Uprising

Once you get past the fact that Chief Wiggum and Ross Geller are battling Nazis, this meticulously mounted made-for-TV miniseries, drawn from the accounts of Holocaust survivors, offers up a powerful dramatization of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Written for the screen by writer/director Paul Brickman (Risky Business), Uprising follows a ragtag band of civilians decimated by years of brutality, starvation and disease, who nevertheless stand up to their Nazi oppressors. Emmy-winner Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) stars as teacher Mordechai Anielewicz, who creates the Jewish Fighting Organization and rallies his fellow Warsaw Jews to take up arms against the Nazis. "In an immoral world," he asks rhetorically, "what does a moral man do?" David Schwimmer (Friends) co-stars as his best friend and co-conspirator. Donald Sutherland gives a thoughtful performance as the conflicted head of the local Jewish Council, who fears that rebellion will only lead to the further slaughter of innocent Jews. Leelee Sobieski stands out as a courier who helps to smuggle weapons into the ghetto. Only Jon Voight hams it up as the German general charged with quelling the rebellion. A stirring and inspiring story of an heroic struggle against insurmountable odds, this is highly recommended. (K. Lee Benson)