Conspiracy

Rating:
Summary: Captivating & Entertaining
Review: There really isn't too much to say that hasn't been said already here, but I would like to add my recommendation of this film to anyone who has studied WWII or the Holocaust. It is absolutely riveting. One thing that is nice = most of the actors in this show are not well known, with a few exceptions, and yet everyone performed brilliantly. You need to see this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Stands up to its subject matter
Review: An account of the Wannsee Conference, chaired by Reinhard Heydrich (Head of the Reich Security) on January 1942. This Conference was to be decisive in establishing the "Final Solution" - cause of the Holocaust. One copy of the proceedings was found by American investigators after WW2 and was made into two movies, "The Wannsee Conference" (a West German movie), and the American remake "Conspiracy".

Any movie where we watch people talking for 90 minutes stands or falls on acting quality. Kenneth Branagh, as Heydrich, is excellent - the texture of his role is slick and darkly pleasant. The other actors are efficient. The made-for-TV nature of the movie does become apparent in its low-budget production, but this kind of movie does not necessarily need a lot of fluff.

Watching nazi officers and officials discussing whenever half-Jews should be made infertile or killed is not an inherently desirable experience. But there are many things in life that are undesirable, but must be confronted.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Movie that could have been better
Review: This movie could have been much better. The portrayal of Heydrich and Eichmann as cold blooded killers is absolutely amazing, and right on. As is the setting of a business meeting over lunch and coffee. However, this movie portrays dissent among the Nazis at the table, including the minister from Hitler's own Reich Chancellory objecting to the murder of the Jews as wrong, this certainly was not the case. The only major saving grace of the movie is that the portrayal of Heydrich and Eichmann lend a chilling quality to the movie that kept me watching.
Had the movie been more historically accurate it would have portrayed a much clearer picture of what occured and would have been a much better movie.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: This is a movie that makes your skin crawl. True, it does not have any shootings, or mass killings in it. On the surface of it, it's just a movie about a meeting of Nazi's that took place in 1942. However, pay attention, soak the movie in. Conspiracy is a truly disturbing look at Nazi Germany, and the psychopaths that ran it.

Conspiracy is based on a real meeting of high and mid level Nazi officials that look place in 1942, in a mansion at Wannsee, outside Berlin. The meeting was organized by SS General Reinhard Heydrich, who, historically, might be the scariest man ever born. Heydrich ran the SS police state that spanned all of Europe, which murdered thousands of "undesirables" and kept a stranglehold on the Axis world. Heydrich and other SS officials had somewhat covertly been constructing the infrastructure for the "Final Solution" to the Jewish question. Heydrich has also authorized the formation of the nefarious Einsetzgruppens, that roamed the Eastern lands of the Reich, carrying out mass slaughters of Jews and communists. General Heydrich called this meeting in order to inform the organs of the Reich that his plan was going to go forward, with the tacit support of the Fuhrer. His plan would set up a system of death camps, in which Jews would be gassed to death. Millions would die. At Heydrich's side was his aide, the ruthlessly effective Colonel Eichmann. Eichmann was one of the main architects of the final solution, taking a hands on approach on building the Holocaust infrastructure.

This movie does a masterful job of portraying this discussion as it happened. People talk of mass murder like it's an afterthought. The Jews are subhuman, their deaths mean nothing. Interestingly, there was a lot of insider politics going on at the meaning, as the Nazi party heads sought to ensure that their own influence and power would not be co-opted by Heydrich's growing SS apparatus. The discussions are horrifyingly fascinating, as the eventual outcome becomes clear. They all hesitate to say the "kill" word, but there is a general sense of wink wink. It's probably the best representation of Nazi politics I have seen on screen. Some might find a discussion driven movie a little boring, but it had my attention all the way through. The cast of actors did a very good job portraying their real life counterparts. I thought Stanley Tucci did the best job, as the strangely meek but mechanically evil Adolf Eichmann. Kenneth Branagh is excellent as Heydrich, who was amazingly charming while he plans the death of 6 million people. The overall theme of this movie is that educated, civilized men, can often perpetrate the worst evil imaginable. As a somber side note, the end of the movie points out how many of the men who sat at that table managed to escape the responsibility for their crimes, a tragic condemnation of post-war policy.

...

Rating:
Summary: I've read the other reviews from the .... ones
Review: Watch this movie not to learn about the actual happenings of this conference, but watch it instead for the pure entertainment of it all. Who really cares if it's not historically factual? This movie is truly fantastic above everything else, and the dialogue in this film is spectacular. Kenneth Branagh's portrayal of Heydrich is so smooth & cool, yet so utterly evil.

I rarely submit reviews on books and films, but "Conspiracy" is definitely worth writing one!

Rating:
Summary: Could this happen in a board room today???
Review: Being an avid European WWII buff, I have watched this movie on DVD several times. I feel you must see it 2-3 times simply to get all of the nuances that are offered.

I have read elsewhere, and concur that this meeting could easily take place regarding another subject matter, in any board or conference room in the world. I have personally known people with all of the personalities and agendas that are portrayed here. Generally the attendee or moderator that comes the best prepared to present his or her case will prevail, in this case General Heydrich. Of course it doesn't hurt that he has support from "upper management". Once you can strip away the connection with the Holocaust, I am sure you will see the point I am making.

Excellent cast and direction; the ability to seal the fate of millions in just over an hour is chilling indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Conspiracy
Review: This movie is superb and distribing all at the same time. The story is very fast paced it really has no slow parts or fillers. If the words are not the exact ones said that day you feel they have captured the spirit of the meeting. When They discuss their "storage" problem and decide the fate of millions of people over a buffet lunch you see true ... but without it being preachy or overdone. What I found amazing is how "normal" the subject matter is handled. You imagine from their laughter and joking you are at a meeting with a bunch of CEO'S. Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth really move this picture along and you feel that you have glimpsed into a very dark side of history. The thought of how close they came to their plan is extremly scary. A good fast paced movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie was thoroughly fascinating. The characters were portrayed as real men, not as some sort of horrible hobgoblins that history tends to pretend they were. While much historical liberty is taken by the directors in recreating the controversial event, it is done within the confines of probability.

I was also surprised to see the way the directors handled Hitler's involvement (or lack thereof) in the Final Solution. While Heydrich and Eichman assure everyone that Hitler "will not ask about it" they never say that Hitler knows. Many historians will argue otherwise, but its good to see that the directors didn't try to rewrite history themselves. Overall a superb movie that should be watched by any World War II/Nazi Germany Buff.

Rating:
Summary: On my "top ten" movie list
Review: Exceptional cast, brilliant performances, and accurate history---forgiving some accommodation of drama. I have watched this in VHS several times and am fascinated by the glimpse of humanity it gives. Characters so riveting Shakespeare would be impressed. Several of my friends have also purchased this as well. HBO is building a reputation for outstanding historical drama.

Rating:
Summary: Neither fact nor fiction
Review: Let's begin with the positives: the acting is superb, and the costumes and sets are surprisingly accurate (note the bronze swastika-emblazoned napkin holders being polished in the opening scene.) Now the negatives: as a film, it drags. It is the story of a meeting of bureaucrats; how could it not? As history, it is largely speculative. The minutes of this infamous conference, from the "one surviving copy", are barely 8 1/2 typed pages, including the list of attendees. Three of those who attended spoke on the conference after the war, when their recollections were somewhat hazy & their commentary geared towards pleasing their Allied captors. My point is there is not enough documentation available to build a movie on the subject of Wannsee. The director et al attempted to make both an entertainment and a documentary, and failed at both.