DVD Review: Holocaust: The Anniversary Edition

Writer: Gerald Green
Director: Marvin Chomsky
Cast: James Woods, Meryl Streep, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Tovah Feldshuh, Rosemary Harris, Deborah Norton, Sam Wanamaker, Fritz Weaver
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: May 27, 2008

I don’t remember when I watched my first movie on the Holocaust. I am going to wager a guess that it was one or two movies. I don’t know if it was The Diary of Anne Frank or Sophie’s Choice. All I know is that I have been addicted to movies on this subject for as long as I can remember.

Surprisingly, I do not remember ever hearing about Holocaust. Of course, due to the age of the mini-series I suppose it makes sense. It wasn’t on DVD, at least not until now, so it didn’t make a lot of sense to continue talking about the powerful message that it offers.

Just reading the title and seeing the box art, I knew that I would want to be the one reviewing this seven hour drama. Offering an incredibly young Meryl Streep, in one of her first roles, and James Woods, who was also just starting out, Holocaust is a fictional tale of one family’s struggle through the biggest criminal injustice in the history of the world. Powerful performances are turned in by the established cast and by names I have never heard of, by people who rarely worked in acting after this miniseries. While this was made prior to Streep’s major acting boom that would lead her to be perhaps the greatest actress of this generation, Holocaust certainly reminds us what she can do even as a less than central character.

Release Information:
Considering I was only just about to be born, only nine days from being born to be exact, when the final day of the miniseries aired in 1978, it’s no wonder why I missed the television broadcast. While the four evening mini-series made enough of an impression to be nominated for numerous awards it was not without criticism. Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel stated that the miniseries was “untrue, offensive, and cheap.”

Of course, he had a point. The series was not a true story. It is about an entirely fictional family. Wiesel was likely referring to the fact that the things that occurred could not have happened in the Holocaust that he remembers. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. I don’t recall seeing anything too outlandish, but I was not there, so my opinion is not one of authority.

Whether this fictionalized account has any truth to it or not matters not as it was powerful and to the point, serving its purpose well. Now it is time for the 30th anniversary of this poignant tale, which is being handled by the DVD that has been reviewed here, courtesy of Paramount and CBS. Available as of May 27, 2008, you should be able to pick this Anniversary Edition up just about anywhere. If shopping online you can grab this at Amazon for $19.99, with the option for free shipping if you spend over $25.

The Holocaust: The Anniversary Edition Plot
Holocaust tells the fictional story of the Weiss family. The family includes patriarch and medical doctor, Dr. Josef Weiss (Fritz Weaver), matriarch, Berta (Rosemary Harris), and their three children Rudi (Joseph Bottoms), Karl (James Woods), and Anna (Blanche Baker).The series starts out with plenty of Nazi tension, though this is just the beginning of what would later be known as a devastating genocide affecting several million people.

Each episode begins with the powerful image of a burning synagogue. With only music and this visual to guide us, it is easy to see what a lonely, depressing road this miniseries will take. Throughout it all, I cannot help but feel that Holocaust takes it easy on the viewer. Risky for 1978, I think there was a lot that was left out here and that it was made to look a lot more restrained, even with the atrocities shown, than it really was.

The opening scene shows a wedding between Karl Weiss, a modest Jewish artist from a decent family with a well to do doctor for a father, and Inga Helms (Meryl Streep), a female from a proper German family that soon becomes quite appalled at Inga’s need to not only marry a Jew but to protect him. While it is obvious during the wedding that the Helms family is connected in the Reich, Inga’s brother is a soldier, it’s also clear that she does not share her family’s distaste or hatred for the Jewish population. She sees the Weiss clan as her family. Meanwhile, her own family sees them as far less important, not wanting to be sullied due to their association or the mistake of their daughter.

While it appears that this marriage will play a central part in the miniseries, it is only a small central part in the grand scheme of things. Karl is arrested early on, Josef is deported back to his native Poland, and mother and children are taken into hiding in Inga’s parents home who make it more than clear that they are not wanted. In Poland, Josef is able to take refuge with his brother, Moses (Sam Wanamaker), though as one of the few Jews that want to fight, taking some SS officers with them if they have to die, Josef and Moses do not always see eye to eye. Naturally these events are hard on everyone. Inga struggles to keep the family together, not knowing where Karl is. Meanwhile, Anna goes stir crazy and Rudi finds a way to run away, certain that he will die in Berlin or a concentration camp, if he decides to stay.

The family does their best to stay together, but the children are separated, one by one, and eventually the bad news travels to Poland where husband and wife are reunited. The happy reunion is quite bittersweet though when Berta learns that the Polish Jews are fairing just as poorly as the Berliners, and thoughts of her children and whether they are dead or alive fill her head every minute. Inga, on the other hand, puts herself in the hands of the Nazis, in the hopes of seeing her dear Karl again. While their reunion is also bittersweet, it shows the depths of love that these two have for one another, despite the cultural lines that were drawn in the sand, which should have made them enemies.

Another angle of the Holocaust is shown through the eyes of Erik (Michael Moriarty) and Marta (Deborah Norton) Dorf. Erik is an ambitious lawyer that is unable to find work, so he takes a job with the SS to appease his wife. In the beginning, Dorf tells himself he is doing what needs to be done, and his money grubbing wife encourages his behavior, in hopes that he will become a more important officer in Hitler’s Army.

Dorf manages to find polite wording that goes with the deaths of millions and is soon no better than any of the other murderers, whether he actually shoots a gun on several occasions, or not. Dorf proves that he is not only weak in his marriage, but he is also weak in life. He is constantly seen playing second fiddle to his bosses and trying to be hard to his peers, but he always chooses the wrong side of the fence for materialistic purposes or because his wife told him he should.

While a number of excellent movies have been released since the 70s about the atrocities of the Holocaust, this miniseries remains heartbreaking and works to educate in small ways, despite being a fictional tale. The acting here is simply spellbinding. It is hard not to cry at the things that happen to the families that were all once so happy. It easily makes one thankful for all they have and hopeful that as bad as things may seem that perhaps we learned from this one event, if not any of the other horrors in history that have made us who we are as a country today.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
For something that is 30 years old and has never been on DVD Holocaust could certainly look and sound much worse than it does. The film was provided at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This was to be expected and like I said, it certainly could have been worse. There were some minor compression errors, moments of noise (but nothing serious), and more softness than I would have cared to see. I think the softness was my biggest problem. In a miniseries that is 30 years old I would expect to see some specs and grain. However, they could have attempted to make the picture sharper. The quality in its current state did not ruin the viewing, but it would have added a great deal had the quality been better.

The available audio was disappointing for a number of reasons. First of all, the only thing provided is a Dolby Digital Mono track in English. No foreign languages are provided and there are not any subtitles or associated audio extras like you might find on other DVDs. I found this to be quite lazy on the part of Paramount. While the dialogue sounded fine, the sound effects and music came out sounding incredibly flat. This could have been handled with a better audio track, and some audio enhancements. It just seems pointless to put out an Anniversary Edition if you are going to make a lackluster effort when it comes to the final product.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Sadly, there is not so much as a tiny deleted scene when it comes to special features. It was hard to believe, but absolutely nothing has been added here for the pleasure or education of those who own this DVD.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Despite the small audio and video flaws and the flaws with the lack of special features, the positives in Holocaust far outweigh the negatives. This is definitely one miniseries that everyone needs to see. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend buying or renting Holocaust as soon as you can. The acting is marvelous and the story is absolutely shocking and equally as sad. This is one movie that needs to be watched.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Miniseries, TV on DVD, Holocaust, Anniversary Edition, Meryl Streep, James Woods, Michael Moriarty, Joseph Bottoms, Jews, Nazi

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
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Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.