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    Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

    Reviewed by
    maverick@

    World War #II was the most documented event in history up to that time. This was in large part due to Adolph Hitler's desire to record Germany's accomplishments for display and admiration when it emerged as the new and absolute power. Yet his photographers were never present when Hitler's solution to the "Jewish Question" was being enacted.

    Claude Lanzmann, then forty-seven years old and a member of France's intelligentsia, was offered the opportunity and financial backing to record the plight of European Jews during the war. It was now 1973, almost thirty years after the war's conclusion. Little did Lanzmann know the project would take twelve years to complete.

    As there were no archives for the event, Lanzmann's only sources were individuals still alive who had been present at the time of the atrocities. He sought out for interviews former Nazi officers, townspeople who lived near the Death Camps, foreign dignitaries who had been politically involved and, of course, survivors from the camps themselves. The finished film, running 9 1/2 hours, was called SHOAH (Hebrew for Holocaust)

    I understood that 'SPECTRES of the SHOAH' was to chronicle the filming of Shoah, and was looking forward to interviews with Lanzmann's translators and technical assistants, financial backers, and perhaps interviews discussing the acceptance of the original film. Although a couple of events were introduced and others expanded on, the majority of the film was simply a rehash of 'Shoah'. With 200 hours of film to work with, director Adam Benzine could have given us much more.

    Those who have not seen Shoah may find this 40 minute documentary a revelation, and perhaps it should be seen prior to the big film. It could be the trailer for Shoah, but then it would be a bit long.

    Note: Many film experts laud this film and it is short-listed for the Academy Awards as one of the final ten documentaries being considered for an Oscar. If I had read their musings prior to seeing 'SPECTRES', I probably would have reconsidered my own comments. However these were my thoughts on leaving the theatre, and I will let them stand.

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    maverick@  17.12.2015 age: 50+ 470 reviews

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