Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today

The centerpiece of this important boxed set is the recovered film Nuremberg, a 1948 U.S.-sponsored documentary on the Nuremberg war crimes trials that followed World War II (a film later suppressed by the government itself), presented here in a restored version with new narration by Liev Schreiber, along with the addition of historical audio tracks. The original film was the work of Stuart Schulberg, who melded documentary footage with excerpts from two films made for the use of prosecutors (The Nazi Plan and Nazi Concentration Camps), creating a newsreel-style compilation that laid out an analysis of Hitler's policies, including the Final Solution. While the reconstruction adds no new visual material, it's surprising how much power Schulberg's film retains: the choice of footage, juxtaposition with other documentary evidence, and trial excerpts here still have enormous impact, while the fast-paced '40s presentation style carries amazing visceral energy. Nuremberg was suppressed in the U.S. by the very government that commissioned it, not only due to the graphic images, but perhaps also because it represented a diplomatic viewpoint that no longer fit American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union. However, it was widely shown in Germany, and while the original negative was lost, Schulberg's daughter Sandra, working with Josh Waletzky, was able to recover it from surviving prints at the German National Film Archive. DVD extras include eyewitness accounts (including Schulberg's) and legacy interviews. The Blu-ray edition adds eight supplementary films, along with more eyewitness accounts and interviews. Also included is a 12-page timeline of important events in the history of international criminal justice from 1474 to 2012, as well as a 140-page educational guide. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)