Robert Carlyle plays Adolf Hitler as a man of ordinary ugliness in the 2003 CBC miniseries “Hitler: The Rise of Evil,” and the gamble pays off. This is a story about a man who became a monster, and the show keeps its focus on the man rather than the monster. It follows Hitler from his childhood in Austria through his rise in Munich after the First World War, tracing how his early failures and obsessions shaped the man who would later rule Germany.
Trailer, via Temou vision.
Robert Carlyle’s Hitler
Carlyle makes Hitler human without excusing him. He plays the younger Hitler as a frustrated, bitter man who gets ahead through force of personality and sheer will. The show does not try to explain away his worst instincts; it just shows them developing. The performances around him are strong too, with Stockard Channing as his mother Klara, Peter O’Toole as President Paul von Hindenburg, and Liev Schreiber as Ernst Hanfstaengl, who helps Hitler refine his image.
The Early Years
The series opens with a montage of Hitler’s life from 1899 to 1913, when he left Austria for Munich. It follows his time in the war, his promotion to corporal, his bravery award, and his blinding during a gas attack. The show then moves to the revolutionary Munich of 1919, where Hitler, still employed by the army, is assigned to report on the city’s political parties.
The Party’s Rise
Hitler joins the German Workers’ Party and is recruited by its leader Anton Drexler to organize propaganda and give speeches. The show tracks how he builds his movement, refining his image with the help of Ernst Hanfstaengl. By 1921, he forces Drexler out and takes over as leader of the renamed Nazi Party.
The Subplots
A subplot follows Fritz Gerlich, a German journalist who opposes the rising Nazi Party, and his struggles against the regime. Another follows Gustav von Kahr, the Minister of Bavaria, and his attempt to manipulate Hitler into silence before a coup attempt.
The Emmy Wins
The miniseries received two Emmy Awards: Art Direction and Sound Editing. Peter O’Toole was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Where It Falls Short
The show’s ambition exceeds its runtime. At two episodes, it cannot fully explore the complexities of German society in the years after the First World War. The series is at its best when focused on the personal, and weaker when trying to explain the broader political landscape.
The show’s reliance on a single actor carrying the whole weight of the story is both its strength and its weakness. Carlyle does not have a large ensemble to share the burden.
The Final Verdict
“Hitler: The Rise of Evil” is a well-made but limited story. Carlyle’s performance is the reason to watch. The rest of it is serviceable, with strong supporting performances and a clear sense of the way Hitler rose to power. But the series never fully connects its human portrait of Hitler to the broader historical context that made his rise possible. It remains a competent, sometimes gripping biopic, but not a great one.
The show succeeds where it stays close to the personal. It falters where it reaches for the political. Carlyle’s Hitler is a man, not a monster, and that difference is the show’s greatest strength.
Broadcast Schedule
| Network | Air Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| CBC Television | 2003-05-18 | First episode |
| CBS | 2003-05-18 | First episode |
| CBC Television | 2003-05-20 | Last episode |
| CBS | 2003-05-20 | Last episode |
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