WHEN IT comes to parody there’s just no beating Hitler, but not for much longer.
For years, the deceased dictator has been fuming on YouTube about everything from Apple’s iPad to the death of Michael Jackson. Even the Lisbon Treaty attracted the Führer’s fury.
The parodies all work the same way, borrowing the most explosive moment from the 2004 Hitler film Downfall.
In the scene Hitler, played by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, hears from his anxious generals that their army has been overwhelmed and the war is all but over.
The dictator explodes in a torrent of angry German, but parodies have altered the subtitles to suit their own needs.
And so, in the Lisbon Treaty parody, Hitler is in fact Brian Cowen being told that the first referendum has been defeated. The incensed leader goes on a rant against everyone who he thinks contributed to the treaty’s defeat: the middle classes, farmers and even members of his Cabinet.
The video ends with Hitler/Cowen saying he needs a treaty defeat “like he needs a hole in the head” and this as the economy is going “to hell in a hand cart”.
But now the German producers of the 2004 Hitler film Downfallhave stepped in to stop the laughter.
Constantin Film claims the unauthorised use of clips from the film is a breach of its copyright and has asked YouTube to remove Hitler parodies from the site – nearly 200 at last count – each attracting hundreds of thousands of views. There goes Hitler complaining about parking in Tel Aviv, or Hitler moaning about the sale of the football player Ronaldo.
Many see the action as heavy-handed, particularly as a fan of the parodies is the film's director, Oliver Hirschbiegel. He told New Yorkmagazine in January that he had seen at least 145 versions of Hitler freaking out.
“Many times the lines are so funny, I laugh out loud, and I’m laughing about the scene that I staged myself,” he said. “You couldn’t get a better compliment as a director.”
But Constantin does not feel flattered. “We always take action against copyright infringement of our content,” said chairman Martin Moszkowicz.
The clips have already begun to vanish.