Terrific Historical Drama

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2003)

This is a film that takes on the tough questions. How can one possibly hope to prosecute a crime so monstrous as the Holocaust? Can one be absolved from guilt by appealing to authority, as in "I was only following orders"? Do we blame a select few, or is there a larger guilt, that perhaps extends beyond national boundaries?
Those curious about this dark period in human history will find this story's attempts to answer these questions both interesting and thought-provoking. The defendants are not those who actually carried out those diabolical orders, but the enablers, judges in the Third Reich's judicial system, such as it was. While cast in the format of a military tribunal, the judges forming the triumvirate of justices are civilians, seemingly plucked from the backwaters of jurisprudence. The defense counsel is an admirer and student of one of the defendants, and he must do his utmost to defend men that he knows, deep down, are monstrously guilty of crimes the rest of us can only experience in nightmares.
The cast of this film is extraordinary. It is one where even the supporting players are superstars in their own right. Spencer Tracy heads the list, and his performance is its usual top-notch best, but his character is surprisingly low-key except for several powerful moments, especially when he pronounces his devastating personal judgment on Herr Janning (in private). Schell won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as defense counsel and deservedly so. Burt Lancaster as the focal figure of the defendant judges is also remarkable, and his acknowledgment of his guilt allows his character some measure of personal redemption, and he holds his own in the face of the backlash from his fellow defendants. Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, and of course Richard Widmark round out a cast that must be considered among the best ever assembled for a film of this type. Movie fans will appreciate seeing Werner Klemperer in a serious role as one of the defendant judges, and a youthful-looking William Shatner as the military aide to Tracy's character. However, the dialog doesn't allow for any trademark Shatner "dramatic pauses". Alas.
The filming is in black and white and this adds to the starkness of post-war Nuremberg and the dreariness of a defeated nation. The haunting scene of Tracy's character's lonely walk through the stadium at Nuremberg that was the scene of many Nazi party rallies, and the famous balcony from which Der Furher harangued his audiences, evoke powerful emotions and memories of those dark years. Likewise do the desperate appeals of the domestic help serving Tracy at his residence, begging him to believe that they "were not political". You know that they knew, but are still trying to live the lie.
This is a must viewing for those who have a historical interest in post-war happenings, as well as those who value dramatic filmmaking at its classic best.