Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Note Générale:

8,3/10   

Réalisateur:

Stanley Kramer

Scénariste:

Abby Mann (story)

Date de sortie:

18 décembre 1961 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drame | Histoire

Accroche:

More than a motion picture...It is an overwhelming experience in human emotion you will never forget!

Intrigue:

In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazi judges for war crimes.

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Nazi | Trial | Germany | War Crime

Récompenses:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 21 nominations

Avis des utilisateurs:

A Film Of Enduring Value

Ensemble

Spencer Tracy	...	Chief Judge Dan Haywood
Burt Lancaster	...	Dr. Ernst Janning
Richard Widmark	...	Col. Tad Lawson
Marlene Dietrich	...	Mrs. Bertholt
Maximilian Schell	...	Hans Rolfe
Judy Garland	...	Mrs. Irene Hoffman Wallner
Montgomery Clift	...	Rudolph Petersen
Edward Binns	...	Sen. Burkette
Werner Klemperer	...	Emil Hahn
Torben Meyer	...	Werner Lampe
Martin Brandt	...	Friedrich Hofstetter
William Shatner	...	Capt. Harrison Byers
Kenneth MacKenna	...	Judge Kenneth Norris
Alan Baxter	...	Brig. Gen. Matt Merrin
Ray Teal	...	Judge Curtiss Ives

Autre(s) titre(s):

Judgement at Nuremberg

Durée:

186 min

Pays:

USA

Langue:

Anglais | Allemand

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Rapport de forme:

1,75 : 1

Son:

Mono

Classification:

Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:S (1990) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1961) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Lieux de tournage:

Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany

Société:

Roxlom Films Inc.

Anecdotes:

The song whose meaning Mrs. Berthold explains to Judge Haywood when they walk past a pub while people in there sing it, is called "Lili Marlene". It was actually recorded by Marlene Dietrich herself in the 40s and 50s.

Goofs:

Erreurs factuelles: At the end of the film, there was a notation that stated there were 99 defendants at the Nuremberg trials who received prison sentences, but by the time the film was made, all of them had been released. However, Rudolf Hess, at one point third in line in the German leadership behind Hitler and Goering, remained in prison until his suicide in 1987.

Guillemet:

Col. Tad Lawson: One thing about Americans, we're not cut out to be occupiers. We're new at it and not very good at it.

Connexions:

figure dans A Tribute to Stanley Kramer (2004) (V)

Bande son:

Liebeslied

A Film Of Enduring Value

They say that time heals all heartache. In the case of the Third Reich, I'm not sure that the old saying is true. Out of respect for the Holocaust victims, and as an important history lesson, there's something to be said for not forgetting the evils of Hitler. Fortunately, we have this great film to help us not forget.

"Judgment At Nuremberg" is a dramatization of one of the many real life post WWII Nuremberg trials of high ranking Nazis. Most of the film focuses on the 1948 courtroom trial of four judges who helped to carry out Hitler's decrees. As part of the prosecution's case against the judges, real life, graphic film footage showing the horrors of the death camps engenders a gut level impression that is both powerful and persuasive. The film thus educates viewers in ways that a dry textbook of facts and figures never could.

But there's more to the film than the trial. In other parts of Nuremberg we see ordinary Germans trying to get on with their lives as best they can, three years after the war's end, in a bombed out and bleak city. One of these persons is Madame Bertholt (Marlene Dietrich), the wife of a dead German soldier. In contrast to the harsh and contentious trial, Madame Bertholt's kindness toward the tribunal's lead judge, Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy), provides an example of the innocence and decency of ordinary Germans, and thus adds a softer, more contemplative perspective to the ordeal. In these non-courtroom scenes, the melancholy background music and the soft production lighting create a mood of depression and sadness.

I find very little to criticize in this three hour film. Perhaps the plot could have been clearer in identifying the legal counsel of three of the four defendants. And maybe in those scenes wherein the four defendants conversed among themselves, the dialogue should have been in German, not English. But these are trivial points. Overall, this is a film that is well written and directed, a film with credible actors giving stellar performances, and most of all, a film that assures preservation of that era's historic significance, with a political and social message that has enduring value.