Nuremberg

One of Jackson's primary concerns was to give the Nazis a fair trial, of the likes that their victims never obtained. As the movie progresses, Jackson runs into Goering in the witness box and finds him to be somewhat of a challenge. The courtroom exchanges between Baldwin and Cox are highly entertaining and are some of the best scenes in the movie.

To give the Americans a run for their money, Goering proceeds to incite the other officers so that they become increasingly defiant. In an attempt to sway the Nazi officers so that they admit fault during the trial, they send in a Jewish Psychologist, Captain Gustav Gilbert (portrayed by Matt Craven). Throughout the movie Craven's character comes to terms with the atrocities that were inflicted on his people by speaking to some of the architects of the maniacal genocide. His dialogues with the Nazis allow him to reach an interesting conclusion as to the nature of evil in men.

History buffs should be warned that this movie is only based on the true story and may be inaccurate with regards to some of the details. Having said that, the story is well presented and holds the viewers' interest for the entire 3 hours. To add a bit of spice to the proceedings, Jackson is given a love interest (his secretary). I am not sure whether this was fabricated or actually occurred in real life. Nonetheless the viewer is given a treat by witnessing the evolution of Jackson's romance as the trial unfolds.

I must say that this movie is highly entertaining and eye opening at the same time. The cast is superb including the already mentioned Alec Baldwin along with Michael Ironside, Max von Sydow, and the always-entertaining Christopher Plummer. It is rare these days to find a 3-hour movie that can captivate an audience for its entire duration. I am pleased to say that this is one of those movies. I highly recommend "Nuremberg" to anyone that wants to learn more about the atrocities that took place in Europe in WWII and how they were dealt with. At the same time, I would also recommend this movie to anyone that is simply seeking an entertaining wartime movie that contains a brilliant plot and a great cast.

I thought the book was forced to give short shrift to many of the topics the surround the trial. However for the ultimate in condensation the mini-series really barrels through too much too quickly. The movie spends far too much time on the 'romantic' side story of Justice Jackson and his secretary (oh and the movie neglects to mention that Jackson's son was living in the house with him at this time). I have no idea if such an affair took place, but I still think there was more than enough drama happening right out of the history to waste any time on such nonsense.

The basic theme of the movie gets boiled down to the "Jackson vs. Goring" fight. And that is too bad because in that case the good guys end up looking like ill-prepared schoolboys and the evil Nazi ends up looking like a peace-loving nationalist. Also looking like a good guy is Speer, a man with loyalty no to no one but himself.

I also thought it was a cop-out to have everybody speaking English in the courtroom, while this was a good deal easier on the viewer, it gave a vastly false impression of how 'international' the international tribunal really was. This might seem a minor point, but it isn't. This was a ground breaking moment in the history of world diplomacy and jurisprudence and to gloss over the difficulties involved also causes the producers to gloss over the triumphs won.

The Nuremberg trials were conducted by the Allied victors soon after the end of World War II. It was the first international tribunal in the history of humankind devoted to the criminal behavior of the losers. The challenge was to conduct a fair trial premised upon justice and not revenge. Although the evidence was overwhelming regarding the holocaust, large scale theft, and other transgressions, many of the defendants claimed that they merely followed orders. This line of defense may seem appalling in our day and age, but during that era it was widely accepted. Judge Jackson (Baldwin) was picked by President Harry Truman to carry out this most delicate task without alienating our Soviet Russian allies. The irony of course is that the Soviets were also murderous thugs, but in this less than perfect world compromise with evil is sometimes unavoidable.

Brian Cox brilliantly portrays Reichmarshal Goering, the heroic German fighter pilot of the First World War who ultimately became Hitler's right hand man. Goering possessed superb management skills, courage, a great sense of humor, cultural sophistication, and an ability to insightfully comment on the Nazi reign of terror. He also had a hard time comprehending the legitimate reasons why the civilized world considered him a diabolical monster. Observing the brief discussions between Goering and U.S. Army psychologist Captain Gustav Gilbert (Matt Craven) may do more to reveal the mindset of the Nazi hierarchy than reading numerous books. Gilbert a Jewish American had the awkward responsibility of providing care and understanding to those who ruthlessly slaughtered his own people. Captain Gilbert's self discipline and maturity were constantly put to the test.

Artistically speaking "Nuremberg" deserves only four stars, but that is not a valid excuse to keep you from seeing it. The very last scene has Max von Sydow as Samuel Rosenman uttering the hope that perhaps the Nuremberg trials will be the last of their kind. Rosenman is not childishly naive, and knows that history will likely be repeated. The at least metaphorical reality of original sin regrettably makes this a virtual certainty. We have the moral duty to learn how to increase the odds in our favor. Make sure that you see "Nuremberg!"