Marsh	...	Anna von Hagen
John Woodvine	...	Franz Luther
John Shrapnel	...	SS-Obergruppenführer Odilo 'Globus' Globocnik
Clive Russell	...	Krebs
Clare Higgins	...	Klara
Pavel Andel	...	Man in Dark Coat
Petronella Barker	...	Helga Schröter, Tour Guide (as Petronella O. Barker)
Sarah Berger	...	Leni Kalder
Jan Bidlas	...	Bellboy
Stuart Bunce	...	Blind Soldier
Charles De'Ath	...	Fake Porter

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Eis Film

Trivia:

SS-Cadet Hermann Jost's father, who is briefly mentioned in the film as "one of the founding members of the S.S." is intended to be the real life Heinz Jost: SS-Major General, and Commander of a Russian based Special Action Execution Squad (Einsatzgruppen), during the Second World War.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Throughout the movie many Wartburg cars can be seen. The car manufacturer Wartburg was founded by the government of the DDR (GDR), the state of East-Germany which was established after Germany lost WWII. Therefore it is very unlikely these cars could exists in the reality of the movie.

Quotes:

Artur Nebe: You're a good promotion prospect, Xavi, leave this alone and you could go far. You can't afford to make an enemy of Globus... or of me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1995) (TV)

An interesting "alternative" version of world history

First of all, I haven't read the book. That means I can't compare it with the movie, if anyone is interested in that. The story here is quite interesting. The movie takes place about 20 years after World War II, a war won by Germany. That means many differences from what really happened:

- All Europe is one single country, Germania (I think)

- Germania is still at war with the Soviet Union

- No one really knows about the extermination of the Jews. The official story is that they were deported to Ukraine.

- The celebration of Hitler's 75th birthday is soon about to take place. The American President is going to make him a visit.

This makes the background for what happens in this movie. A man is found dead, and the investigator gets a mystery to solve that grows bigger as he digs up information.

The movie is quite good, just take into consideration that it's a bit low budget. Remember, it's a TV-movie.

(Something totally different: It was funny seeing a poster of "The Beatles" called "Die Beatles").