The Bunker
Directed by	George Schaefer
Produced by	David Susskind Diana Kerew
Written by	James O'Donnell (author) Uwe Bahnsen(screenwriter) John Gay(screenwriter)
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Richard Jordan Cliff Gorman Susan Blakely
Distributed by	CBS Time-Life Productions
Release date(s)	1981
Running time	87 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Bunker is a 1981 CBS television film based on the book of the same name. The movie makes significant deviations from James O'Donnell's book, mainly due to an effort to clarify the events, and allowing the actors license to interpret some of the dialogue he recorded. Image File history File links The_Bunker_1981. ... David Susskind (December 19, 1920, New York City - February 22, 1987, New York City, heart attack) was best known as a pioneer TV talk show host. ... Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Welsh film, stage and television actor. ... Richard Anson Jordan (July 19, 1938 – August 30, 1993) was an American stage, screen and film actor. ... Cliff Gorman (October 13, 1936 - September 5, 2002), a native of New York City, was an American actor on stage and screen. ... Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1952) is an American movie actress who has mainly played supporting roles. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... Time-Life is a book, music, and video marketer, that since 2003 has been combined with catalog reseller Lillian Vernon as a subsidiary of Direct Holdings Worldwide, and is no longer owned by its former parent Time Warner. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CBS is one of the largest radio and television networks in the United States. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ... The Bunker is an account, written by American journalist James ODonnell, of the history of the Fuehrerbunker in early 1945, as well as the last days of Adolf Hitler. ...

The most noteworthy legacy of the film was Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Adolf Hitler, for which he won an Emmy. Actors on the set claimed his performance was so good that those playing German soldiers snapped to attention whenever Hopkins came onto the set, even if he wasn't in character. Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (IPA: ) (born 31 December 1937) is an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Welsh film, stage and television actor. ... Hitler redirects here. ... An Emmy Award. ...

The interpretations of the events by the actors differ in many ways with the traditional accounts. For example, during the final meeting between Hitler and Albert Speer, Hopkins adopts a sarcastic tone and gestures (including mock applause) that suggest that Hitler was already aware of Speer's betrayal, even though he uses the exact words recounted by the witnesses. Applause (Latin applaudere, to strike upon, clap) is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise; generally any expression of approval. ...

Also, the movie constantly shifts the point-of-view character, but sometimes in an impossible manner. For example, Dr. Werner Haase is used in this manner, even though he was never interviewed (having died later in 1945). Likewise, two scenes are written from the viewpoint of Hitler's cook, Constanze Manziarly, and in one scene, Manziarly actually has a flashback. However, Manziarly disappeared while escaping the bunker, so neither O'Donnell nor any other person was able to interview her or get her viewpoint. Werner Haase in Soviet captivity Werner Haase (2 August 1900 - 30 November 1950), German professor of medicine and SS officer, was one of Adolf Hitlers personal physicians. ... Born in 1920 Innsbruck, Constanze Manziarly served as a cook/dietician to Adolf Hitler, from his 1943 stays at the Berghof until his final days in the Führerbunker in 1945. ... In literature, film, television and other media, a flashback (also called analepsis) is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. ...

Ironically, given O'Donnell's work on the breakout story, the movie ends just as the groups are leaving the bunker.

In a short scene at the beginning of the movie, a younger O'Donnell is played by actor James Naughton. O'Donnell himself provided brief voice-over narrations at both the beginning and end of the film. James Naughton (b. ...