There are all these Hitler parodies on youtube. They are a segment from the movie Downfall (Die Untergang), which is a movie about Hitler’s last days, living in a bunker as the Allies close in.
The parodies all use the same clip, where Hitler is having a tantrum because it’s become clear to him that his generals have been lying to him and they are actually losing. He blames this on traitors. But the parodies use subtitles to insert new dialog.
An example from my favorite: Hitler discovers that Michael Jackson has died, so he will not be appearing at Hitler’s birthday party. Hitler rails against the unfairness of this – how can he die!? After I paid for those operations to make him white! Even after he molested my nephew, I stood by him! Etc. Very funny. Many other parodies have appeared, each with their own subtitles, with themes like Hitler Gets Banned from XBOX Live,” “Hitler is informed he may have won the Nobel Peace Prize,” and “Hitler learns Tiger Woods may have had an affair with his wife.”
Because of these videos, I actually rented Downfall and watched it. It was a very good movie! I had heard of it, but I honestly don’t think I would have seen it if not for these parodies. If you think about it, it’s the holy grail of internet marketing: free, viral advertising for your film.
So recently, Constantin Film AG blocked the parodies – no one can watch any of them any more. Since it was a clip of their movie, they had the right to do that.
Hmmm.