The Bunker is a 1981 CBS television film, Time/Life production based on the book The Bunker. The movie makes significant deviations from James O'Donnell's book, published in 1978. The deviations are mainly due to an effort to clarify the events, and allowing the actors license to interpret some of the dialogue he recorded. The film opens in 1945 with O'Donnell gaining entry to the Führerbunker by bribing a Russian sentry with a pack of cigarettes.
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.
The interpretations of the events by the actors differ in 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. This became a fairly controversial scene due to a perception in some circles that the
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