Watching Hitler über Deutschland - A weirdly boring piece of history

Is it worth your time?

If you are a history student or someone who likes looking at old 1930s airplanes, maybe. If you want a movie with a plot or actual entertainment, you should definitely skip this one.

It is not a 'movie' in the way we think of them now. It is more like a very long, very repetitive news report that someone spent too much money on.

The whole thing is about the 1932 election. Hitler was flying all over the place, which was a huge deal back then because most people still took trains or walked.

The camera spends a lot of time looking out the window of the plane. You see a lot of German countryside that looks like a blurry patchwork quilt.

I noticed that the film really loves its maps. Every few minutes, a hand-drawn map pops up with lines showing where the plane is going next.

It reminds me of the travel stuff in The Texan, but without the fun cowboy vibes. It feels much more heavy and serious for no reason.

There is this one shot where Hitler is leaning out of the plane window and the wind is just blasting his hair. He looks a bit annoyed, actually.

The crowds in the tiny towns are massive. It is kind of creepy how everyone stands perfectly still waiting for the plane to land.

I found myself wondering what the people in the back of the crowd were thinking. Half of them probably couldn't even hear what was being said.

The editing is pretty jumpy. It goes from a quiet shot of a cloud to a super loud brass band playing in a stadium.

It made my dog bark twice because the volume levels are all over the place. The sound recording back then clearly wasn't great.

If you have seen Figures Don't Lie, you know how some old films can feel a bit dry. This one is dryer than a piece of toast left out in the sun.

There are no subtitles for the speeches in the version I saw, but you don't really need them to get the vibe. It is just a lot of pointing and shouting at the sky.

One weird detail: the plane has 'D-2600' painted on the side in giant letters. The camera zooms in on it like it is a movie star.

I guess for people in 1932, seeing a plane was like seeing a UFO today. It was the only thing that made the movie feel 'modern.'

The film doesn't have the drama of something like Girls Men Forget. It just kind of exists to show off how fast they could travel.

By the end, I was mostly just tired of the engine noise. It is a constant hummmmmm that never really stops.

Some random notes from my pad:

• The pilot looks like he is wearing a leather couch on his face.
• A lot of shots of people looking up with their hands over their eyes because of the sun.
• The shadows of the plane on the ground are actually the coolest part.
• Hitler eats a sandwich at one point? Or maybe he's just holding something. It's too blurry to tell.

It is a strange artifact. It feels like a fossil that someone dug up—interesting to look at for five minutes, but you wouldn't want to carry it home with you.

I'm glad I watched it for the 'history' of it, I guess. But I won't be doing it again anytime soon. ✈️