Product Description

BLACK FOX is the story of the most feared and fanatical national leader in all history. His bitter boyhood in Austria. His frustrated ambition to be an artist. His four years of soldiering in the First World War. His ruthlessdrive to power in a defeated Germany. His cold and hot wars of conquest against all of Europe...and against the German people. His death by his own hand in an underground bunker in smoldering Berlin. BLACK FOX is a revealing film story of Adolf Hitler's ambition, his passion, his demonic will, his million-fold murders. The picture is also a study in-depth of those tragic rivers of history which made Hitler's rise possible and which came to confluence in an apocalypse of 50 million dead and a large part of the world in anguish and ruin. Narrated by Marlene Dietrich, this video won the 1962 Academy Award for best Documentary Feature.

Based in part on the 12th century folk tale "Reynard the Fox," as adapted by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Music composed and conducted by Ezra Laderman for the New York Chamber Orchestra and The Julliard String Quartet

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67756 in DVD
• Brand: HITLER,ADOLF
• Released on: 2005-08-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 87 minutes

Customer Reviews

A cool, qualified telling.
Marlene Dietrich's cool, realistic narration of a disgraceful tale adds a new dimension to the often told details of Hitler's rise and fall. As a German and a contemporary of the Fuhrer's, she is well qualified to tell the story, and her measured tones do a great job of expressing the inexplicable nature of this so-recent piece of history. I appreciated the way she confronted her fellow countrymen's acceptance of this criminal; her references to myth and legend, along with the eerie music, are most atmospheric. The archival video and stills are clear and not cliched.

Still A Work of Art
I am puzzled by the number of poor reviews this DVD receives here. I think some perspective is needed to truly appreciate what a fine film it really is.

First of all, it was a stroke of genius for director Louis Clyde Stouman to engage the great Marlene Dietrich to narrate his film. In 1962, actresses of her caliber simply did not consent to narrate documentaries. She had long been recognized as one of the most glamorous "stars" of Hollywood's Golden era, and is estimated in some quarters to be the most photographed woman of all time. Even so, she forsook the glamour of Hollywood life in 1941 to tour tirelessly for four years with British and American troops all over Europe; she was with Charles de Gaulle as he triumphantly marched into a newly Liberated Paris in 1944, having taken the opportunity of her first American film in 1932 to flee Germany, and not return until she knew Hitler was out of power. Miss Dietrich's talent as an actress and her humanity as an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime was exceeded only by her hate of the Nazis. She did not hesitate to take her countrymen to task for allowing themselves to be duped by the fast-talking, politically astute Fuhrer, even at the cost that many of her fellow Germans considered her a traitor long after the fall of Berlin.

I have been a follower of the career of Marlene Dietrich for years; not so much a fan as an admirer, I admit she has made her share of terrible films. The Black Fox is not one of them. I had heard about this film and was anxious to see it for many years; only recently did I learn that this DVD had become available. I purchased it as soon as I learned it had been released, and I am not even slightly disappointed with it. Thrilled would be more the word I would use.

In 1962, the world was still shaking from the enormity of the Nazi bloodbath, and television and film documentaries with lurid photos and "gloom and doom" narrators abounded. The creators of the Black Fox wanted to bring a fresh look at what was then fast becoming the stuff of tabloid horror stories, and hit upon the idea of having the career of Hitler compared to the 12th century folk tale of Reynard the Fox, as Goethe's adaptation lent itself to a striking similarity to the career of the Nazi dictator. More striking still was Miss Dietrich's calm narration, which was almost devoid of any emotion or theatrics. The director purposely had her refrain from dramatics and hysteria, and it was a testament to her skills as an actress that despite her hatred of all that Hitler stood for, she was able to follow Mr. Stouman's instruction to keep the story calm and factual. Rarely raising her voice, which, for the most part is as soothing as a lullaby, her gentle tones smoothly contrast the horrors of the Nazi regime. At one point during her description of the murderous atrocities that unfold before us, she veers for but a brief moment from her carefully guarded coldness. "And the children," she says, her voice raising and breaking ever so slightly, "they didn't even spare the children". It is the only time she raises her pitch above a calculated monotone; the effect is chilling, and you get a small idea of how emotional the experience must have been for her. Indeed, just a few years earlier in Judgment At Nuremburg, she portrayed the widow of a Nazi commander, condemned to hang for crimes against humanity, with the same calm detachment and coolness that belied the emotion she must have felt underneath. Complete with original music, performed by the Julliard String Quartet, and artwork by Picasso and other masters, The Black Fox was judged a work of art by the critics at the time of its release, and named the Best Documentary Feature of 1962 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and sciences. Nearly fifty years later, time has only slightly diminished its effectiveness.

Fantastic Production!
I remember watching this documentary about 1999. I thought it was superb, yet very eerie how the old Fairytale seems to foretell the rise and fall of Hitler.

Marlena Dietrich's narration is outstanding.