Judgment at Nuremberg [RSC Film Club 14]

[LimeGreenLegend 4,295]

Our film for Oscar season, with a best actor winning performance from Maximilian Schell, is the 1961 courtroom drama Judgment at Nuremberg, nominated by @djw180. Directed by Stanley Kramer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) and with a cast including Spencer Tracy, Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster and Marlene Dietrich as well as Schell, the film tells the story of the Nuremberg trials, where prominent n*zis and n*zi collaborators were tried for crimes against humanity.

As well as the best actor Oscar, the film also won the statue for best adapted screenplay for Abby Mann, and was nominated for nine other awards, including best picture, best director, the films second best actor nomination for Tracy, best supporting actress for Garland, and a host of technical awards.  Many of the film's stars took a pay cut to make this film as they believed in it's strong moral message.  This is one of the first films to use actual footage of concentration camps, shot by allied soldiers, and presented in this film as evidence for the prosecution.  The film was premiered in West Berlin (the b*lls to do that!) with most of the Germans in attendance leaving in silence at the end credits.

I've not seen this film myself, but am looking forward to doing so as some of my favourite films, 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, are courtroom dramas.  It is also important that we never forget what the n*zis did, for those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.  

 

 

here in our decision is what we stand for; justice, truth, and the value of a single human being

Edited March 5, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[Con 5,719]

That’s one hell of a cast. Look forward to watching this now.

[Spinnaker1981 974]

Looking forward watching this as well... good choice...

[LimeGreenLegend 4,295]

Even at three hours long, and made up entirely of people talking, this film was so engaging and well acted that it felt like half that time.  The cast, made up of a collection of classic Hollywood's greats, is incredible, and they all bring their a-game.  The direction also helps with keeping us engaged.  Despite the fact that it's a very static movie the camera has this beautiful flowing freedom of movement, especially during the courtroom scenes, that you don't notice that nobody's moved for the last five minutes.  

We open with the sight of the Nazi emblem, the swastika, adorning the top of a building, while we hear militaristic drums and patriotic German singing.  This is brought to an abrupt end when the swastika explodes, pretty on-the-nose symbolism for the end of the war, but it's effective and gets the point across.  We then meet Chief Judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) as he is driven through the streets of Nuremberg.  We get long tracking shots of the streets, taking in the burnt out husks of buildings.  Physical scars of the war left behind, like the scars left on Germany itself by the Nazis.  Haywood comments "I didn't know it was so bad."  He's talking about the devastation from the bombing, but we hear the same sentiment from several other characters later in relation to the holocaust.    None of us can know how bad a situation like this really is unless we see it for ourselves, live it.  We'll never know how bad it is.  

Haywood arrives at the house he'll be staying in during the trial and is met by Captain Byers (William Shatner!).  The house is huge and luxurious, the furniture "part antique, part US army" Byers says, a comment on the occupation of Germany by the allies after the war.  We get a good sense of Haywood's character during this scene.  He tells Byers to call him Dan instead of Judge Haywood, and comments on the size of the house "the whole state of Maine would be comfortable here," he's a down to earth, simple man.  We then see the challenge that Dan faces.  "Hitler is gone, Goebbels is gone, Goering is gone.  Committed suicide before they could hang.  Now we're down to the business of judging the doctors, businessmen and judges.  Some people think they shouldn't be judged at all."  This is really interesting to me.  How far down the chain does responsibility for atrocities like this go?  The scene ends with the German housekeeper carrying Dan's case up the stairs even though it's clearly very heavy.  Maybe she's trying to show him that not all Germans are bad.  Trying to make up for the sins of her country in some small way.  

Next up we're in the courtroom for the first day of the trial.  The courtroom is bustling with people and buzzing with chatter, and a long take panning around the room takes it all in.  When the four defendants enter everything goes silent.  The first three all enter pleas of not guilty, but the fourth, Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) remains silent, his face a mask of unreadable contemplation.  We get the opening statement from the prosecution next, Col. Lawson (Richard Widmark).  He claims that they cannot claim ignorance to what was going on, they we all intelligent adults when Hitler came to power, and though they didn't break any German laws, as they were under Hitler, they committed acts of "murder, brutality, torture, and atrocities."  I loved the way Kramer cut between Lawson and each defendant on each of those words, really hammering it home.  I also love the way the camera pans around Lawson as he talks, again one long unbroken take showing us the whole courtroom, which gives the film a bit of added reality.  Because we can see the whole room it doesn't seem like a movie set, it feels like a courtroom.  The movement of the camera also adds some energy to a scene of people standing around talking, something we'll see throughout the movie.

Then we get the opening statement from the defence council Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell with his Oscar winning performance).  I like the difference in their costumes.  Lawson is in his army uniform, the strength of the allies who were victorious, while he is in black robes, sombre, like he is in mourning.  He argues that judges only carry out the law, not make them, and to defy Hitler would have been treason.  He also argues that "it is not only Ernst Janning on trial here, it is the German people."  He starts this scene talking German with an interprator, but there is  moment when the camera zooms in to a close up on his face and he starts talking English.  I'm assuming that's a device telling us that we're hearing him talk English but he's actually still talking German, and in fact we don't hear any German for the rest of the film.  I also see it as emphasising how important communication and understanding each other is.  If we all talked the same language maybe we'd get along better.

We then see Dan walking through the town, taking in the local sights.  Again we see the leftovers of the war, piles of rubble and burnt out buildings.  But the streets are busy, full of people getting on with their lives.  There's one sweet moment that made me chuckle.  Dan thinks he's flirting with this cute German chick, but when he asks the person at the market stall what she said it was "goodbye grandpa."  The look on his face just said "if I was 30 years younger."   We then contrast this lighthearted scene full of people with Dan alone at the sight of the biggest Nazi rallies.  As he walks through the stadium we can hear the roar of the crowd cheering along.  Then he sees the podium where Hitler stood and we hear his voice echoing back through history, haunting the country he claimed to love so much.  The close up of Dan's face at the end of the scene really conveys the weight of his position and the responsibility he has.  Meanwhile, Rolfe is visiting Janning in jail.  I like the way this scene was framed, using the glass that separates them to show us their faces reflected.  Rolfe tells him that he will represent him with dignity and play by their rules.  He also tells him that he has admired him since he was a boy.  Janning's response to this whole speech is to just say "is that all?" and then walk off.  He seems to have already condemned himself, existing now as a living ghost, as present as his reflection.

The next court scene Rolfe reads a law regarding the sterilisation of people with mental disabilities.  At the end he reveals that it is an American law, again claiming that the judges were only ruling based on the law, and that if they are accountable then everyone is accountable.  I loved Schell's passionate performance in this scene, he really seems to be indignant that his country is being scrutinised so closely.  At his house we see Dan reading one of Janning's books.  He reads out a quote, "now we can look forward to a Germany without wars and bloodshed.  A Germany of justice where men can live instead of die."  He seems conflicted here.  This guy has the same ideals as him, so how could he just go along with a regime like the Nazis.  Maybe he's thinking what he would do if he were in Janning's position.  Would he sentence people to be sterilised like that just because it's the law?

He then runs into the former occupant of the house, Frau Bertholt (Marlene Dietrich), dressed in mourning black.  We later learn that her husband was a general in the German army, and was executed by the allies.  She also reveals that her family had lived in that house for generations before US occupation, which seems to give Dan something to think about regarding what he's doing there.  After she leaves he talks to the German housekeepers, a married couple.  He asks what it was like to live under Hitler and they look instantly worried, like they're on trial.  They try to brush the subject aside, "we were not political."  They also say of Hitler "we won't say he didn't do some good things, but the other things..."  I think this links back to what Rolfe was saying about the whole country being on trial, here the couple are acting like they're on the witness stand in front of their all powerful American judge.

Back in the courtroom and possibly my favourite scene of the film.  Rudolph Peterson (Montgomery Clift) is bought in as a witness because he was sterilised because of his mental incompetence.  Clift's performance in this scene is amazing.  He came up as an actor with James Dean and Marlon Brando in New York theatre, and was one of the first actors to use the "method" style of acting, and you can tell that he really got in to this role even though he only has one scene.  He tells how he was asked in a court what Hitler's birthday was and he replied "I don't know and I don't care." which gets a laugh in this courtroom, and I love his shock at getting that laugh.  He then goes to heartbreaking agony when his mother is bought up and he pulls out her picture, pleading with the court "you judge her, was she feeble minded?"  Rolfe then gives him the test for mental competence which was in law at the time of his sterilisation.  He is to make a sentence out of the words "hare, hunter, field."  He breaks down at this point, saying that they had decided to sterilise him before he even got in the court, and that "since that day I've been half I've ever been."  But Rolfe ends by coldly saying "there's only your word."  Because the law at the time called for the mentally incompetent to be sterilised, and he failed the test, there's nothing the judges can do for him and it is heartbreaking.  You even see Rolfe cracking during this scene, he is not happy to be doing this.  Dan looks pissed off at the end of the scene too, pulling off his headphones and gruffly declaring "court is adjourned."  The case is starting to get to him.

We cut from the dramatic tension of Peterson's scene to a fancy restaurant where Dan and Bertholt are having dinner.  They meet a journalist who tells them that there's no interest from the public for the trial because there aren't any big names in the stand, which I can understand.  It's probably the same case nowadays.  The press won't really report on something unless it will sell, no matter how important the subject.  Bertholt then tells Dan of her mission, "to convince you we're not all monsters."  I think this is something he's been thinking about since he read Janning's book and talked to his housekeepers.  Lawson is also there, drunk off his ass, clearly impacted by Peterson's testimony earlier.  Bertholt says to him "you'd like to indict the whole country, that's hardly fair."  To this he gets really quiet, saying "Fair?  Hare...hunter...field."  He feels like Rolfe wasn't fair when he did that to Peterson, but Rolfe is just "playing by their rules" like he said earlier.  There's then a short scene where we see Janning gardening in the prison yard.  He won't talk to his fellow defendants and has no interest in politics now.  I don't think he's had a line in this film so far, but he has a presence that always seems to hang over proceedings in the court, always cutting back to him to see if there is any reaction.

After visiting the opera, we get a great shot of a pan around the town square, taking in the local pub, full of life and noise, with the shot finishing on two silhouettes walking arm in arm, Dan and Bertholt.  She has a great line that sums up a major theme of the film, "I wish you understood German."  They go back to her small apartment, a huge difference to the mansion she used to live in, and chat for a bit.  At the end of the scene there's a great match cut from her pouring coffee to Lawson pouring coffee (maybe to help with his hangover).  He wants to get a key witness for the trial, one of the main players in the Feldenstein case, where a Jewish man was executed for supposedly having relations with a 16 year old German girl, Irene Wallner (Judy Garland).  

When he goes to her home the first shot we get of her is her silhouette in profile, and you can tell right away that it's Judy Garland, she has such an iconic look.  She is reluctant to testify, saying "after the trial you can go back to America."  Even though the Nazis have been defeated she still fears the repercussions of speaking against them, maybe being seen as a traitor.  Lawson tells her "you owe it to one person at least."  And her reaction to that is brilliant, showing the weight of what happened over ten years ago still weighing on her.  

In the courtroom Lawson tells us that the Feldenstein trial was held in the same room.  Irene tells how Janning was seen as the one hope for them in the trial, "he had dedicated his life to justice." This tells us what the German people thought of him before the war, an upstanding judge in pursuit of justice.  How can he be in this position now?  There's a heartbreaking line when Irene says what happened when Feldenstein took the stand, "they laughed...again and again."  There's also a great dramatic shot in this scene, when Lawson asks her who the presiding judge for the trial was and she replies "Ernst Janning"  there's a crash zoom out from her close up to a double shot, with her in the background and Janning in close up.  She also gives him such a scathing look as she leaves the room that I almost felt bad for him.

Next up Lawson asks to be sworn in as a witness and presents a film shot by allied forces of concentration camps.  This is all real footage of the corpses, skeletal from starvation, piled up.  So many of them that a bulldozer had to be used to move them before infection spreads.  Shots of the shoes and glasses of the dead really got to me, and then there are shots of children, tattooed, ready to be sent off to camps to die.  Lawson says that the motto at these camps was "break the body, break the spirit, break the heart."  At the end of his statement he says that six million people died in these camps, "but the real figure, no one knows."  The courtroom is silent for the duration of this scene.  The only sound being Lawson's narration over the most horrific images you could ever see.  I had to stop watching the film after this because I was so upset after this that I couldn't possibly concentrate on the film.  I can't believe that there are still people out there who doubt this really happened.  Those crazy, conspiracy theory cunts can all go and fuck themselves.  I can't imagine what it was like to see this when the film was released just over fifteen years after the end of the war.  Like Dan said at the start of the film, "I didn't know it was so bad."

In the prison, a couple of the judges are indignant about the film being shown, "we were judges, not executioners."  They then talk to a guy who worked in one of the camps, asking him if that many people were killed.  His reply, callous in its casualness, was chilling.  "It's possible to get rid of ten thousand in half an hour.  It's not the killing that's the problem, it's disposing of the bodies."  Then we cut from the cold, lifeless prison to a warm and lively pub with people singing and cheering and drinking.  Since the concentration camp scene the cuts have been quite jarring, and I think that's on purpose because it really mirrors your thoughts after seeing something like that.  At the pub we see Bertholt has bought some brochures to Dan, showing off local museums and culture etc, still selling him on Germany being a country that has changed.  She also seems quite angry at what Lawson did, calling his film "Col. Lawson's private chamber of horrors.  Is that who you think we are? Do you think we knew of these things?"  Dan isn't easily swayed though, telling her "As far as I can make out no one in this country knew."  The scene ends with another nice match cut from someone banging a beer stein on a table to Dan banging his gavel.

Rolfe then remarks on Lawson's film.  We see that he is clearly shocked and shamed by what he saw, but, being professional, he argues against their being shown.  He claims that it is unfair on these defendants, saying "the truth is these brutalities were bought about by the fanatics, the criminals."  He also makes a specific defense for Janning, because it is clear at this point that he is the only one of them that could be called a good person, the other defendant judges are all pretty much Nazi assholes.  He says "the entire work of Ernst Janning was inspired by one motive and one motive only, the endeavour to pursue justice."  Throughout this entire speech the camera is roving around the court, taking in everyone's reaction to Rolfe, specifically Janning.  More great use of camera to add movement to a pretty static scene.  He brings Irene back up to the stand and, pretty coldly, breaks her down regarding her relationship with Feldenstein.  She gives a brilliant performance in this scene, especially when she breaks down in tears, asking Rolfe "what are you trying to do?"  

Throughout all of this we can see Janning in the background, and he is clearly affected by seeing Irene like this, recounting what he did when he sentenced an innocent man to die.  He suddenly stands up, asking of Rolfe "are we going to do this again?" with real force, giving Rolfe a real steely look.  It's like he's finally come to a realisation, like he's been thinking things through for himself for the trial so far.  You can see this in his face in previous scenes, he's not fully present, but now he is.  He demands to be allowed to take the stand and make a statement, which causes chaos in the courtroom.  

Visiting with Janning in jail, Rolfe in clearly pissed with him.  He's trying to do a job he doesn't really want to do, but he is because he loves his country, and this guy is going to ruin his defence.  He tells him "Do you think I've enjoyed being defence council during this trial?  There were things I had to do in that courtroom that made me cringe."  I think he's referring here to how he treated both Peterson and Irene while he was questioning them.  He followed the laws and the rules during their questioning, but he didn't like it.  We then get more of his motivations for taking the case, "I want to leave the German people something, I want to leave them a shred of dignity."  He also brings up the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying of the Americans "is that their moral superiority?"  Despite all of the passion he shows here, Janning is unmoved.  He simply and calmly tells him "there is nothing you can say, nothing."  He has a sense of serenity here that feels like he has already come to terms with his punishment before it's even been handed out.

Back in the courtroom and we finally get to hear from Janning.  He starts out speaking calmly, like we would expect from how he's been acting so far.  He explains what it was like when Hitler came to power, and the mood of the country that led to that, "there was a fever over the land, a fear of disgrace, a fear of indignity, a fear of hunger."  He tells how Hitler said "lift up your heads, be proud to be Germans...once these devils have been destroyed your miseries will be destroyed."  Speaking about the Feldenstein case he says "it wasn't a trial at all, it was a sacrificial ritual."  And finally he starts to speak with real passion and emotion when talking about whether he, and other people in his position, knew what was really happening, "where were we when they cried out in the night to us?  Were we deaf?  Dumb?  Blind?"  It's really shocking to see him so animated after he has been so still and quiet for the film up to this point.  He then talks about his fellow defendants, how they all knew and didn't care because they were either enjoying it or profiting by it.  He ends by saying "and Ernst Janning, worse than any of them, because he knew what they were, and he went along with them."  

After this we see Rolfe rise slowly from his seat.  I love his reaction, his face is a mask of shock as he thinks about what he can say now.  He looks around the room, gauging the reactions of everyone.  He says "what about the rest of the world?"  Making the point that it wasn't only people in Germany who knew what Hitler was doing, the whole world knew what he was doing and didn't step in until the last moment.  "The whole world is as responsible for Hitler as Germany.  Ernst Janning's guilt is the world's guilt.  No more, no less."  Absolute silence.  I think this scene is the one that really shows why Schell won the Oscar.  He perfectly plays the conflict between his patriotism and the horrors that his country committed.  Also his indignity at how he feels like all of Germany is on trial when he feels like the world should be on trial.  We are all responsible for people like Hitler.

Next scene we see the judges trying to make their judgement.  Two of them are discussing legal precedent and previous, similar cases.  Meanwhile, Dan is reading over the files of Peterson and Irene.  He's more interested in the human side of the case than the actual legalities.  We then see him go to the window where he can see into the yard, seeing Janning.  He tells the other two "all I've heard is a load of legalistic double talk and rationalisation."  At this point in the film Dan has been pressured by a couple of people to be lenient on the defendants, because of the breakout of the cold war.  The Americans want the German people on their side because they'll be a vital ally, but Dan has been resistant to this, feeling that justice must be done.  When it was suggested that they only followed the law and didn't kill anyone themselves, implying that they're not responsible, Dan says "Are you saying that a man isn't responsible for his actions?  You're gonna have to explain that to me.  You're gonna have to explain it very carefully."

At the summing up of the trial we learn that it has been going on for eight months, with ten thousand pages of documents.  This puts into perspective the huge task on their hands.  Dan praises Rolfe's defence, showing that he's a classy guy.  He even shows his sympathy towards Janning, saying that he "is a tragic figure, to be sure."  A man who thought if he just went along with the Nazis he could make it better from the inside, who would ride it out and help build Germany back up after they were gone, but he still went along with them.  Dan then gives an incredible speech for his ruling, saying that the whole trial boils down to the value of a single life.  Even if only one person died because of their actions, that would be enough.  He sentences them all to life imprisonment.  When sentencing Janning he seems sad and disappointed, maybe still seeing some of himself in him.

Getting ready to leave Germany, we see Dan in his house.  He calls Bertholt.  We cut to her house, starting on a shot of a portrait of her dead husband.  We pan around and see her sat in darkness, watching the ringing phone, but she doesn't answer.  She tried her best to convince Dan to be lenient, but justice had to be done.  We then see Rolfe visit Dan, and they finally have a chummy, friendly conversation, which was nice to see.  They've not really had much interaction directly during the film, which was a bit of a shame as they are both fantastic actors.  Rolfe tells Dan that sentencing them to life imprisonment, with the cold war coming, wasn't the logical thing to do, and they'll all be out within five years because of the political climate.  Dan agrees with them, but tells him "to be logical isn't to be right." which I think that really sums up his morality.  

The film ends with Dan visiting Janning in prison.  Janning still pleads that he never knew it would come to that, but Dan tells him "you knew it would come to that the first time you sentenced a man to death who you knew to be innocent."  Janning was a man who did the logical thing, instead of the right thing, and I think that is the one vital difference between the two men.  We get a slow zoom in on his face as he soaks in what Dan just said, the realisation of what he's really done coming to him accompanied with a clashing of cymbals, and the closing of the prison door.  The patriotic song from the start of the film plays again as Dan walks out of the prison, while titles come up telling us that 99 defendants were sentenced during the Nuremberg trials, and not one was still in prison at the time of the films release in 1961, only 13 years after the trials took place.  Rolfe was right, logic always beats out what's right when it comes to politics. 

I loved this film.  I was totally engaged with all of the courtroom scenes, the camera work being a highlight, like I mentioned a few times.  The cast were all brilliant, my favourites being Tracy and Clift.  I loved the way Tracy played his role, with a calm authority.  I also loved all of the scenes we got with him outside of the court, showing his humanity, really building this character and helping us understand why he makes his final decision.  I was moved several times, Peterson's scene, Irene's second questioning, and Lawson's presentation.  I didn't feel the length of the film at all, the script was so well written that I could have watched another hour of those court scenes.  A brilliantly crafted courtroom drama about an incredibly important and horrific event in human history with powerful performances from some of Hollywood's biggest names.

9/10

Edited February 20, 2020 by LimeGreenLegend

[LimeGreenLegend 4,295]

Bumping this post in case anyone else has a review before next month's film.

[Con 5,719]

My usually reliable movie streaming service has been unable to find a working stream of this film. I will give it another go tonight but may have to owe you guys the review later as I may need to hit the library for a copy. 

[djw180 7,006]

Brief review, not much time at the moment.

• Brilliant film.
• Important story to be told and not forgot.
• Well deserved oscar for Maximillian Schell - any one else reminded of multi-oscar winner Daniel Day Lewis?
• Stella cast, not seen that much of Spencer Tracey but I like him in this (similar role and style of film to another great, from that time, Inherit the Wind, same director I think).
• Seemed to me the 4 defendants represented all those who for different reasons went along with the n*zis. To me only one of them was a n*zi, the one on the far right as we saw them (coinincidence?). The others were either lacking the courage to speak out and / or too comfortable in their highly paid, well respected jobs, to want to lose them. Or in the case of Janning a sense of injustice as to how Germany was punished for the WWI led him to think, as he says in the film, Hitler wouldn't last, so go along with him to "get things done" then restore democracy later, only to realise too late it wasn't going to work out like that and either lack of courage or despair at how wrong he had been meant he too just carried on regardless.
• I do think it raises importent legal issues, as M. Schell argues, why was it those 4 in the dock and not so many others? To me they were morally guilty, no question of that, but legally I am not so sure
• Interesting to note that in the real life trial this was based on, of 16 judges and lawyers, 5 were aquitted, one killed himself, 3 got life, the others between 3 and 10 years. And as the film says all were released in less than 10.
• Also interesting to note, and I wish I had more details, I remember this from a documentory. There was a lawyer in early 1930s who tried to take on the n*zis. He was a deputy chief prosecutor in one of the German states. He attempted to prosecute members of the SS running a "re-education" camp over deaths of multiple inmates, all apparently died trying to escape. Those accused pulled strings, used their contacts and he got reassigned to other work then psuhed out the way. The point is he wasn''t imprisoned or killed, the n*zis didn't quite have that much power then. If others like him had taken the same stance they might have stopped the n*zis, but like Janning and the other defendants in the film, most didn't.

 

9/10

Edited March 2, 2020 by djw180

[Con 5,719]

Judgement at Nuremberg

I love the opening shot of this film. The N*zi music starts blaring loudly and proudly. We see the building with the boastful stone sw*stika as the music confuses you as it seems to be celebrating the N*zis and the film is about convicting them for their crimes...and then we see the sw*stika shatter as it explodes and then you say, "Ahh that's more like it.", great little misdirection to start the film. What made this entertaining for a court room drama was that despite knowing the outcome from real life, I think I watched intently to see how Chief Justice Haywood (Spencer Tracy) was going to be changed by his experience. Was he going to rule with compassion or anger, he gets plenty of light and dark insights to help him with his decision. Yes, these men were part of a killing machine but it doesn't mean they knew exactly what was going on. I get into some trouble discussing this topic of complicity within the German people at the peak of N*zism because some people really think there was no way the German people did not know what was happening at the concentration camps, someone had to visit or work there and go back home and tell someone what they saw. Millions were slaughtered and not a single leak from anyone? At the same time I don't think every German eventually became aware of the atrocities and just looked the other way, a lot did not know...i use two examples, one is the church...now we know there have been millions of child abuse cases and cover-ups within the church, does that mean that every Christian was aware of the child abuse happening in their towns? of course not. The second example i use is, say you are leaving for work and you see your neighbors cuffed and put in a police car, you walk over and ask a cop, what happened, and he says, they were caught doing illegal activities, you never see them again...chances are you won't investigate or worry about your "criminal" neighbor a month down the road. All you probably will care about is, "the criminals have been removed from the neighborhood, good riddance!!!". So that element of "...is Guilt still Guilt if you do not know the full extent of your actions?", is a complex one as the film clearly reveals that the German people, especially officers, police, and military, had to fall in line and obey their orders, especially when the orders were coming from the head of the country and he had sold the German people what would become a twisted fantasy. I really appreciated this film for attempting to take a balanced view and wasn't just a N*zi bashing festival. The irony of course is people like me trying my best not to bash the N*zi party because I feel bad for the Germans that were genuine compassionate human beings and risked their well-being to hide Jews, all the while the Jew bashing is what led to the holocaust in the first place.

I like how the film breaks down how a person like Adolf Hitler could even come into power. How could people blindly follow what was always a mad man? This film does a great job explaining how Adolf brought Hope and Pride to Germany and how he charmed the nation into believing that what they were doing was in the interest of the German people and f*ck everyone else...sorry, but it did remind me of Trump and some of the sh*t he has said, like telling Americans they are the "Forgotten" in their own country despite the fact that for hundreds of years mostly one group of people have run the country, so excuse me when that type of victim-hood confuses me. The same way Hitler told Germans that outsiders were taking their jobs and status in society, mirrors what i hear in my country about immigrants, especially if you are from Latin America. The notion that someone can walk into my job and force my boss to hire them in place of me or if i'm not here on time tomorrow, an immigrant, preferably an illegal immigrant, can just sit and take my job is f*cking laughable. "They are stealing your jobs."---- horsesh*t. It's like a fear tactic that works with people that don't apply critical thought and don't stop to ask, "why are illegals finding work and my friend Mark is not?" ... whose fault is it that illegals find employment in every state in America? You want illegals out? well then stop making it easy for them to find work!!!! We don't need a wall we need better social security number system where not just anyone can use one just to get on the payroll as that is how illegals get jobs, they provide a working social security number...the employer is not only protected they also benefit from being able to pay lower wages, the illegal gets a paycheck, and everyone is happy. Except, Hank, cause he thinks, "Mexicans just come here and take all the good jobs."  So while I don't think Trump wants to exterminate illegals, it is dangerous to dehumanize all of them, especially when a symbiotic relationship has persisted for centuries between Illegals looking for work and employers looking to save on payroll. Which of the two groups has the power to create the change in the "Illegals finding jobs" issue? Want to really protect the border and American jobs? Tell employers they will get a Minimum of Five Years in Prison if caught hiring Illegals.....and watch how fast the number of illegals looking for work in America drops! Tell employers, No more minor slaps on the wrist, no excuses, you don't do thorough background checks, you go to jail. Put it on the ENABLERS not the ILLEGALS, and see how fast things change. 

The acting was top notch as we would expect from that cast. Everyone was strong and Burt Lancaster as Dr. Janning was magnetic and what I perceived to be a character arc was well done as I could not tell what was convicting him inside, when he erupts, its magnificent. I know people loved Montgomery Clift as Rudolph Peterson, and don't get me wrong, I think Clift was one of the greats, but I was divided on his performance, I felt he overacted in some moments and came across as a caricature and that was disappointing for me. Plus that whole thing was confusing, so the n*zis didnt want dumb people to reproduce (their own race and other races), but then they kill perfectly healthy humans of a different race instead??? wtf. Of course cannot talk about the actors and not mention the actual reason we watched this film two months ago, in case you forgot, the film genre was "Best Actor Oscar Winner Films"...and the work that Maximilian Schell puts into his role of Defense Counsel Hans Rolfe is groundbreaking. I can imagine moviegoers in 1961 witnessing his performance for the first time and saying, "You know, this Defense guy makes a lot of excellent points and maybe these men aren't as guilty as i thought." Yeah, he does that, he flips the entire courtroom as he begins his perfect defense of the accused...and he might have succeeded brilliantly had it not been for the guilty heart of one Dr. Janning. When Hans Rolfe begins shedding light on holding everyone around the world accountable for either ignoring or dismissing the rumors of the atrocities, man, that was just powerful stuff. You cant just point the finger because WHAT HAVE YOU DONE OR WHAT WILL YOU DO TO CHANGE THINGS? It is fact that most of the world ignored or did not want to get involved with the noise that was coming from Germany..."we have our own problems"---- how did you expect for the Americans in inner-cities to care about the Jews in Germany when they themselves were running from lynchings and beatings because they were the wrong skin color, 1933-1945 was a very f*cked up time to be a minority in America there was no time to fix the problems of others around the world. Anyways, the points Hans Rolfe makes are all valid and I think is where the film held its most powerful and meaningful message to me, you can get information and do something with it to make things better for yourself and others. Or you can just not give a f*ck about anything except yourself, and that's fine too, just don't be an *sshole when you need help or want someone to feel your pain or situation cause, f*ck you, when that time comes. We are all human and we will all need another human at some point, so don't be a pr*ck, abundance and health are not forever. 

The only negative thing i could come up with were some of those zoom-ins...lol...they were jerky and while they got better as the film went on, the first once we see, made me chuckle, this was before the Steady-cam so I'm just spoiled. It is really hard to find fault in a movie whose message is bigger than the f*cking choice of lighting or accuracy in the wardrobe department. It's hard to find fault in a film that was groundbreaking and nation-shattering....yes, this film, which premiered in GERMANY!!! cut deep into Germans, they didn't play it for two years after the premiere...but in their defense, they aren't the only ones that should have been cut deep as the film reveals, many nations and many leaders failed the Jews and assorted minorities that became victims to the N*zi regime. This was the first time actual footage from concentration camps was shown in a film and I can imagine how it shocked and repulsed audiences...even if the trials were being held years after what was shown in the footage. Oh and a minor thing were the headphones, it seemed like the actors had no idea how they worked...as at times they were used when it seemed like it they weren't necessary, but I guess its because I'm not clear what was coming out at the other end of the headphones, if the person was speaking English, I assume it was being translated to German in the headphones, but if the character spoke both languages, why would they need a headphone? Can someone clarify this for me please. lol. Sometimes the shouting in the courtroom was piercing loud but this was 1961 audio tech, so it's understandable.

Germany had not fully reconciled when this film was premiered in their country, and it was the first time a film discussed the holocaust and showed footage of the camps...but did it all while maintaining a balance that despite the fact that we know who the "villains" are, they are still given a fair perspective and I was not expecting that at all. 

My final verdict for this film ...5/5... when considering the historical value of it, I cannot give it less than that.  I have learned a lot about the holocaust through my own research and seen plenty of the horrible footage and photos, yet, I still learned a little more than I already knew after watching this and made me question..."Can it be that the reason we don't care about other people is that once we care, we feel we have to commit to help and that can be an inconvenience to our routines?" , we know slaughter is happening around the world TODAY. We know slavery and forced labor is still happening today. Why don't we as a species that self-claims to be part of "Intelligent Design"--- (despite our anuses being next to our pleasure centers, how you gonna put the nasty so close to the nice?), why don't we work together to eliminate the suffering of today? Because offering help can be an inconvenience to us that don't need help....(at the moment). Judgement at Nuremberg is a great film that was brave for it's time and took on one of humanities worst crimes and brought to light every angle and dark corner of those actively responsible and those that looked the other way. Many were to blame not just Germany, that is the only truth I walked away with after watching this important and daring film. 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Con

[djw180 7,006]

@Con great review.

I think the thing about the headphones is at the begining the Germans speak German and the Americans speak English. Then they switch to the rest of the film dialogue being all in English so we the English speaking veiwers don't need subtitles, but we're supposed still see it as the Germans speaking German.

[Con 5,719]

8 minutes ago, djw180 said:

@Con great review.

I think the thing about the headphones is at the begining the Germans speak German and the Americans speak English. Then they switch to the rest of the film dialogue being all in English so we the English speaking veiwers don't need subtitles, but we're supposed still see it as the Germans speaking German.

Thanks, DJ! I'm glad I was able to finally get a stream cause library is still closed.  I enjoyed your review too, all your bullet points were spot on. 

Oh and I see what they were doing with the headphones now. You can see why I was confused. Dont know why i became so distracted by that. 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Con