A star-studded cast with several stellar performances

Rating: 9/10 (31 May 2012)

One of the few courtroom dramas that has a major portion of runtime in the courtroom.
While Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster are deemed to be Method actors and have given one of the most powerful and emotional performances in their respective careers, Maximilian Schell steals the limelight with an other-worldly performance as a loud-speaking, neutral lawyer trying to prove the judges not guilty of the conviction on approving the process of sterilization and establishment of concentration camps in their stint as judges during the heyday of the Third Reich. While most of the convicted are partisans, Ernst Janning is a highly-educated and revered man who had no choice but to approve the bills as stated by the law and pleads 'Guilty' while the other men plead clemency. His case draws the attention of the tribunal and Judge Haywood, played by Spencer Tracy in particular.
A movie packed with catharsis of people of Germany. Stanley Kramer's best.