The Devil's General

Helmut Käutner was among the directors who made a name for themselves at the end of the 1930s, successfully lived through the war, shot one hit after another, and did not stop even in the new era. Therefore, there was no one better who could arrange that paradox of post-war optics. The Devil's General stands primarily on the outstanding performance of Curd Jürgens and depicts the much-needed story of an individual who saw through it already in 1941. The film is an adaptation of the eponymous play by Carl Zuckmayer (1946) inspired by the fate of Ernst Udet, who committed suicide after the failure of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. (08/23/2023)

The film adaptation of Carl Zuckmayer's play takes the viewer into an unpleasant period of German history and is particularly notable for the performance of Curd Jürgens. As far as the theme concerned, it is interesting, but in the end it is a mediocre take on the resistance to Nazi Germany. In short, a slightly more theatrical film in places (understandably given the source material) that doesn't offend, but it doesn't impress either. (06/07/2016)