In November 1939, Georg Elser's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for decidi... Read allIn November 1939, Georg Elser's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action.In November 1939, Georg Elser's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 16 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhile Hitler is speaking, he is handed a note mentioning that bad weather will ground his plane. It is not explained in the movie, but Hitler cut short his speaking engagement (and avoided Elser's bomb) so that he could catch a train instead.
- GoofsIn the first flashback to 1932, two young boys are shown trading cards of airplanes. One of the cards shows a Messerschmidt Bf-109, which one boy also calls a "Messerschmidt". But the Bf-109 had its first flight only in 1935 and entered service not until 1937, so it would not have been featured in a 1932 trading cards game.
- Quotes
Georg Elser: If humanity isn't free, everything dies with it.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Evening Urgant: Alexander Petrov/Kadebostany (2016)
- SoundtracksThe Internationale
(Left wing anthem)
Featured review
Oliver Hirschbiegel directed the celebrated war drama Downfall (2004) about the last week in the life of Adolf Hitler. With his new movie 13 Minutes, he returns to the subject of life in Nazi Germany but this time events are set mainly in the years leading up to the war. More specifically it focuses on a man who tried unsuccessfully to kill Hitler in the early months of a conflict that would go on to claim 55 million lives. The man is Georg Elser, who was a carpenter who was unaffiliated with any political party. He worked alone and set up a bomb that was set to go off in a beer hall where Hitler had a scheduled meeting. The film's title comes from the fact that the assassination attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, given that the Fuhrer left the target location thirteen minutes ahead of schedule. Oddly, Elser is a man who is little known. This is especially strange when you consider how well known the later assassination attempt on Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg is. Elser by contrast seems to have been marginalised by history, which is why this film is so welcome as this is a man who deserves to have his story celebrated. Aside from a few intimate conversations and moments, the details contained in this film are based on historical accounts.
The structure of the story is told from the point that Elser is caught just after the bombing. From here he is interrogated by the Nazis and the story flashes back in sections so that we see how this musician/carpenter came to ultimately undertake his dangerous act. In taking this approach, the film is able to not only tell a historical drama but to also look at Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the war, specifically life in the countryside. Life in German rural villages always seems somewhat idyllic as was exploited by the Heimat films of the time and so it is especially jarring to see life continue in such a place but with an ever increasing Nazi presence, initially shown by the presence of small groups of brown shirts through to large swastika flags draped all over town leading ultimately to active persecution of citizens. People undesirable to the Nazis are taken away or pilloried by the authorities and the people of the village feel powerless to do anything about it. The film considers just how hard it was to actually go counter to the Nazi system at the time, seeing that all aspects of life were geared against disobedience to the Nazi state.
13 Minutes is a very good film because it combines a little know but important story with a setting in Nazi Germany rarely focused on. The performances are universally excellent and the overall authenticity is impressive. This extends to some disturbing torture scenes which feature actual Nazi interrogation methods. It's, therefore, a fairly intense film but one that surprisingly finds new things to tell us about a period in history which has had so many cinematic treatments and documentaries. It should go some way to elevate Elser himself more into the public consciousness and ensure his actions are never forgotten.
The structure of the story is told from the point that Elser is caught just after the bombing. From here he is interrogated by the Nazis and the story flashes back in sections so that we see how this musician/carpenter came to ultimately undertake his dangerous act. In taking this approach, the film is able to not only tell a historical drama but to also look at Nazi Germany in the years leading up to the war, specifically life in the countryside. Life in German rural villages always seems somewhat idyllic as was exploited by the Heimat films of the time and so it is especially jarring to see life continue in such a place but with an ever increasing Nazi presence, initially shown by the presence of small groups of brown shirts through to large swastika flags draped all over town leading ultimately to active persecution of citizens. People undesirable to the Nazis are taken away or pilloried by the authorities and the people of the village feel powerless to do anything about it. The film considers just how hard it was to actually go counter to the Nazi system at the time, seeing that all aspects of life were geared against disobedience to the Nazi state.
13 Minutes is a very good film because it combines a little know but important story with a setting in Nazi Germany rarely focused on. The performances are universally excellent and the overall authenticity is impressive. This extends to some disturbing torture scenes which feature actual Nazi interrogation methods. It's, therefore, a fairly intense film but one that surprisingly finds new things to tell us about a period in history which has had so many cinematic treatments and documentaries. It should go some way to elevate Elser himself more into the public consciousness and ensure his actions are never forgotten.
- Red-Barracuda
- Jun 18, 2015
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- 13 Minutes: The Plot to Assassinate Adolf Hitler
- Filming locations
- Rathaus Schöneberg, Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany(Reich Security Main Office)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $161,531
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,750
- Jul 2, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $1,328,233
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
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