Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Fantastic!!

Judgment At Nuremburg is a great movie in every sense. It is well shot, the plot is moving, and the acting is superb for any era and well beyond almost any acting in film today. The courtroom scenes are full of glowing performances but most especially the performances of Spencer Tracy as (Chief Judge Haywood), Burt Lancaster (as Dr. Ernst Janning), and Maximilian Schell (as Hans Rolfe) were quite simply stunning. Be that as it may, this movie is not for the faint of heart. The subject matter (judges accused of atrocities during the holocaust) is quite graphic and includes actual footage of concentration camps and extermination methods used by the Nazis upon their victims. I found myself hard pressed to keep my eyes on the screen while bulldozers shoved hundreds and thousands of cadavers into mass graves. Many of us, in these modern times, forget how truly awful it was. There are those among us who use terms like "it's worse than what the Nazis did to the Jews" to describe things as trivial and stupid as a parking ticket. This movie explores the question of justice versus law and how, sometimes, those two things can be exclusive. If you feel that you have a strong enough stomach to handle aforementioned documentary footage and you love a good drama film then I highly recommend this movie to you.

P.S. Keep an eye out for a VERY young William Shatner as a courtroom aide! July 7, 2008

How easily we fool ourselves

This old movie is obviously well done but the full impact of it just sank in for me. This is not about how evil the German people were--they were and are no more evil than anyone else. The real message of this film is about how easily we can justify evil behavior when it's sold under the guise of patriotism. And how easily fear and self-interest leads to an inability to "see" the evil. Americans in particular ought to view this film again and again, with their eyes wide open. June 15, 2008

essential viewing

I am old enough to have been deeply moved by JUDGEMENT at NURENBERG when it was first released, and decided to take another look at it while reading Sand's recent book, TORTURE TEAM: RUMSFELD'S MEMO AND THE BETRAYAL OF AMERICAN VALUES.

Many of the moral questions involving the Nazi judges who were on trial in this film's historical dramatization could be validly directed at the lawyers who recently justified (rationalized?) the apparent torture of prisoners at Guantanamo.

Should a new international tribunal be held? To help answer this question, I highly recommend visiting (or revisiting) this film in combination with Sand's book. June 8, 2008

Thought Provoking Film; Moving Performances

Director Stanley Kramer's classic masterpiece, JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG explores one of the world's darkest periods - World War II and the Holocaust - with a deeply moving plot and stellar performances from a magnificent cast. From screen veterans Spencer Tracy, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Widmark, and Burt Lancaster to relative newcomers, including William Shatner, Maximillian Schell and Werner Klemperer, the film explores the theme of individual complicity in actions of the state, while weaving a complex tapestry of raw emotion, legal, ethical and political nuance, and humanitarian considerations.

The power of the film - not doubt more numbing at its 1961 release, lies not in the sweeping panorama of world events, but in the singular moments of human connection. Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland give small, but significant performances in their roles of victims. Richard Widmark's fiery personality and passionate prosecution is given credence by his singular testimony to the horrors of the concentration camp. Werner Klemperer offers a portrait of a man possessed with a chilling arrogance and strident rationalization of horrors in the name of bureaucratic efficiency. Maximillian Schell offers the conflicted personality of an attorney torn by the horrors of events and fidelity to the notion of a fair trial and preservation of post-war national pride. Burt Lancaster's character is the archetypical "fallen angel," a man who has turned aside from his own principles and now must confront the demons, which have resided in his sould.

For those who hide behind a swell of ignorant patriotism and mindless obedience to irrationality, this film is a chilling testimony of the evil that can occur when good men do nothing in the face of tyranny.
June 6, 2008

A must see movie

Like with all hollyweird movies they leave out stuff and change the story a little. However, I really enjoyed this because it brought that infamous trial to life and did it fairly accurately from what i can tell June 6, 2008

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