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Birkenau (Auschwitz II) film - The Grey Zone

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    Birkenau (Auschwitz II) film - The Grey Zone

    I recently stumbled upon a film called 'The Grey Zone', and its a very good film.

    It tells the story of the uprising of the 1th sonderKommando, at Birkenau(auschwitz II).

    What amazed me with this film was that even though it had some very famous names in it (Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, David Arquette, Mira Sorvino), it was very accurate.
    The sets were astonishing, and it looks like the build a whole Crematorium II and III. I studied the plans of these buildings as part of my degree, and always wondered what they would have looked like. This films brings these buildings back to life in great detail. From the undressing room, gas, chamber, lift to crematorium, to the crematorium and even the sonderkommandos living area in the roof. The sets are exceptional.
    Another detail is it mentions Birkenau, rather than just generalising and calling it 'auschwitz', which most other programs seem to do.

    A very interesting film, very well done, and very moving. I'd recommend anyone with an interest in Auschwitz Birkenau to watch this film. It was made in 2001 so probably quite cheap to buy now.

    GET IT!

    Heres a bit from wikipedia about it:

    The film was based upon Tim Blake Nelson's own play adapted from Nyiszli's book, althrough some critics have found that the dialogue has a stilted tone. A 90% scale "model" of the Birkenau camp was built near Sofia, Bulgaria for the production of the film using the original architectural plans. Almost everything in this movie is accurate, except for the manner of the ending and that the story of the girl is an amalgamation of two different, similar stories.

    Considering the stars in the line up and the nature of the subject it is surprising that the film was not released in the UK on DVD or Video. Released on DVD on March 18, 2003, it is available outside of the UK on Region 1 DVD and also on European Region 2 DVD.


    Lewis

    #2
    Hi Lewis,

    Thanks for the information about this film, I had read Nyiszli's book several times a number of years ago and was truly shocked by his story.

    I had no idea a film had been made that was based upon it. Without a doubt it will one to look out for.

    If anyone else is interested a trailer can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi636682521/

    Thanks again.

    Cheers

    Ian

    Comment


      #3
      I have no recollection of this 2001 Lionsgate film ever being released in the U.S. Strange.

      Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
      Lionsgate
      2700 Colorado Ave., Suite 200
      Santa Monica, CA 90404
      Attn: Business Affairs
      Jon Feltheimer, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lionsgate.

      Lionsgate is the leading independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. Its prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture titles and television episodes is a stable source of recurring revenue and is a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

      Lionsgate is also the producer of the recent Tom Cruise bomb Valkyrie, and many other films that never seem to make it into the theaters.

      http://finance.aol.com/quotes/lions-...t-corp/lgf/nys

      In the Profile menu along the left margin,
      click on Executives and Institutional Owners. Interesting. It makes one wonder where their motivation comes from to invest in and produce The Grey Zone and Valkyrie, and then leave them unreleased?

      Comment


        #4
        It came out on HBO. Well worth watching.
        pseudo-expert

        Comment


          #5
          A one to watch !

          yours friendly

          Eric-Jan

          Comment


            #6
            Hi guys,

            I caught this a while back (2002?) when it played at a film festival here on Long Island. I don't think I thought too much of the film. At least that was my first impression. Upon subsequent viewings I appreciated it more, but still felt that it failed to live up to what I thought it could have been.

            I thought that casting American actors as the Hungarian Jews was a bad decision. There is something that just cannot be conveyed via an American accent.

            The second thing that bothered me was the casting of notable actors; Buscemi, Keitel, Arquette, Sorvino, et al. Although this can be overcome in some instances (see Schwimmer as Sobel in BOB), I do not believe the actors in this film were successful at doing so.

            I guess I can go on, but I won't. It was still entertaining, and I will take any WWII film that the industry is willing to produce, but I would by telling a lie if I said that I was that pleased with the end product.

            Comment


              #7
              I have it and I really enjoyed it. Well worth seeing.

              Cheers, Ade.

              Comment


                #8
                Agreed the american accents probably werent great, but then you'd probably have to start using subtitles as alot of people may not be able to understand strong hungarian accents etc.

                There was one part that was a bit confusing at the time, which was when Harvey Keitel was obviously speaking a different language to another man infront of a group of people who didnt speak that language, however as the whole film was spoken in english without subtitles, it at first seemed odd...that no one else could understand what they were saying....hope that makes sense. Think they should have spoken that part of the film in the correct language and added subtitles.
                The main reason i was so interested in this film is the sets....worth watching to just see that.

                Lewis

                Comment


                  #9
                  Totally agree. The film is well worth watching even if just for the sets. Does anyone know what happened to these sets after filming? Had to get my copy from Holland a few years back hence it cost me an arm and a leg!

                  Personally, I still prefer "Escape from Sobibor" though.

                  Would very much like to see a film like "The Grey Zone", but from the German guards perspective, similar to "Cross of Iron". Wonder how that film would be received?

                  Graham
                  Last edited by SiPo; 05-22-2008, 07:02 AM.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Interesting thought. Never heard of the Escapr from Sobibor dvd, is it available in the UK?

                    Cheers

                    lewis

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by LDR View Post
                      Interesting thought. Never heard of the Escapr from Sobibor dvd, is it available in the UK?

                      Cheers

                      lewis
                      http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-lis...102609-6570865

                      And many on Ebay UK. Here is one.

                      http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ESCAPE-FROM-SO...dZp1638Q2em124

                      Comment


                        #12
                        The Gray Zone can be rented on DVD thru Blockbuster Online in the U.S.

                        Dan H

                        Comment


                          #13
                          I picked up the dvd on amzone its well worth the purchase.

                          Comment

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