| Credited cast: | |||
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John Dildine | ... |
Narrator
(voice)
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Roland Freisler | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Carl Friedrich Goerdeler | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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| Adolf Hitler | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Axel von dem Bussche | ... |
Himself
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Ewald von Kleist | ... |
Himself
(as Ewald Heinrich von Kleist)
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Adam von Trott zu Solz | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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In 1944, at least 170 German citizens were brought to trial and convicted as participants in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This was not an isolated act, but rather the last of more than 20 attempts to overthrow the Nazi Regime. Powerful and provocative, Academy Award nominee THE RESTLESS CONSCIENCE explores the motivating principles and activities of the anti-Nazi resistance inside Germany from 1933 to 1945. The film is a deeply moving portrayal of individual destinies, focusing on the moral and political evolution of individuals whose conscience was at odds with an overpowering national consensus. Hava Kohav Beller's THE RESTLESS CONSCIENCE highlights the tension between individual responsibility to a personal ethical code, and to a tyrannical political system. In telling their story, the film recognizes those who, despite mortal danger to themselves and their families, had the courage to uphold essential human values. Written by Anonymous
This documentary is surprisingly suspenseful and gripping since the outcome is known in advance--the loose knit group of civil servants and military failed to Assassinate Hitler. And yet the way that this movie unspools the various strands of the plot, especially the details about how secretive all communication had to be, were fascinating. As was the sense of it all that was, or that was attempted to be made, by the few surviving plotters, their friends, and wives. Terrific use of archival footage--the decadent Wiemar era, scenes of war and battle, the post-war devastation--that featured many images previously unfamiliar to me. The movie strung them together in montages that were memorable and stirring and in some way uplifting. The same can be said for this fascinating movie. A find.