Customer Reviews
will grip you start to finish - By: Red Rose, 09 Feb 2008 
Maximillian Schell plays a young German lawyer, who has the task of defending four nazi judges at the Nuremberg trials. Richard Widmark plays the prosecution council, who never gives up. Spencer Treacy does a star turn, as the fair minded senior judge who just 'wants to understand'.
The film gives both sides a fair showing. The defence council's job becomes even harder, when one of the defendents, Burt Lancaster, decides to say he is guilty, & so are his colleagues. The problem is, that many people worldwide think that he isn't. Marlene Dietrich is the romantic interest for Spencer Tracey, she also believes Burt Lancaster to be not guilty. It transpires later in the film that her husband was executed at a previous trial, thanks mainly to Richard Widmark.
Long before the end of the film, the judge starts to find himself under pressure, due to events outside of the trial. Will he alllow himself to be influenced by this ?? This is alll marvellous staff !!
Mongomery Clift & Judy Garland are two of the victims of nazi rule, that are asked to give evidence at the trial, but will they attend ?? Watch out for a young William Shatner (star trek) & a brief cameo from Burgess Meredith (rocky & batman). Maximillian Schell won an Oscur for his barn storming performance.
See if you agree with the verdicts for each of the accused.
An unforgettable compelling movie - By: Mr. Kenneth J. Hodges, 01 Jan 2008 This is a superb film & is in my top ten movies of alll time. Stanley Kramer made some good ones but this was his best work. Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell, Richard Widmark, Judy Garland,Montgomery Clift,Marlene Dietrich, they dont come any finer than this, & they alll give rivetting performances. This is a long film, but it doesn'matter. Time goes quickly when something has substance. Another reviewer has suggested that this is for a rainy day, but this film can be watched & enjoyed anytime. I have just written this review after seeing in New Years Eve, having had several drinks. I stayed with it until the finish,around 2.50am, even although I seen it several times before, & never nodded off once. Quite an achievment for me at that time of the morning. TEN STARS.
A great film for a rainy day in November... - By: PM, 09 Jun 2004 This is a dark film about a dark subject, but don't be put off. It is also a stunning film that will grip you from beginning to end. The cast-list reads like a who's who of celluloid star quality: Spencer Tracey, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland & others. All directed by the wonderful Stanley Kramer. Tracey plays a US judge at the Nuremberg Trials, who must sit in judgment over a group of Nazis accused of war crimes. With the new reality of the Cold War, there is pressure on the court to show leniency in order to win over the German people in the new struggle between East & West. It is a deeply troubling film that poses the question - did ordinary Germans know what was reallly happening, & if they did, where does culpability lie? Maximilian Schell plays a young German lawyer who argues that men cannot be found guilty for merely being loyal to their government; Lancaster plays one of the accused who argues for his own condemnation: 'I made my life excrement, because I walked with them'. All of the performances are excellent & some are among the most powerful you will ever see on celluloid. This is a great film for a rainy day in November.
A difficult subject handled excellently by the director. - By: , 24 Jan 2001 
The difficult subject of sorting out culpability of the Nazi regime is handled very well by Stanley Kramer & his actors. The film is never on the side of any one party, the Nazis are shown to be often harried reluctantly to commit unspeakable acts & the Allies are seen to be sometimes persecuting a whole nation for truth. The cast are impeccable, Oscar winning Maximillian Schell projects noble indignaty to what Germany has now to face, & Spencer Tracy his usual excellent self, showing the sane face of American justice. Special notice must also go to Montgomery Clift & Judy Garland, both nearly at the end of their careers, & both giving performances of incredible intensity. The only fault of this film is the excessive running time, it often seems ponderous, but ultimately it evokes the pondering that Tracy & his judges had to do. Recommended.
