Hitler liked to gaze into the mirror of the past and see himself reflected in the guise of Frederick II of Prussia. This reflection is nowhere clearer than in Veit Harlan's 'Der große König'. Purportedly, the film sticks closely to actual history, but in fact it is a propaganda piece that distorts the past at every turn of the way. The aim was preparing the German population for a long and desperate war without allies, which is why for example the British contribution to the Prussian war effort of 1756-63 is not mentioned (in fact, about one-third of the Prussian costs of the Seven Years War war were borne by Britain. Another third was covered by debasing the coinage, and the rest by squeezing the Prussian population and looting occupied territories such as electoral Saxony). One relatively subtle piece of propaganda is provided by Kristina Söderbaum, who plays the daughter of a miller. She is initially heavily critical of the war and its leader but develops into a proper, good, German 'soldier's wife'. The way the film uses every chance to allow its main character Frederick II (Otto Gebühr) to engage in lengthy propaganda tirades is less subtle. In this context, I found one thing particularly striking: At one point, Frederick is faced with the political and military criticism of his brother prince Henry (Claus Clausen). He throws a tantrum that vividly reminded me of Bruno Ganz's famous tantrum in Hirschbiegel's 'Der Untergang' (2004). My first idea was that Ganz must have modelled his performance on Gebühr's in 'Der große König', but the link may be less direct. After all, Hitler was a passionate admirer of Harlan's film. It is entirely possible that he modelled his performance in the bunker under Berlin on Gebühr's, acting out his fantasy of being a reincarnation of Frederick II. Technically, 'Der große König' is a well-made film. The plot moves fast and is engaging enough, and the acting is good. There are some impressive mass scenes, and the photography in general is excellent. I am of course prepared to recognise all this, which is why I am rating the film - a disgusting piece of Nazi junk, after all - 6 stars.
