Human Remains (1998)Film clips of the 20th century's great dictators with narration in first person combine to form a fascinating portrait of power and evil. Director:Jay RosenblattWriter:Jay Rosenblatt |
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Human Remains (1998)Film clips of the 20th century's great dictators with narration in first person combine to form a fascinating portrait of power and evil. Director:Jay RosenblattWriter:Jay Rosenblatt |
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Eva Braun | ... |
Herself
(archive footage)
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Francisco Franco | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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| Adolf Hitler | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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V.I. Lenin | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Zedong Mao | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Benito Mussolini | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Joseph Stalin | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Leon Trotsky | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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Paul von Hindenburg | ... |
Himself
(archive footage)
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We see a gravedigger's shovel at work. Then, we watch archival footage that, for the most part, is up close and personal scenes of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco, and Mao. In the background, a voice in German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese speaks in the first person, narrating an autobiography; another voice gives a simultaneous translation in English. Often we see them with children or young women. They are braggarts. The editing is droll; the words and images combine to satiric effect. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
This is an ingenious and darkly humorous film. Over newsreel footage and home movies, Jay Rosenblatt shares with us intimate details about reprehensible historical characters such as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco and Mao -- often times using their own words -- and in the process sheds light on some of the personalities that shaped the 20th century, for good or ill. The end result doesn't humanize then so much as its throws their horrible crimes into sharp relief. They don't teach this kind of stuff in school, but they should.