Downfall. Orchestra Style.

In what might be one of the funniest things to hit the field since Ryan Gosling, Arts Administrator, an orchestra version of the long running Downfall meme hit YouTube on 10/11/2014. If you aren’t already in the know, the Downfall meme is a series of videos based on the climactic scene from the 2002 German film Der Untergang (Downfall), a movie about Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, recounts the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII. Sure, it may not sound like fodder for a string of parody videos, but creativity knows no bounds.

In the original scene, Hitler learns of Germany’s impending defeat from his remaining generals and that a counter-offensive he ordered never took place. The scene includes a powerful performance from Bruno Ganz playing Hitler as he undergoes a nervous breakdown in front of his highest ranking generals. Here’s the original scene:

http://youtu.be/WcJWCiXbfxs

Now here’s the same scene with a new set of subtitles that change the context to Hitler’s generals telling him he can’t be concertmaster. I won’t spoil the reveal but I can say it, and the subsequent gags, genuinely separates the orchestra geeks from the casual concert goer.

The More You Know

One of the first big viral hits was in 2007, when Hitler is informed that his gaming account has been banned from XBOX Live.

http://youtu.be/sfkDxF2kn1I

There was even one for the subprime mortgage bust in 2008

They are so popular there’s a website to easily create your own parody. So, do you think you can come up with a funnier orchestra version?