In late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary,... Read allIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, focuses on the plight of five Hungarian Jews who ... Read allIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, focuses on the plight of five Hungarian Jews who survived imprisonment in Auschwitz.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
- Self - Historian and Holocaust Survivor
- (as Dr. Randolph Braham)
- Self - Holocaust Survivor
- (as Renée Firestone)
- Self - Nazi Doctor, Auschwitz
- (as Dr. Hans Münch)
- Self - US Army, Dachau
- (as Dr. Paul Parks)
- Self (walks behind Hitler and Göring)
- (archive footage)
- (unconfirmed)
- (uncredited)
- Self - Views Eiffel Tower with Hitler
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
- Self (listens to Hitler)
- (archive footage)
- (unconfirmed)
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
The movie did an excellent job of weaving together five survivors stories. On the DVD that we got from Netflix, the music was uncomfortably loud to the point of not being able to hear what the survivors were saying. Hopefully, this is just a bum copy and in other screenings the music does not overpower the talking.
I applaud the folks who made this film and especially the survivors who were able to share such deep emotion even in front of a film crew.
Thank you.
It took decades for the real horror of the Nazi extermination to be adequately shown to the public. We should use this film as an example of the mindset that drives current holocausts being perpetrated right now or being openly planned by international leaders. It doesn't matter who is being persecuted, the open hated and psychosis of the perpetrators is on display here, you can easily see the same aberrant thought processes in action right now in Africa and the Middle East.
If only the world could show the courage that was clearly lacking in the 1930's.
Update: Looking at the large number of thumbs down on previous positive comments is bizzare.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Haunting, depressing and hard to watch documentary from director James Moll has five Hungarian Jews talking about their time before, during and after being placed in concentration camps at the end of WWII as Hitler was in the last days of murdering as many people as he could. THE LAST DAYS picked up the Best Documentary Oscar and there's no question that it's a very powerful movie, perfectly put together to show the horrors of these camps. Through the interviews and archival footage, most people will probably want to avoid this film simply because of how graphic the photos are and there's no question that it's incredibly depressing. Yes, there's a bit a hope thrown in for the inspiration to survive but this really doesn't take away the haunting images that we're shown. There are several times throughout the film that the five people break down crying while telling their stories and it really makes you wonder what it would be like having to go through life with these graphic images constantly in your head. Seeing people shot, burned to death, melt down into skeletons and worse is just something that no one should have to go through life witnessing and then having to live with. Another interesting segment deals with the eventual rescue by the American troops. We get to see some interviews with those troops and hearing their stories of being shocked were also very heartbreaking. I thought director Moll did a terrific job at taking all the stories and editing them together just as if the story was being told by one person. THE LAST DAYS isn't an easy film to watch as some of the images are just horrible but for history buffs it's a must see.
Did you know
- TriviaHans Zimmer, the composer of the score, provided the music free of charge for the Survivors Of The Shoah Visual History Foundation.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Dr. Randolph Braham: The Holocaust has to be taught as a chapter in the long history of man's inhumanity to man. One cannot ignore the discrimination inflicted on many people because of race color or creed. One cannot ignore slavery. One cannot ignore the burning of witches. One cannot ignore the killing Christians during the Roman period. The Holocaust perhaps is the culmination of the kind of horror that can occur when man loses his integrity, his belief in the sanctity of human life.
- SoundtracksCzardas Princess Highlights Overture
Written by Emmerich Kálmán (as Emmerich Kalman)
(c)1957 Vox Productions Inc., New York
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Last Days
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $421,432
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $20,492
- Feb 7, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $421,432
- Runtime1 hour 27 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1