Review of Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) by Steve G — 20 Aug 2008

A courtroom epic. A significant historical piece. As the prosecution & the defense were going back & forth, I was expecting some kind of moral equivocation of the Nazis & every other nation on earth. That's why I was so joyous to see every possible moral nuance investigated. (Though admittedly it was quite absurd to pretend they were speaking two different languages via the translators when everyone was really speaking English).

Lancaster's turn absolutely made this film. I've never seen that side of him. All the performances were extraordinary & the writing was superb.

Kind of a precursor to Schindler's List in that it wasn't the most complete story arc, but rather it was a succession of intensely dramatic sequences that resonated in the emotions. Depth of character was profound. No moral question is left unasked.

Special kudos to Clift whose performance was probably the best of his career. Same could be said for Lancaster & Schell.

(Tracy was solid as always, but it was pathetic to see him try to hit it with Dietrich so bad).

It was also very interesting to see the foreshadowing of the coming Cold War in this film (which was at its zenith during its release), & the ramifications of Germany therein (ie. Berlin), which the film's audience were surely asking themselves.

In the end, the message of the film is that justice is more important than survival. Hear, hear.

(Also of note is the fact that the defense attorney has the same name as a Muppet.).