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Conspiracy
Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities
Movie propaganda
One of the greatest crimes against humanity was perpetrated in just over an hour.
A snowy winter's day at an ornate mansion in Wannsee, on the outskirts of Berlin. Inside, SS Major Adolf Eichmann (Stanley Tucci) oversees a phalanx of butlers and adjutants. Their task is to prepare a sumptuous buffet and bar for a group of Nazis expected for a top-secret meeting.
One by one, high-ranking members of the third Reich arrive in chauffeured vehicles. The last of the fifteen to arrive, and the one with the biggest limousine is Reinhard Heydrich (Kenneth Branagh), Director of Reich Security Main Office and Head of the Protectorate. Entering the reception hall, Heydrich commands instant respect among the guests: he's the highest-ranking member of this group and has been appointed by Reichmarshal Göring to initiate this meeting and map out the details of a "final solution" to Germany's Jewish "problem".
Over the next 90 minutes these men will determine the fate of millions of people throughout Europe and when the meeting ends, the final solution will have just begun.
Persons of interest
- Stanley Tucci .... Adolf Eichmann
- Kenneth Branagh .... Reinhard Heydrich
- Colin Firth .... Doctor Wilhelm Stuckart
- Barnaby Kay .... Sturmbannfuhrer Rudolph Lange
- Ben Daniels .... Doctor Joseph Buhler
- David Threlfall .... Doctor Wilhelm Kritzinger
- Jonathan Coy .... Doctor Erich Neumann
- Brendan Coyle .... Oberstgruppenfuhrer Heinrich Müller
- Ian McNeice .... Doctor Gerhard Klopfer
- Owen Teale .... Doctor Roland Freisler
- Nicholas Woodeson .... Generalleutnant Otto Hoffmann
- Kevin McNally .... Martin Luther
- Peter Sullivan .... Standartenfuhrer Eberhard (Karl) Schöngarth
- Ewan Stewart .... Doctor Georg Leibbrant
- Brian Pettifer .... Doctor Alfred Meyer
- Loring Mandel .... Screenwriter
- Frank Pierson .... Director
Cinematic intelligence sources
- Studios and distributors:
Intelligence analyst
Special Agent Matti
Theatrical report
Conspiracy is a surprisingly good and gorgeously subtle film that does something that no other film I have ever seen has done: portray World War II from the point of view of the Nazis (Das boot is not included because it's about submariners rather than Nazis).The cinematography is breath-takingly beautiful: living in Sydney is great for going to the beach but it doesn't allow for any variation in the weather beyond hotter or colder. The snowy mansion in Wannsee is stunning inside and out but the snow is not what brings the chill to this film, it's the normalcy of the participants: the quality of the light lunch, the apportioning of responsibility, the nit-picking, the politicking, the clashing of personalities. Right up to the table-thumping climax, Conspiracy is just another reconstruction of just another high-level committee meeting. They could be discussing the formation of the European Union or the introduction of a single currency and you would see little difference from this meeting... until Heydrich reveals the depth of the infamy which they are about to commence: the industrialisation of the slaughter of the Jews of Europe.
If you are a teacher of history, this is a very good way to impart the basis of the Final Solution, even though Stanley Tucci and Kenneth Branagh's hairdos are a little obvious. Your students will see that Nazi anti-Semitism was just the way that people were. It was not just expected, it was normal. The Jewish Question wasn't even a question, just a problem in search of an answer. I commend Conspiracy to all lovers of good film.
Media intelligence (DVD)
- Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Disc: Single side, single layer
- Languages: English
- Picture: Widescreen 16:9 enhanced
- Subtitles: English captions
Security censorship classification
M (Low level coarse language, adult theme)
Surveillance time
83 minutes (1:23 hours)
Not for public release in Australia before date
VHS rental: 10 July 2002
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