Before the Fall (2004 film)
| Before The Fall | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dennis Gansel |
| Written by | Dennis Gansel Maggie Peren |
| Produced by | Viola Jäger Harald Kügler Molly von Fürstenberg |
| Starring | Max Riemelt Tom Schilling |
| Music by | Angelo Badalamenti Normand Corbeil |
Release dates |  13 January 2005 14 March 2005 |
Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | German |
Before the Fall, also known as NaPolA: Hitler's Elite, is a German movie directed and written by Dennis Gansel released in 2004.
Plot summary
In 1942, Friedrich Weimer's boxing skills get him an appointment to a National Political Academy (NaPolA) - high schools that produce Nazi elite. Against his father's will, he enrolls, seeing this as his ticket out of his factory life to the university. During his year in seventh column (fifth form), this innocence is altered as Friedrich encounters hazing, cruelty, death, and the Nazi code. His friendship with Albrecht, the ascetic son of the area's governor, is central to this education; a night in the forest hunting for escaped Russian POWs brings things to a head
Also known as
- Napola - Argentina (festival title) / Denmark / Estonia / Germany (short title)
- Before the Fall - International (English title)
- Before the Fall (Napola) - USA
- Führerns elit - Sweden
- Hitler's elite - Denmark (DVD title)
- Der Führers Elite - Norway
- Junge Wölfe - Elite für den Führer - Germany (working title)
- NaPolA - Germany (closing credits title)
- Napola - Elite für den Führer - Germany (promotional title)
- Napola - I ragazzi del Reich - Italy
- Napola - Hitlerin eliittikoulu - Finland
- Napola: Hitler's Elite - Singapore (poster title) (English title)
- Napola - A Führer elit csapata - Hungarian movie and DVD title
- Академия смерти (Academy of Death) - Russia
- Napola - Hitlerova elita - Czech Rep.
- Fabryka zła - Poland
- 希特勒的男孩 (Boys of Hitler)-China
- 英雄教育 - NaPolA - Taiwan
- Doctrina Nazi - Napola - Mexico
Cast
- Max Riemelt as Friedrich Weimer
- Tom Schilling as Albrecht Stein
- Jonas Jägermeyr as Christoph Schneider
- Leon A. Kersten as Tjaden (as Leon Alexander Kersten)
- Thomas Drechsel as Hefe
- Martin Goeres as Siegfried 'Siggi' Gladen
- Florian Stetter as Justus von Jaucher
- Devid Striesow as Heinrich Vogler
- Joachim Bissmeier as Dr. Karl Klein 'Karl der Große' / Anstaltsleiter
- Michael Schenk as Josef Peiner 'Peiniger' / Sportlehrer
- Justus von Dohnanyi as Gauleiter Heinrich Stein
- Claudia Michelsen as Frau Stein
- Julie Engelbrecht as Katharina
- Johannes Zirner as Torben Send
The castle that houses the fictitious Napola Allenstein in the movie is Bouzov Castle [1] in the Czech Republic.
Awards
- Best Direction, Bavarian Film Awards, 2005
- Best international film, Hamptons International Film Festival, 2004
- Best Actor, Max Riemelt, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, 2004
- Best film, Viareggio EuropaCinema, 2004