Overall, a pretty good account of the rise of Hitler and the reign of terror perpetrated by the Third Reich. I've watched a number of similar documentaries about Hitler and this one showed me a few things I had never known.
The documentary is certainly taken down a peg by the atrocious casting of Károly Kozma as Hitler. When it comes to physical likeness, on a scale of 10 Kozma is about a 6. The casting department could have chosen from hundreds of capable actors with much more similar physical characteristics. Kozma's poor likeness to Hitler is one thing, but his abysmal performance amounts to little more than scenes of hysteria - usually unwarranted - giving Hitler very little depth. Kosta's scenes are all pantomimed (there are no speaking parts) and most of them are poorly executed. To say the least, this was a critical role and they made an awful choice by going with Kosta. You also have to blame director Joe Berlinger for encouraging Kosta's ridiculous style of performance.
There are other things that are seemingly glossed over, including Hitler's terrible health and booming drug dependency. Hitler was prescribed over 90 medications through his life, suffered from numerous serious ailments, and regularly consumed amphetamines, barbiturates, opiates, and cocaine. Between his very poor health and easy access to drugs, little wonder that Hitler devolved into the madman that he surely was.
There's also short shrift given to Hitler's pact with Japan, the courage of the British military, and various other facets of World War II. But, after all, I still did award the documentary a 7 out of 10, indicating I did find it very watchable and illuminating. It shouldn't be the ONLY documentary you watch about Hitler, but it certainly belongs in the upper echelon.
