Conspiracy

As a 4th generation American of German heritage, I have a deep interest in attempting to understand how a presumably cultured, educated, Christian society could become the Nazi nightmare of WWII.

This film, as so eloquently stated by previous posters, is quite simply a cautionary tale for all of humanity. I have seen the film several times on HBO, and whenever it comes on, I feel compelled to drop what I'm doing and watch, again transfixed -- at the ability of our human brains to rationalize and deny even in the face of undebatable truths.

Any honest person watching the film must ask himself -- How would I respond if I were at that table? How would I respond if I were a German citizen in the Third Reich? Americans, I believe, right now in 2005 -- should look at this film as a warning. No -- we are not fascist Nazis -- not yet. But the groundwork is there. The propaganda, the denial of the facts and the demonization of our enemies. The blind nationalism. We are at a turning point in our country -- and we would be wise to look to history as a reminder of what can happen when we as human beings let fear, ego, and the lust for power dominate over all else.

I will buy this DVD and share it with my family and friends.

As long as people believe in absurdities then they will continue to commit atrocities.

-- Bertrand Russell

In January 1942, General Heydrich chaired a meeting of Hitler's top men from various Nazi bodies including the Party, the SS etc. The reason was to `discuss the inevitable and try to bring it about in the most practical way under one command'. The `inevitable' being the spiralling problem of the huge numbers of Jews and how best to deal with them.

This is a chilling dramatisation of the meeting that sealed the fate of millions of Jews. The story is quite simple and could be easily put on the stage - it is merely a board meeting with the focus being on the characters of those involved. The film plays as a normal board meeting - no one in the room is portrayed as monsters - in fact Heydrich is almost comic. One of the most chilling elements is that no-one in the room believes the Jews were normal people, some are horrified by the thought of killing them all on production lines but even then their alternatives never approach humane options.

This very wordy production would never have succeeded without strong actors and here it is blessed by not only famous faces but unknowns giving great performances. It is difficult at first to accept English actors playing Nazis but you soon get past it. Tucci and Branagh are both excellent and Colin Firth is the best I've seen him as Dr Stuckart from the Interior Ministry. I could literally name the whole cast as the members of the meeting are all well played.

This is not presented as a terrible moment and the men are not portrayed as Indiana Jones style evil Nazis. The facts are allowed to speak for themselves and it's all the more chilling for it. Overall this is an excellent film that benefits from great acting, a great script and great direction.

It was just as Hitler tasted defeat at the Russian front, that a little known meeting was arranged to mark one of the worst events in humankind. That meeting, known as the Wannsee Conference, was to put into motion the evacuation of the Jews from Germany, then the rest of their controlled territories.

15 officials from various departments were in attendance, chaired by SS Chief of Security Reinhard Heydrich (Kenneth Branagh) and SS Major Adolf Eichmann (Stanley Tucci), and has in its members several lawmakers and doctors. They sit and debate (well, not much of a debate actually) the notion of evacuating (read: Eliminate) the Jews, and you'll probably witness how casual it all sounded to some of the members.

It was interesting to see how Heydrich cajoled everyone into agreeing to his plans, by hook or by crook. And it's very chilling to see how semantics were danced about, and how methods were discussed as if it was a process so trivial - the building of concentration camps, the techniques of gassing and how to perform it, the statistics of the kill that would have them reach their target numbers intended.

Based on a surviving record of that meeting, despite the fact that the minutes are to be read, memorized and destroyed, this HBOfilm is a good watch to peek into the decision making process, into that stain in human history, and the unthinkable evil that humans are capable of.

If you're a fan of Downfall, then perhaps this depiction of history will interest you.

Conspiracy debuted on HBO in 2001 and centers on the infamous Wannsee conference, where fifteen high-ranking officials of Nazi Germany government and military devised the final solution of the Jewish problem in Europe. The meeting took place in a beautiful house in rural Germany, where food and wine were served, and ideas were born.

This film is the best World War II era film i have ever seen, and one of the best movies i have seen, period. The cast is mostly unknown, but out-act any all-star cast Hollywood has ever produced. Kenneth Branaugh delivers an excellent performance as Heydrich, the head of the table at the meeting. He threatens people with a smile on his face, and barely bats an eye while speaking of killing thousands of people. Stanley Tucci is also great as the party-planner Eichmann, who set up the entire meeting, from the venue to the food to the topics. The way he counts the number of Jews that can be exterminated in a a given period of time is downright creepy. The cast also includes great turns by Colin Firth, a lawyer and professor who thinks the systematic slaughter of the Jews is bad for Germany's future, and Ian McNiece, who plays a hateful and witty official.

The dialogue is smart, funny, and chilling, and contains some jabs at all sides of the biggest war in Earth's history. This is a great movie to show in a history class, before watching a bunch of war movies, or if you just have an interest in the war. It teaches a lot more about the time than Saving Private Ryan (great movie too, but really one-sided), and features the best acting this side of the Godfather.---9/10

The other reviewer her could not be more wrong, and shows a lack of historical knowledge. Heydrich WAS rushing to get through the meeting -- that was why it only lasted 90 minutes! The meeting was not held to plot the Holocost, but rather was a staged production organized by the SS (who already had started planning the final solution and embarked on mass murder at smaller scales 7 months earlier)to obtain administrative and cooperative buy-in from the other facets of the German government, and their recognition of the SS's total authority over carrying it out. And Heydrich was alternatively charming and then abrupt and short: he was head of the Gestapo, after all. Although Branagh is much smaller and better looking than Heydrich was, he does what an actor does -- capture the essence of a presence, the gist of the personality. Likewise, Tucci embodies the "banality of evil" -- a schedule obsessed numbers & detail man, an accountant concerned only with pleasing his superiors and making mass murder efficient, while dissociating himself from the meaning and consequences of his actions.

Although not as well-acted, the German language Wansee Conference is actually a bit better in imparting the agenda-driven business meeting quality of the event. Anyone who has ever been to a business planning meeting (in any business, but especially in government or regulated utility during budget planning time) cannot help but feel sick at the ordinary familiarity of it all. Replace killing people with making and marketing widgets, and you got it.