ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

ravitchn Those who seek excuses for Germany's history from 1933-45 and from even earlier in terms of Jew hatred and imperialist ambitions in Europe are quite happy with a portrayal of Rommel as anti-Nazi and a participant in the attempt to murder Hitler in 1944. But the evidence of his anti-Nazi intentions and actions is sparse and the movie is at least honest and realistic in refusing to give this theme more weight than the little it deserves. Of course by 1944, after the Normandy invasion and with the Soviets advancing every more closely to Germany proper, many German in the elite, military and civilian, started entertaining possible ways of putting Hitler out of power and influence. Ordinary Germans did not have enough information to engage in this kind of enterprise and they fought, out of conviction and out of fear, until the end. Personally I must state that anti-Hitler feeling and activity by elites were always very weak, were motivated by fear of defeat by the Allies and fear of being held responsible for what they had done and condoned for so long. These so-called anti-Nazi Nazis were still anti-semitic, still opposed to democracy, still nostalgic for the old Germany of the Empire of Wilhelm II, and still unreconciled to Germany not controlling at least most of eastern Europe; they were still violently anti-communist and not particularly happy with America coming into the picture. So regardless of what positive role Rommel might have played, and I doubt there was much here, the heroic Rommel is part of an attempt to blame Hitler or Himmler and his SS for everything bad. In truth the Wehrmacht participated as much as the SS in murdering Jews and Poles and other perceived enemies; they starved millions of Russian soldiers to death in camps, and did not much to be proud of. Historian Omer Bartov has totally destroyed all interpretations of a neutral Wehrmacht. Participation in the plot against Hitler was not a very serious undertaking and you cannot trust any evidence that creates heroes and resisters where there were none.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Rommel" is a German television film from 4 years ago that stars Ulrich Tukur as the title character. It was written and directed by Niki Stein and sadly, he still did not manage to prove that he is a filmmaker who is good enough to make an impact on the big screen. Or the small screen. I am not really sure what the problem here is. Is it that the character of Rommel is simply not suited for film or is it that they just made a very forgettable movie here. It certainly isn't helping that the film runs for an impressive 2 hours. When I look at another recent German television film ("Stauffenberg"), then I see everything that this film here is missing: interesting characters, strong focus and a story that will at least be interesting to you, maybe even get you on the edge of your seat. "Rommel" has none of these attributes. It is very dry and even if it may be historically accurate than it lacks the heart to really have people interested enough to care about the historic circumstances. It is not Tukur's fault and you cannot really blame the supporting actors either. If one is to blame, then it is Stein here. He had many good actors here to work with, so it is pretty disappointing to see the outcome of this film here in terms of quality. It does not deserve to be called one of Germany's most famous small-screen films from the 21st century. I do not recommend the watch.

Robert J. Maxwell It's an exceptionally good television movie. The performances are uniformly fine, the photography is crisp, judicious use is made of computer-generated effect, and the narrative covering the last seven months of Field Marshall Ervin Rommel is convincing.It's less dramatic and more believable than James Mason's tortured Rommel in "The Desert Fox," less corny actually. This Rommel never kisses his wife, Lucy. He just nuzzles her. And he does not stop on the doorstep every time he leaves and whisper, "Good-bye, Darling." Ulrich Tukur's Rommel marches through his battles and finds himself in a conundrum with only one solution. He's all business and dignity. The effect is less dramatic but more believable.In "The Desert Fox" we are never told exactly what it was that Rommel did that earned him a death sentence. Here, we learn that he knew of the plot against Hitler but refused involvement. He would have gone along with Hitler's arrest but not his assassination. That accords with what I've read elsewhere. He knew something was afoot, and he knew many of the men behind the plan, but not exactly what they intended.In "The Desert Fox," Mason as Rommel protests that he is a soldier, not a politician. Here the message is spelled out in boldface. He had wistful dreams, not mentioned in this film, of surrendering peacefully to the Western Allies and perhaps even forming an alliance with them against the Bolsheviks. That's not a politician speaking.The story is a kind of docudrama in which events are presented pretty much as they happened. Private conversations, of course, are fabricated. However, it's gripping throughout -- a docudrama, yes, but a very carefully thought-out and executed docudrama.

Remmerts If you are interested in WWII movies and enjoy a very realistic dramatic movie rather than an action movie this is the one for you. Great acting by German actors, realistic plots and much detail spend on uniforms, armor and real live settings in WWII. The Geman language enhances the reality of the movie. Ulrich Tukur plays Rommel with great resemblance and talent.The movie reveals the man Rommel and his aversion of Hitle in the afterdaysr and the Plot to kill Hitler (you must remember Valkyrie: with Tom Cruise). Though casted very well, it is hard to identify yourself with the main character. The actors each are casted very well, with actors who play the German Generals and officers with great resemblance. Hope you enjoy the movie!