An original TV dramatization of one of the most monstrous crimes in world history - the slaughter of 6 million Jews by the Nazis. Dramatically and definitively, the story covers an entire decade, the eventful years from 1935 to 1945. HOLOCAUST focuses on the tragedy and triumph of a single family - the Weiss family. Their story is told in counter-poise to that of another fictional family, that of Erik Dorf, who portrays a Nazi aide to Germany's infamous Heydrich. Starring a brilliant international cast and filmed on location in Berlin and Vienna.
The 30th anniversary edition of Holocaust marks the first time this remarkable, nine-and-a-half-hour television miniseries has been released on DVD. Originally broadcast on NBC as part of an ongoing TV phenomenon in the 1970s called "The Big Event," Holocaust was an original story written by Gerald Green, who later scripted Kent State and Wallenberg: A Hero's Story, the latter another Holocaust-era tale. Holocaust narrowed the enormous story of the Nazis' systematic destruction of Jews by focusing on one family living in Berlin. Fritz Weaver plays Dr. Josef Weiss, a Pole with a longtime family practice. Weiss debates with his wife, Berta (Rosemary Harris), the wisdom of moving out of Germany with their family. She insists they should not be chased away by Hitler, and by the time she thinks otherwise, it's too late for her, her parents, Josef, and the three Weiss children: Karl (James Woods), Rudi (Joseph Bottoms), and Anna (Blanche Baker). Holocaust begins with the marriage of Karl to Inga (Meryl Streep), a Christian, an arrangement already frowned upon by the rising Nazi regime in 1935. In time, Karl, a harmless artist, is dragged off to the concentration camp at Buchenwald, leaving Inga vulnerable to a predatory camp officer who passes notes between the husband and wife. Poor young Anna meets a grim fate that reveals something of the way Hitler was determined to eliminate the mentally ill along with Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and other groups of people. The rebellious Rudi ends up fighting the Germans from a different front, while Josef is deported to Warsaw, eventually joined by Berta. There, Holocaust details the plight of the walled-in, so-called Warsaw ghetto, and the despair of the people within. Meanwhile, the destiny of another important character, a rather effete lawyer named Erik Dorf (Michael Moriarty), offers a peek into the internal workings of the Holocaust machinery. Dorf takes a much-needed job as an aide to Reinhard Heydrich (David Warner), Gestapo head and chair of the 1942 Wannsee Conference, which finalized plans for the extermination of European Jews. Holocaust was criticized at the time of its broadcast for allegedly cheapening genocide by shrinking the dimensions of the Nazis' organized evil for commercial television. But as a story free to extend into different aspects of the war on Jews, Holocaust is a real eye-opener. Tom Bell, Ian Holm, Robert Stephens, and Sam Wanamaker are also featured in the cast. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Excellent:
The Holocaust was a good documentary. The movie gives you a lot of background on the Jewish problem. The Germans almost annihilated the Jews and this movie shows how they did it. I would recommend this movie to anybody. Frank Lozano
Hollywood Movie:
As usual, this is a Hollywood treatment of the Holocaust. Well know actors, some speaking with British accents and some in American English. Some Nazis (actors) make an attempt to use a German accent with English. The plot is well know, the Holocaust is well documented. But using Hollywood stars to depict the Holocaust is a big mistake. The film lacks authenticity. I would have preferred subtitles. The direction is sloppy, and again lacks conviction. This film has several DVD's and I am struggling into the... more info
Touching movie from all sides.:
I have seen many movies about the holocaust and this one has to be the best one by far. This movie gives you a powerful story of a jewish doctor the changes he and his family endured as Hitler came into power. The movie follows different members of his family into ghettos, fighting with the partisans, and into the camps. You also are given a view from a high ranking Nazi official who started out a an ordinary attorney needing work after the downfall of the economy in Gemany after World War I. Officer... more info
Poor representation of a horrific event:
This movie tells a truly terrible story but watching it doesn't impart the severity of it. The people appeared to be clean shaven, wore clean clothes and never looked like they had missed a meal. The depiction of the barracks in the camps appeared to be clean and spacious. It didn't leave the feeling that this was a truly terrible place to be, more of a summer camp type environment. Perhaps it was the best production that they could do 30 years ago but there are more realistic historicals available today... more info
