QB VII

Rating:
Summary: Great adaptation of a great book
Review: Movie versions of great books typically fall short of expectations, simply because there is no room in two hours to convey the whole message. In this case, however, the version lasts more than 5 hours, so there was time to adapt this wonderful story faithfully. This is done very well and with good attention to detail. Bear in mind, though, that because it was originally a mini series (and therefore meant to be watched in chapters over the course of several nights), the editing is done in "chapters", and it does not play like a normal movie. It really doesn't matter, because we get an opportunity to take breaks along the way without interrupting the flow. And breaks you need, because of the 5+-hour length. All in all, this is a faithful adaptation, and an excellent video.

Rating:
Summary: Great Film!!
Review: QBVII was a TV mini series in 1974 starring Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick and Anthony Hopkins. It is a intriging courtroom drama where Hopkins is being charged with Nazi war crimes.

This is a riveting thriller that has been long overdue on DVD. The only problem I have with the film is overlength. It will keep you watching and guessing till the end.

Rating:
Summary: worth 5 hours of your time
Review: The '70s was the golden era of TV mini-series, and this is one of the better ones that came along, dealing with moral and ethical themes in an intelligent fashion. The performances are generally quite good, especially Anthony Hopkins as a doctor accused of (...) atrocities and writer Ben Gazzara as his accuser, though his character is a little too abrasive and sarcastic to be totally likeable.

On the negative side, there are some shots, especially at the beginning, that are so shaky they look like outtakes from EARTHQUAKE, the Arab characters are played by Caucasians in dark make-up (conjuring up unpleasant memories of Al Jolson in blackface (some aspects of Arabic culture might not be totally authentic, either)), and there is little sense of the writer's effort in creating an epic novel or of the knowledge he uncovered implicating the doctor in (...) experiments (a few minutes of him pounding away at the typewriter in the middle of the night or pouring through piles of documents would have gone a long way toward establishing credibility here). Nevertheless, there are some moments of great power, particularly those involving the doctor achieving recognition for his selfless post-war work, and the writer's painful return to his Jewish faith after the death of his father. Not classic TV, but well worth a few nights of your time.

Rating:
Summary: worth 5 hours of your time
Review: The '70s was the golden era of TV mini-series, and this is one of the better ones that came along, dealing with moral and ethical themes in an intelligent fashion. The performances are generally quite good, especially Anthony Hopkins as a doctor accused of (...) atrocities and writer Ben Gazzara as his accuser, though his character is a little too abrasive and sarcastic to be totally likeable.

On the negative side, there are some shots, especially at the beginning, that are so shaky they look like outtakes from EARTHQUAKE, the Arab characters are played by Caucasians in dark make-up (conjuring up unpleasant memories of Al Jolson in blackface (some aspects of Arabic culture might not be totally authentic, either)), and there is little sense of the writer's effort in creating an epic novel or of the knowledge he uncovered implicating the doctor in (...) experiments (a few minutes of him pounding away at the typewriter in the middle of the night or pouring through piles of documents would have gone a long way toward establishing credibility here). Nevertheless, there are some moments of great power, particularly those involving the doctor achieving recognition for his selfless post-war work, and the writer's painful return to his Jewish faith after the death of his father. Not classic TV, but well worth a few nights of your time.

Rating:
Summary: So-so disc, brilliant source material
Review: This being the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, there has been much media attention given the Holocaust of late, from PBS and BBC's tremendous six-hour documentary series, Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State to Daniel Anker's documentary for AMC, Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, about the thorny relationship between the Hollywood dream factory and events of the not-so-distant past.

Looking at QB VII today, it's amazing how dated it looks on a purely technical (read: superficial) level - the style of filmmaking (or lack of style, if you prefer), the awkward framing, the grainy film stock, etc.

Content is what's important, though, and while the disc has no choice but to live with the film elements of the day - a proper film restoration would have proven frightfully expensive, I imagine, though I for one would have considered it money well spent - there's no denying that this is compelling, powerful drama.

QB VII was made at a time when the TV mini-series was still in its infancy; if I recall, Rich Man, Poor Man was the watercooler show of the day, and Roots had yet to be aired.

And yet, when I look back - I was 13 at the time QB VII played on TV - this miniseries has stuck in my memory where others have faded. Credit is due to Leon Uris, of course, but what I find compelling - all the more so, today - is the eternal moral dilemma of whether it's possible to redeem a past sin through good works, or whether there are certain sins so awful they can never be redeemed.

Parallels have been drawn between Anthony Hopkins's Dr. Kelno in this film and Dr. Josef Mengele in real life (an irredeemable historical figure, if ever there was one) - but the parallel I believe to be more apt is with Leni Riefenstahl, "Hitler's filmmaker," as she was known at the time, who first sang the praises of the Nazi state in her propaganda films and then devoted her post-war career to photographing the Dinka tribes of Sudan.

QB VII poses a tough moral question, and reaches a similarly tough conclusion. Some sins are beyond redemption, Uris argues, especially if there is no effort to admit guilt or atone publicly for past sins.

Uris wrote novels that are far better known than QB VII, lord knows - Exodus, for one. For me, though, this is the one that has stood the test of time. I fear QB VII is more relevant today than it has ever been. War criminals from the Nazi era continue to be exposed, aging older men who are living lives of relative anonymity. Inevitably the person's neighbours say, once the truth is know, 'Hey, he's an old man, he's harmless, that was a long time ago, let bygones be bygones.'

Never, Uris says, and QB VII shows why. The death camp footage - actual newsreel footage that survived the war - is unforgetable.

I wish this DVD were a perfect visual transfer, with pristine stereo sound (Jerry Goldsmith's musical score is astonishing, and has always been one of my favourites of his) but that was never likely to happen. I'm glad to have this DVD in my library, in any event.

There are many films and TV miniseries about the Holocaust that are more famous and better known, but if I had my way this is the one that would be shown in schools, in history classes. At the very least, it would prompt some important questions and provoke a lively debate.

Rating:
Summary: The Holocaust as Soap Opera
Review: This ham-handed melodrama is notable primarily for Anthony Hopkins' breakthrough performance as a tormented concentration camp surgeon. Amateurishly structured (why couldn't the director have cut back and forth between the two protagonist's lives?) and didactic, QB VII does pick up steam during the actual trial.

Hopkins is excellent throughout as a man attempting to expiate a horrifying guilt through his work as a doctor to nomadic Arabs and poor Londoners. Unfortunately, one can't say the same about Ben Gazzara, who delivers a snide and often bullying performance dripping with excess testosterone. Leslie Caron is hamstrung by a cliched role as a dutiful wife; Lee Remick is simply wasted. Nice acting by opposing counsels Anthony Quayle and Robert Stephens (who, oddly, later played a sadistic SS commandant in "War and Remembrance").

QB VII admittedly labors under the restrictions of early Seventies television -- it's repeated use of the word "testicle" was likely quite daring at the time -- and that may well reduce the power of the story. But certainly the pedestrian script and direction don't help.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful!! Hopkins as doctor accused of being Nazi Dr. Death
Review: This is a fascinating, first rate, astoundingly well acted TV mini-series bringing together two powerful characters -- Ben Gazzara as the Nazi hunter on a mission, and the mesmerizing Anthony Hopkins as the decorated doctor accused of being a Dr. Mengele-type experimenter on human beings in concentration camps during World War II. It is hard to overstate how brilliantly well acted this film is. The story is riveting and hard to step away from even for a moment. If this were a book, it would be a page-turner.

Gazzara has never been better or classier and this is one of Anthony Hopkins' best performances ever. This award-winning movie compares favorably with any other drama on a similar subject, including Marathon Man, Judgment at Nuremberg -- what have you. The movie is bold, disturbing, engrossing -- and pulls no punches regarding the nature of the experiments run in the camps. Not for the squeamish.

I can't recommend this highly enough -- it was riveting television on first run, worthy of being a feature film, but it is richer for being a long-form TV mini-series. Very serious subject matter, and very moving at times -- the wives of the two men are well played, agonizing over their husbands' struggle in court, with Hopkins' wife standing by her husband to the end, and Lee Remick as Gazzara's wife is great as well. The climax is stunning. Treat yourself to a wonderful piece of television and use it to educate a new generation of young people as well!