Judgment at Nuremberg (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'Judgment at Nuremberg' (an intense courtroom drama produced/directed by Stanley Kramer) takes a sobering look back at the tail end of WWII, when the world started to become aware of the full extent of the Third Reich's heinous war crimes. In the late 1940s, a series of trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany, by an international tribunal, led by American legal/military officials with the direct intent of bringing to justice those guilty of crimes against humanity. However, by that time, most of the major members of the Nazi regime were either missing or dead and, in the legal proceedings ... American judges sometimes themselves facing the question of how much responsibility a German held for "just following orders".
This film is a dramatized version of the proceedings at 1 of these many trials, in which competent New Hampshire Judge Dan Haywood (the always sturdy Spencer Tracy) comes over from America to oversee the trial of 4 German judges; most notably, brilliant Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) & Emil Hahn (Werner Klemperer) - accused of knowingly supporting/conspiring with Hitler's inhuman mandates against humanity. The film opens with prosecuting attorney, United States Colonel Tad Lawson (a great Richard Widmark) makes an emotionally-packed opening statement calling for the harshest of punishments for these 4 judges.
Representing the defense is attorney Hans Rolfe (a powerful Maximilian Schell) who passionately argues that these judges were only upholding the laws of their country; and that trying them in this trial would be like saying all of Germany should be tried. As the trial proceeds, both the Americans legal team as well as their reluctant German hosts often find themselves re-entrenched in the war, & how both of their countries have been irrevocably changed by it. Everything culminates in an 10 minute speech told by Judge Haywood about justice & the American system of the law.
I found it intriguing that the likes of American industrialists, Russia, Winston Churchill, & even the Vatican(!) supported Hitler early on; makes you think about just who was in-the-know and/or responsible for what was to come. Acting-wise, Spencer Tracy is wonderful as the sensitive, fair judge who is genuinely troubled by the trial and must balance all the info he is given with his moral center. He even makes an effort to question some local Germans. One whom he befriends is an aristocratic German widow played by Marlene Dietrich (she's superb in a sad role that must have hit close to home). Judy Garland is great as Irene Hoffman, a troubled woman accused of "polluting" the Aryan race by having a relationship with a Jew when she was only 16. Montgomery Clift gives a wonderfully naturalistic portrayal of an unfortunate victim of the Nazi sterilization program; and a solid Burt Lancaster gets an earful from Judge Haywood in the film's closing moment.
'Judgment at Nuremberg' was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, with Maximilian Schell winning Best Actor & Abby Mann winning for the script. For my $$, I'd have given it even more accolades; for its production design: evoking an eerily potent atmosphere of Nuremberg, a bombed-out city that harbors the trials. I was completely engrossed in this starkly lensed (in black & white), exceedingly well-acted drama. Even at 3 hours and with lengthy message-speeches spouted by all characters involved, the fact that it held my attention throughout is a testament to its quality. Great film.
This film is a dramatized version of the proceedings at 1 of these many trials, in which competent New Hampshire Judge Dan Haywood (the always sturdy Spencer Tracy) comes over from America to oversee the trial of 4 German judges; most notably, brilliant Dr. Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) & Emil Hahn (Werner Klemperer) - accused of knowingly supporting/conspiring with Hitler's inhuman mandates against humanity. The film opens with prosecuting attorney, United States Colonel Tad Lawson (a great Richard Widmark) makes an emotionally-packed opening statement calling for the harshest of punishments for these 4 judges.
Representing the defense is attorney Hans Rolfe (a powerful Maximilian Schell) who passionately argues that these judges were only upholding the laws of their country; and that trying them in this trial would be like saying all of Germany should be tried. As the trial proceeds, both the Americans legal team as well as their reluctant German hosts often find themselves re-entrenched in the war, & how both of their countries have been irrevocably changed by it. Everything culminates in an 10 minute speech told by Judge Haywood about justice & the American system of the law.
I found it intriguing that the likes of American industrialists, Russia, Winston Churchill, & even the Vatican(!) supported Hitler early on; makes you think about just who was in-the-know and/or responsible for what was to come. Acting-wise, Spencer Tracy is wonderful as the sensitive, fair judge who is genuinely troubled by the trial and must balance all the info he is given with his moral center. He even makes an effort to question some local Germans. One whom he befriends is an aristocratic German widow played by Marlene Dietrich (she's superb in a sad role that must have hit close to home). Judy Garland is great as Irene Hoffman, a troubled woman accused of "polluting" the Aryan race by having a relationship with a Jew when she was only 16. Montgomery Clift gives a wonderfully naturalistic portrayal of an unfortunate victim of the Nazi sterilization program; and a solid Burt Lancaster gets an earful from Judge Haywood in the film's closing moment.
'Judgment at Nuremberg' was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, with Maximilian Schell winning Best Actor & Abby Mann winning for the script. For my $$, I'd have given it even more accolades; for its production design: evoking an eerily potent atmosphere of Nuremberg, a bombed-out city that harbors the trials. I was completely engrossed in this starkly lensed (in black & white), exceedingly well-acted drama. Even at 3 hours and with lengthy message-speeches spouted by all characters involved, the fact that it held my attention throughout is a testament to its quality. Great film.