# The Empty Mirror

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{{more citations needed|date=October 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Empty Mirror
| image = The Empty Mirror.jpg
| director = [Barry J. Hershey](/source/Barry_J._Hershey)
| writer = [Barry J. Hershey](/source/Barry_J._Hershey)<br>[R. Buckingham](/source/R._Buckingham)
| starring = [Norman Rodway](/source/Norman_Rodway)<br>[Joel Grey](/source/Joel_Grey)<br>[Camilla Soeberg](/source/Camilla_Soeberg)
| producer = [Jay Roach](/source/Jay_Roach)<br>[David D. Johnson](/source/David_D._Johnson)<br>[William Dance](/source/William_Dance)
| music = [John Frizzell](/source/John_Frizzell_(composer))
| editing = Marc Grossman
| cinematography = [Frederick Elmes](/source/Frederick_Elmes)
| studio    = Walden Woods Films
| distributor = [Lions Gate Films](/source/Lions_Gate_Films)
| released = {{Film date|1996|11|}}
| runtime = 118 minutes
| language = English
| country   = United States
}}
'''''The Empty Mirror''''' is an experimental dramatic feature-length film using historical images and speculative fiction to study the life and mind of [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler). The film is a psychological journey that examines the nature of evil and the dark strands of human nature. The 1996 film was premiered at the [Cannes International Film Festival](/source/Cannes_International_Film_Festival) and was released theatrically by [Lions Gate Films](/source/Lions_Gate_Films). The film had its cable premiere on HBO.

==Plot==
The film is a fantastical journey through the looking-glass of history into the darkest recesses of the mind of Adolf Hitler. In a dreamlike subterranean environment removed from historical time, [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler) confronts the demons of his own psyche. As he dictates his memoirs, Hitler encounters apparitions of his confidant, [Joseph Goebbels](/source/Joseph_Goebbels), his enigmatic mistress, [Eva Braun](/source/Eva_Braun), [Hermann Göring](/source/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring), [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud) and the mysterious Woman in Black.

Through haunting images, Hitler's stream-of-consciousness soliloquies and exchanges with his phantom guests, ''The Empty Mirror'' presents a frightening primer on genius and psychosis, domination and destruction. The action unfolds amidst a streaming flow of archival film footage intercut with images from [Leni Riefenstahl](/source/Leni_Riefenstahl)'s masterpiece of Nazi propaganda, ''[Triumph of the Will](/source/Triumph_of_the_Will)'', as well as private home movies shot by Eva Braun.

==Cast==
*[Norman Rodway](/source/Norman_Rodway) as [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler)
*[Joel Grey](/source/Joel_Grey) as [Joseph Goebbels](/source/Joseph_Goebbels)
*[Camilla Søeberg](/source/Camilla_S%C3%B8eberg) as [Eva Braun](/source/Eva_Braun)
*[Peter Michael Goetz](/source/Peter_Michael_Goetz) as [Sigmund Freud](/source/Sigmund_Freud)
*[Doug McKeon](/source/Doug_McKeon) as The Typist
*[Glenn Shadix](/source/Glenn_Shadix) as [Hermann Göring](/source/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring)
*[Hope Allen](/source/Hope_Allen) as Woman in Black
*[Lori Scott](/source/Lori_Scott) as Floating Female Spirit
*[Raul Kobrinsky](/source/Raul_Kobrinsky) as Jailer
*[Sarah Benoit](/source/Sarah_Benoit) as White Nurse
*John Paul Jones as Extremely Large Man
*[Alan Richards](/source/Alan_Richards_(actor)) as Odd-Looking Man
*[Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler) as Himself (archive footage)
*[Heinrich Himmler](/source/Heinrich_Himmler) as Himself (archive footage)
*[Joseph Stalin](/source/Joseph_Stalin) as Himself (archive footage)

==Reception==
Critical reaction to the film was generally favorable. [Ella Taylor](/source/Ella_Taylor) of ''[The Atlantic Monthly](/source/The_Atlantic_Monthly)'' called it an "ambitious, fascinating feature debut".<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/ae/99apr/99aprfi.htm "Empty Mirror"], review by [Ella Taylor](/source/Ella_Taylor), ''[The Atlantic Monthly](/source/The_Atlantic_Monthly)'', May 7, 1999</ref> [David Sterritt](/source/David_Sterritt) of ''[The Christian Science Monitor](/source/The_Christian_Science_Monitor)'' said "it conjures up a postmodern version of what composer [Richard Wagner](/source/Richard_Wagner) called a ''[Gesamtkunstwerk](/source/Gesamtkunstwerk)'', or 'total art work'".<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0507/p15s3.html "Empty Mirror"], review by [David Sterritt](/source/David_Sterritt), ''[The Christian Science Monitor](/source/The_Christian_Science_Monitor)'', May 7, 1999</ref> Ed Kelleher of ''[Film Journal International](/source/Film_Journal_International)'' called it "[a] vivid, unsettling… bold, demanding film…".<ref>[http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000697924 Empty Mirror], review by Ed Kelleher, ''[Film Journal International](/source/Film_Journal_International)'', May 7, 1999</ref> Also impressed, ''[The Boston Phoenix](/source/The_Boston_Phoenix)'' reported, "in its silent moments of visual horror, many of them enduringly haunting, ''The Empty Mirror'' transcends its ambitious erudition, becoming a work of beauty and emotional depth".<ref>[http://bostonphoenix.com/archive/movies/99/05/06/THE_EMPTY_MIRROR.html "Empty Mirror"], review by Peg Aloi, ''[The Boston Phoenix](/source/The_Boston_Phoenix)'', May 7, 1999</ref> On [Norman Rodway](/source/Norman_Rodway) as Hitler, [Joe Leydon](/source/Joe_Leydon) of [MSNBC](/source/MSNBC) said, "Rodway – whose performance as Hitler is a canny balance of prideful fanaticism and anxious rationalization – is truly mesmerizing."<ref>[http://www.emptymirror.com/reviews_msnbc.htm "Empty Mirror"], review by [Joe Leyden](/source/Joe_Leyden), [MSNBC](/source/MSNBC), May 7, 1999</ref> Similarly, [Peter Stack](/source/Peter_Stack) of ''[The San Francisco Chronicle](/source/The_San_Francisco_Chronicle)'' remarked, "Rodway's bellowing, sometimes pleading tour-de-force is so extraordinary that it's almost scary to watch."<ref>[https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Mirroring-the-Mind-of-a-Madman-Film-imagines-2929610.php "Empty Mirror"], review by Peter Stack, ''[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)'', May 21, 1999</ref> On a negative front, [Lawrence Van Gelder](/source/Lawrence_Van_Gelder) of ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)'', commented, "Adolf Hitler may have been many things, but it seems unlikely that he was the colossal bore portrayed in the hyperthyroid hodgepodge of pseudo-psychotherapy."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/07/movies/film-review-hitler-meets-freud-on-a-blood-red-couch.html "Empty Mirror"], review by [Lawrence Van Gelder](/source/Lawrence_Van_Gelder), ''[New York Times](/source/New_York_Times)'', May 7, 1999</ref> Left unimpressed, Kevin Thomas of ''[The Los Angeles Times](/source/The_Los_Angeles_Times)'' mused, "There's lots of flashy visuals as punctuation, but they simply serve to underline the theatricality of this entire endeavor, which belongs on a stage, if anywhere at all."<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-07-ca-34689-story.html "Empty Mirror"], review by Kevin Thomas, ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'', May 7, 1999</ref>

==Awards==
*Best Narrative Film – [New England Film Festival](/source/New_England_Film_Festival) (1997)
*Gold Award – Charleston Worldfest (1996)
*Critics' Choice – Los Angeles AFI International Film Festival (1996)
*Best Cinematography – Fantasporto Film Festival (1997)
*Best Cinematography – [Houston International Film Festival](/source/Houston_International_Film_Festival) (1997)
*Best First Feature – Houston International Film Festival (1997)
*Lumiere Award – New Orleans International Film Festival (1997)
*Medal of the President of the Republic of Italy – Salerno International Film Festival
*Best Feature Film – Sinking Creek Film Festival (1997)<ref>{{cite web |title=The Empty Mirror - The Film |url=https://www.emptymirror.com/Awards.htm |website=www.emptymirror.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Noel |last2=Ridley |first2=Jim |title=Flying Off the Page |url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/flying-off-the-page/article_fd79ccd9-9ab4-5006-a4b0-1e8bf8c9c197.html |website=The Nashville Scene |publisher=The Nashville Scene |access-date=25 September 2025 |date=27 Nov 1997}}</ref>

==See also==
*[List of Holocaust films](/source/List_of_Holocaust_films)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.emptymirror.com/ The Empty Mirror official website]
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116192/ The Empty Mirror at The Internet Movie Database]
*[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/empty_mirror/ The Empty Mirror at Rotten Tomatoes]

{{Adolf Hitler}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Empty Mirror}}
Category:Films about Adolf Hitler
Category:Cultural depictions of Hermann Göring
Category:Cultural depictions of Joseph Goebbels
Category:Cultural depictions of Sigmund Freud
Category:1996 drama films
Category:1996 independent films
Category:American independent films
Category:Lionsgate films
Category:Films scored by John Frizzell (composer)
Category:1996 English-language films
Category:1996 American films
Category:1996 films

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Empty Mirror](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empty_Mirror) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Empty_Mirror?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.