Rating: 
Summary: Voices from Our Past
Review: From Common Threads to The Times of Harvey Milk, Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman have documented the lives of gay men and lesbians throughout the 20th century. Adding Paragraph 175 into this collection is a crown lewel of their masterful work.Documenting the experiences of homosexuals during the infamous Nazi regime in Germany, the filmmakers interviewed the few remaining people who suffered under the infamous paragraph. These men are a brave and stalwart group. As they tell their stories, the pain and horror they are forced to relive is evident. The filmmakers fortunately step out of the way and allow these men to speak. In fact, one of the best things about this documentary is that it is not a slick, clean production, with all of the extra things edited out. It's rough, to allow us to see their humanity. Some of these men had never spoken of their experiences publicly. The DVD offers an insightful if sparse producers'/director's commentary, along with additional interviews not included in the film. The music is gripping, especially the inclusion of Marlene Dietrich's version of "Falling in Love Again". So much has been done in the last years to document and remember the experiences during WWII. This film adds an important voice to that chorus, allowing all of those who suffered under the tyranny of one man's dementia, their prominent stanza.
Rating:
Summary: Voices from Our Past
Review: From Common Threads to The Times of Harvey Milk, Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman have documented the lives of gay men and lesbians throughout the 20th century. Adding Paragraph 175 into this collection is a crown lewel of their masterful work. Documenting the experiences of homosexuals during the infamous Nazi regime in Germany, the filmmakers interviewed the few remaining people who suffered under the infamous paragraph. These men are a brave and stalwart group. As they tell their stories, the pain and horror they are forced to relive is evident. The filmmakers fortunately step out of the way and allow these men to speak. In fact, one of the best things about this documentary is that it is not a slick, clean production, with all of the extra things edited out. It's rough, to allow us to see their humanity. Some of these men had never spoken of their experiences publicly. The DVD offers an insightful if sparse producers'/director's commentary, along with additional interviews not included in the film. The music is gripping, especially the inclusion of Marlene Dietrich's version of "Falling in Love Again". So much has been done in the last years to document and remember the experiences during WWII. This film adds an important voice to that chorus, allowing all of those who suffered under the tyranny of one man's dementia, their prominent stanza.
Rating:
Summary: Survivors of the Pink Triangle
Review: From the Oscar-winning producers of "The Times of Harvey Milk" (Best Documentary Feature, 1984) and "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt" (Best Documentary Feature, 1989) comes this exquisitely composed film about the persecution of homosexuals by the Nazis during the Third Reich. Narrated by Rupert Everett, the film combines archival footage and photographs with recent interviews with a handful of gay survivors who were still living at the end of the 20th century. What emerges is a stunning, emotionally raw portrait of individuals who were thrown into a living hell only to crawl back out into a world where their perceptions of humanity - and self - would never be fully healed. This is a film with moments both heartbreaking (a man in his mid-ninties tells that his mother never asked even one question about his lengthy internment, and confides his unfilled yearning to talk with his father), and mind-numbing (another survivor describes the horrific meaning of the place known as the "singing forest"). One of the few works to explore the Nazi persecution of gays (along with the play and film "Bent", the books "The Pink Triangle" and "The Men with the Pink Triangles", etc.), "Paragraph 175" is by far the best at personalizing this incomprehensible chapter in gay history, and is a definite "must-see". The DVD edition is highly recommended. In addition to the film, it includes the original theatrical trailer, and two bonus interviews from the Shoah Foundation featuring non-homosexuals offering their personal accounts of how gay men were treated in the concentration camps. Fascinating and deeply moving, a worthy double-feature companion to Steven Spielberg/The Shoah Foundation's Oscar-winning documentary feature, "The Last Days".
Rating: 
Summary: Tells Us Nothing New About the Third Reich
Review: I have always felt heartfelt admiration for those who lived in Nazi Germany: for the Jews in the Concentration Camps, for the minority groups that Hitler persecuted, and the Allied Soldiers who fought them. I have seen and read countless stories of Nazi atrocities, and they are plentiful, going back to the early 1980s. Now that we are in the 21st century, does anyone dare ask the question, "Do we really need another Nazi documentary?" The standard answer is, of course "Yes, lest we forget." I can agree with that. But if the memory if Nazi Germany is adequately solidified. But if its so important to remember history's atrocities, then why is one hard pressed to find a DVD on the Gulag in Russia? Or the Rape of Nanking in China? Like all other atrocities, the survivors of these acts are quickly dissappearing, and no one seems to care. Those atrocities have a much greater chance of being forgotten, but no film maker seems to care. What about the THOUSANDS of years of Jewish persecution by Islamic Fundamentalists.? Those fanatics, who have always threatened Israel, now threaten the US. Yet we continue to obsess about Hitler. Why? As for this title, it doesn't enlighten us on anything. We know that Hitler hated Jews and Homosexuals. But they weren't the only ones affeccted by his reign of terror, a fact that is continually omitted in the records of Nazi atrocities. The film world needs to move on. The subject of Nazi Germany has been exhausted, then re-exhausted, and then exhausted again. Time for new territory.
Rating:
Summary: Tells Us Nothing New About the Third Reich
Review: I have always felt heartfelt admiration for those who lived in Nazi Germany: for the Jews in the Concentration Camps, for the minority groups that Hitler persecuted, and the Allied Soldiers who fought them. I have seen and read countless stories of Nazi atrocities, and they are plentiful, going back to the early 1980s. Now that we are in the 21st century, does anyone dare ask the question, "Do we really need another Nazi documentary?" The standard answer is, of course "Yes, lest we forget." I can agree with that. But if the memory if Nazi Germany is adequately solidified. But if its so important to remember history's atrocities, then why is one hard pressed to find a DVD on the Gulag in Russia? Or the Rape of Nanking in China? Like all other atrocities, the survivors of these acts are quickly dissappearing, and no one seems to care. Those atrocities have a much greater chance of being forgotten, but no film maker seems to care. What about the THOUSANDS of years of Jewish persecution by Islamic Fundamentalists.? Those fanatics, who have always threatened Israel, now threaten the US. Yet we continue to obsess about Hitler. Why? As for this title, it doesn't enlighten us on anything. We know that Hitler hated Jews and Homosexuals. But they weren't the only ones affeccted by his reign of terror, a fact that is continually omitted in the records of Nazi atrocities. The film world needs to move on. The subject of Nazi Germany has been exhausted, then re-exhausted, and then exhausted again. Time for new territory.
Rating:
Summary: Tells Us Nothing New About the Third Reich
Review: I have always felt heartfelt admiration for those who survived Nazi Germany: for the Jews in the Concentration Camps, for the minority groups that Hitler persecuted, and the Allied Soldiers who fought them. I have seen and read countless stories of Nazi atrocities, and they are plentiful, going back to the early 1980s. Now that we are in the 21st century, does anyone dare ask the question, "Do we really need another Nazi documentary?" This DVD tells us nothing new. We know that Hitler hated Jews and Homosexuals. We have been reminded of it. And reminded. And reminded. And then reminded again. Why? The standard answer is, of course "Yes, lest we forget." I could agree with that, if the sentiments were sincere. But at this point in History, one has to question the motivation for making a Nazi Germany film. At this point, the Nazi atrocities have been memorialized in countless ways, so forgetting them seems impossible. The public's fascination with the Nazis now borders on morbidity, an unhealthy and creepy fascination. And film makers are cashing in. Am I the only one who finds the idea of cashing in on a national tragedy, well, creepy? And if its so important to remember history's atrocities, then why is one hard pressed to find a DVD on the Gulag in Russia? Or the Rape of Nanking in China? As with other atrocities, the survivors of these acts are quickly dissappearing, and no one seems to care. Those atrocities have a much greater chance of being forgotten, and are largely unexplored. "Why?" is a daunting question which never gets asked. This is not meant to be anti-semitic, by the way. But Nazi Germany was only a moment in the long history of Jewish persecution. Nazi Germany lasted little over a decade. Jewish persecution from Islamic fundamentalists has been going on for THOUSANDS of years. Those fanatics, who have always threatened Israel, now threaten the US. Yet we continue to obsess about Hitler. Why? Yes, there is a danger of fogetting the Holocaust. But the Jewish people in particular face the current foe Islamic Fundamentalizm. There is a new part of history that needs to be examined, and should be examined because of its immediacy. Remember the Holocaust, but not at the expense of other tragedies. The film world needs to move on. The subject of Nazi Germany has been exhausted, then re-exhausted, and then exhausted again. Time for new territory.
Rating:
Summary: Tells Us Nothing New About the Third Reich
Review: I have always felt heartfelt admiration for those who survived Nazi Germany: for the Jews in the Concentration Camps, for the minority groups that Hitler persecuted, and the Allied Soldiers who fought them. I have seen and read countless stories of Nazi atrocities, and they are plentiful, going back to the early 1980s. Now that we are in the 21st century, does anyone dare ask the question, "Do we really need another Nazi documentary?" This DVD tells us nothing new. We know that Hitler hated Jews and Homosexuals. We have been reminded of it. And reminded. And reminded. And then reminded again. Why? The standard answer is, of course "Yes, lest we forget." I could agree with that, if the sentiments were sincere. But at this point in History, one has to question the motivation for making a Nazi Germany film. At this point, the Nazi atrocities have been memorialized in countless ways, so forgetting them seems impossible. The public's fascination with the Nazis now borders on morbidity, an unhealthy and creepy fascination. And film makers are cashing in. Am I the only one who finds the idea of cashing in on a national tragedy, well, creepy? And if its so important to remember history's atrocities, then why is one hard pressed to find a DVD on the Gulag in Russia? Or the Rape of Nanking in China? As with other atrocities, the survivors of these acts are quickly dissappearing, and no one seems to care. Those atrocities have a much greater chance of being forgotten, and are largely unexplored. "Why?" is a daunting question which never gets asked. This is not meant to be anti-semitic, by the way. But Nazi Germany was only a moment in the long history of Jewish persecution. Nazi Germany lasted little over a decade. Jewish persecution from Islamic fundamentalists has been going on for THOUSANDS of years. Those fanatics, who have always threatened Israel, now threaten the US. Yet we continue to obsess about Hitler. Why? Yes, there is a danger of fogetting the Holocaust. But the Jewish people in particular face the current foe Islamic Fundamentalizm. There is a new part of history that needs to be examined, and should be examined because of its immediacy. Remember the Holocaust, but not at the expense of other tragedies. The film world needs to move on. The subject of Nazi Germany has been exhausted, then re-exhausted, and then exhausted again. Time for new territory.
Rating:
Summary: Painful and beautiful.
Review: It was beautifully assembled. These men - now in their late 80's or 90's - all telling their stories of their young, full lives suddenly lost. I can't describe it - it wasn't a gruesome documentary, but it was extremely human and personal. Worthy of watching... however, makes for sadness.
Rating: 
Summary: Infomative, but slow paced for no reason
Review: Paragraph 175 delves into a little discussed aspect of World War II. While Jewish people were the primary target of Nazi Germany, homosexuals were also discriminated against in the worst way. However, while this documentary is informative, it seems like it is a one hour film stretched into 90 minutes. The most annoying aspect of the film is its moments of long pauses in narration. Since it primarily concerns itself with interviews of homosexuals who survived imprisonment in concentration camps, it's understandable that the survivors have long pauses. After all, they're elderly and the pain the memories bring can make it hard to speak. But the long pauses continue when Rupert Everet does his narration as well. And they're not dramatic pauses, but pauses to fit the length of video provided. The narration either needed more material, or the film needed to condense its video. Also, as the film jumps back and forth between survivors, it never seems to have any real focus. One interviewee will be talking about one thing, and then it switches to another discussing some other topic. Though the film makes some good points and does serve to be enlightening, it's apparent that it could have done a better job in telling the stories. As it is, it seems like a rough cut of the documentary, not the final film. Despite my criticisms, Paragraph 175 still has some interesting stories to tell and some moments of true poignancy and sorrow. It's just too bad it's not polished to shine some light onto these disturbing, harrowing tales.
Rating:
Summary: Less a Documentary than a Reminiscence
Review: PARAGRAPH 175 is a beautifully photographed, historicaly accurate, sensitively enlightening film about the Nazi persecution and slaughter of the Pink Triangle, as male homosexuals were designated in Hitler's concentration camps. But for once a documenting film does not focus on grotesque pictures of bodies, wretched camp conditions or images of abuse and torture. The film's makers instead opt for the more sensitive approach of interviewing the few remaining men (and one woman)who survived the period. From these elderly gentlemen we hear memories of how fun Berlin was from 1914 to 1918, the between war period when life was raucous and liberated. We then learn through their words and through film clips of the growing influence of Hitler and his own gay SA General, the response of a people wilted from WWI needing hope for a future and not realizing the depravity of the promises of the Nazi party, the ugly truth. It is this insidious perpetration of evil that becomes most pungent in the faces and words of the survivors. This is a beautifully realized documentary and one that will open eyes to a fact that most people remain unaware of even today.
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