Extraordinary acting

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2015)

I've seen this movie, all or in part, I don't know how many times.
It's a long movie. There are parts that are just filler.
But there are also scenes in which an intelligent, nuanced, well-constructed script, delivered by truly great actors led by a great director, rises to a level that has never been surpassed, not even by Shakespeare performed by our greatest actors.
I do not say this lightly.
The scene where Maximillian Schell's character grills Judy Garland's character until he is finally stopped by Burt Lancaster's character, rips your heart out.
Burt Lancaster's character's subsequent condemnation of himself and his fellow judges - and Germans - is good dialogue delivered with such great delivery that you truly believe you are hearing greatness. And, I guess, you are, because of how Lancaster delivers the text.
Schell's character's subsequent speech arguing that Germany's guilt was a shared guilt is brilliantly written. I don't care for his delivery of it, but the text is remarkable nevertheless.
Listening to great actors deliver dialogue that they can raise to the highest levels is a wonder. It makes us marvel at what is truly great acting.
What a work of art!