Judgment at Nuremberg | Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster

Judgment at Nuremberg | Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster | essential viewing

DVDs:

Judgment at Nuremberg

	Judgment at Nuremberg Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster MGM (Video & DVD), 2004 average customer review:based on 83 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Dramatization of the 1948 trials of four Nazi officials for war crimes.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 7-SEP-2004
Media Type: DVD

A Film for All Seasons

Written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, "Judgment at Nuremberg" is one of those rare movies that keeps you in its clutches for a very short three hours. Set in 1948 this 1961 film covers the Nuremberg trials when judges were put on trial for their decisions during Hitler's rule. The acting to an individual is outstanding. Spencer Tracey, who presides over the trials, is an American judge recently turned out of office by the electorate, a rube from Maine who has the uncanny ability to get to the truth. His performance, his facial expressions, his eyes are a joy to watch. Richard Widmark for the prosecution is on fire with righteous indignation at the atrocities the defendants have committed. Maximilian Schell as the attorney for the defense-- he won a much-deserved Academy Award-- attempts to show that his client was only obeying German law. Bert Lancaster gives one of his best performances ever as Ernst Janny, a judge who was just doing his job. Montgomery Clift as a man who has been ordered sterilized by the German judiciary should have won an Academy Award. Judy Garland as a German woman accused of having an affair with an older Jewish man is superb. The ageless and beautiful Marlene Dietrich as the wife of an executed Nazi officer is magnificent. Finally a very young William Shatner recently of the television series "Boston Legal" completes the major players in this timeless film.

Mr. Kramer used actual footage from the concentration camps in this black and white film, much of which-- the outside scenes-- was shot in Germany. Its statement is simple: obeying an unjust and evil law does not excuse anyone, whether or not he is a judge.

Informative interviews with Abby Mann, Maximilian Schell and the wife of Stanley Karmer are included with the DVD.

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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.

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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.

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!

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For once, the hype is richly deserved

If you've never seen this film, you're in for a mind-blowing experience in the way of acting, direction, cinematography and script writing. This is the film that finally unhooked Judy Garland from the Rainbow, if you know what I mean. It requires multiple viewings to really appreciate. Try to reserve 3 hours without interuption if you can.

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