Genocide

This is an intense documentary of the extermination of the Jewish people in the Holocaust, with much archival footage. The scenes are often gripping and horrifying in their veracity, but it is a must see for any student of the Holocaust. There is a reference close to the end of a letter from 93 virgins requesting the kaddish for them in the future - this particular letter was proved later to be a hoax (http://www.hashkafah.com) Regardless, it is an excellent documentary even with the often melodramatic voice of Elizabeth Taylor. Most Holocaust literature attempts to play down such drama because the reality simply cannot be conveyed. I will use this in film class.

Forget the the other numerous Holocaust documentaries. This is the definitive account of the atrocities of Nazi Germany, no reenactment..just fact after fact from records of those despicable times ..backed by photos and film ..kudos to Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Wells for their heartfelt narration....upsetting to watch but has to be seen.

Genocide (1981)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Elizabeth Taylor and Orson Welles narrate this Oscar-winning documentary that takes a look at the horrors Jews had to suffer at the hands of Hitler and Germany during WWII. The documentary starts off talking about what life was like for the Jews pre-WWII and year by year it gives a rundown of how things were changing and eventually getting to the point where it turned to mass murder. GENOCIDE isn't an easy film to watch but it's certainly an important one that takes a look at a very important subject. I think film buffs will enjoy the quality behind the material and if anyone is doing research for a school project or whatnot then there's certainly a lot of information here about these tragic events. It should also be said that there are some very graphic photos and videos here of people in horrific physical shape and countless images of death. The images of a hole dug fifteen feet into the ground and filled with bodies is something you can never get over or used to no matter how many times you see it. We hear about the "Angel of Death," a German doctor who was doing experiments on people including removing body parts and trying to change genetics so that Germany could create one race. The brutality of these images are impossible to forget and it's just amazing that anyone could do this type of thing. Welles' narration is perfect and he hits all the right notes and of course that voice is just something you could listen to all day. Taylor, on the other hand, is good at times but there are moments where she just goes way over the top. In one of the most horrifying sequences, a woman gets thrown into a hole full of bodies and more bodies are being thrown on her and she has to dig her way out from all the bodies. This is emotional enough without having Taylor's narration adding all sorts of dramatics to it. I think there were times where her emotional narration wasn't needed. With that said, the documentary is still very impressive and is worth watching if you can take the graphic subject matter.

How has NOBODY ever heard of this magnificent documentary film? It is absolutely great, and I had to give it a (well-deserved) 10/10 star rating.

Using strange, experimental filmmaking techniques and a narration by Orson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor, "Genocide" is a horrifying look at the history of the Holocaust. It is horribly explicit in it's nature, but it also shows how no words or images can truly capture how awful the Jews were treated during these dark, dark times.

"Genocide" is definitely one of the most disturbing films ever made, because of the, previously mentioned, explicit content. It can easily be compared with another explicit and disturbing Holocaust documentary, Alain Resnais' "Night and Fog".

Although this brutal film is never discussed or normally listed as one of the best documentary film, it did get some recognition by the Academy Awards, because it won the Best Documentary Oscar.

An upsetting, powerful, and mostly well made documentary on The Holocaust. The archive footage is shocking, but perhaps just as disturbing were the suggestions that many countries that weren't Germany had limited sympathy for the Jewish population too.

1,000,000 Jewish deaths was shown as page 6 news in an American newspaper circa 1942/43, and many countries were said to not accomodate nearly as many fleeing Jewish refugees as they could have during the 1930s.

It's another documentary that makes those who deny this ever happened look absolutely ridiculous.