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Uprising (2001) (TV)

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54 out of 66 people found the following comment useful :-
Inspirational But Historically Inaccurate, 22 June 2002
Author: Larry Adams (ladams2@monroe.lib.mi.us) from Detroit, Michigan

"Uprising" is an inspirational story on survival and resistance under impossible odds. However, the film is far from a historical presentation of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The producers filled the film with half-truths and misrepresentations of the Polish assistance to the Ghetto Uprising. The Polish resistance or AK provided any available support eventhough their own munitions were scarce and crude in comparison to the well-armed Germans. One of the famous Jewish fighters, Marek Edelman, stated that the uprising would not be possible without the needed support of the Polish resistance. In addition, Poles provided valuable knowledge on military tactics along with techniques on bomb assembly and other weaponry for guerilla warfare.

The credibility of the film is lost when the general Polish population is displayed with disconcern when the ghetto burned as exhibited during the communion service in the Catholic Church. It is well documented that the Poles were filled with horror, sorrow, fear and helplessness towards he plight of the ghetto Jews. In reality, closing all Polish Catholic Churches would be in the best interest of the Germans since Churches provided a multitude of hiding places for Jewish survivors.

The film falsely depicts the Polish population as well-fed and prosperous under the German occupation while the ghetto suffered. Starvation was the norm for both Jews and Poles while Poles lived in constant fear of unexpected rounded-ups where Poles were murdered in the street or sent to forced labor camps. Normal life in Poland became upturned and violated.

Another impossible scene shows an anti-semitic Polish secretary in the Pawiak or German gestapo headquarters. In reality a great deal of Polish AK blood was spilled on the floors of the Pawiak and a Pole would not be trusted in the Pawiak.

Both Poles and Jews suffered the same loss of life by the murder of 3,000,000 Polish Catholics and 3,000,000 Polish Jews during World World II. The complete ignorance of Polish sacrifice for the ghetto Jews is a disgrace to the Polish Righteous Gentiles. The largest number of Righteous Gentiles, recognized in the Vad Vasham museum in Israel, are from Poland.

In summary "Uprising" is an inspirational film on human resilience against impossible odds but is extremely deficient in historical and factual content. The heroism of the Jewish ZOB resistance fighters offers a great amount of content to motivate viewers. However, the producers of "Uprising" resorted to degrade the immense sacrifice of the Poles to elevate the suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto. Shame on Jon Avnet and his team by resorting to these low and unscrupulous tactics.

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28 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
Good movie, shameful stereotypes, 17 September 2002
Author: (georgegolembiewski@netzero.net) from Chicago,Il.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Uprising despite its obvious flaws. A good story is told how Warsaw Jews defy the Natzis, but it is all too simplistic and frought with inaccuracies. All the Jews are young and handsome while Poles are plain looking middle aged people with tattered clothing ,unwashed,and with bad teeth. They also are all indiifferent to the plight of the Jews , and will only help if given money or threatened by the courageous and noble Jews. Poles on thother hand are just voka swilling mercenaries. In truth the Warsaw Ghetto uprising could never got off the ground without the assisrance of the Polish underground. Nowhere in this movie are Poles given credit for their contributions to this effort. Like the Jews they too were victims of the Natzi atrocities, but you'd never know that from wathing this film. Uprising is a great story with some serious deficiencies. A more balnced portrayal of the plight of Polish Jews , and Polish Catholics would have really educated the public about this moment in history. Unfortunately this did not happen.

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Riveting Historical Drama, 5 November 2001

Author: RodReels-2 from United States

On the night the Emmys awarded "Anne Frank" the best miniseries of 2000-2001, NBC began airing yet another WWII-era epic which has to be the odds-on favorite for the trophy next year. This is as fine a miniseries as I have ever seen. David Schwimmer, Leelee Sobieski and Hank Azaria are all highly believable in their roles as Jewish resistance fighters. Donald Sutherland and Jon Voight turn in fine performances in lesser roles. And director Jon Avnet delivers a compact, credible piece of little-known history regarding the Warsaw ghetto uprising. For a small screen effort, one has to be amazed at how closely the style resembles that of big screen efforts like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List". All in all, a well-done miniseries that deserves a second viewing. How often can one say that about any miniseries.

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8 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
good but disappointing, 18 April 2004
Author: (ivyabattoir@yahoo.com) from Jerusalem, Israel

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I started out really liking this movie. The scene with Dr. Janusz Korczak and his orphans being led to their deaths singing was chilling, the directing and acting was fantastic, the scene with Adam Czerniakow and the Menorah was so funny my brother and I laughed out loud. But I was thoroughly disappointed by the way they left it. You see, the ending is too... Optimistic. 'The human spirit strikes out against the Nazis', is ridiculously hollywoodic, and I can't understand why this won an Emmy. They forgot to mention that the resistance failed- or actually succeeded, since it was never their intention to fight for freedom, but for dying with honor- and everyone died in the end. Oops, I guess they forgot to mention that, why spoil a good Hollywood ending?

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Despite the many flaws, this is an enjoyable series, 22 June 2005

Author: Philip Van der Veken from Tessenderlo, Belgium

WWII, and the Holocaust in particular, is a very interesting subject. There has probably never been more interest from the public towards everything that concerns this war, which started already more than 65 years ago. Every week new books, documentaries,... are published with new theories, with evaluations of some important (often Nazi) personalities, with information about the concentration camps,... Because most of the survivors have already died or will die soon, the stories of the last eye-witnesses will get lost if not registered on tape or camera. But all these stories are also a good base for movies and mini-series like this "Uprising".

"Uprising" tells the story of the Nazi oppression of the Jews in the Ghetto of Warshaw and their rebellion against it, which started in 1943. It all begins in 1939 with the growing list of prohibitions and regulations leading to the virtual imprisonment of about half-a-million Polish Jews in an old district of Warsaw. Their daily struggle against hunger and disease is made even worse when the Nazis demand for "deportations to the east". Many begin to suspect that the deportation of these groups of laborers are actually camouflaged mass murders and at the end of 1942 they start to realize that they are all doomed. They decide that, if they have to die, they better die in honor by taking up the arms against their oppressors. They start building hidden shelters and bunkers in the basements and cellars of the buildings, often with tunnels leading to other buildings and start collecting arms and ammunition for the battle which will begin on 19 April 1943...

Even though I must say that overall I liked the series, I can't say that it was always very convincing. There were a couple too many problems with it that really bothered me. One for instance is the way all the people are depicted. The heroic Jews don't have to expect any help from the arrogant and anti-semitic Polish Catholics who know exactly what is going on, but don't care. The Poles only want to help when offered enormous amounts of money and even then are very reluctant. In reality the Poles also suffered a lot under the German oppression and without their help there would probably never have been a Jewish Uprising. And no, I'm not a Pole myself, so I'm not saying this to justify my people's actions, it's just the way it was.

Another thing that I really didn't like was the use of the languages. The Germans speak English most of the time, except for when they are giving some short orders, than you'll hear them talk German. The producers and director have to make a choice, either they all speak German or English, but not a mix of the two. And about the language I also have another remark. Can someone please tell me why those purely American actors, who all know how to speak normal English, speak with that funny, but also incredibly annoying accent? Do they really believe I will not recognize Leelee Sobieski, David Schwimmer,... when they talk in a slightly different way? I'm not asking that they speak Polish, I'm sure they can't, but don't make a fool out of yourself by trying to convince people that you are talking another language, just by adding such an accent, it can never work...

Still, even though the series isn't always historically accurate, uses a range of annoying accents and is too stereotypical when it comes to the roles of the different people, not everything about it was that bad. The acting for instance is good. In my opinion this was the best role I've ever seen Leelee Sobieski play and all the other actors did a nice job too. I certainly liked Jon Voight as Major General Jurgen Stroop, but it is Cary Elwes, who played Fritz Hippler (the director of "Der Ewige Jude" or "The Eternal Jew"), who certainly deserves to be mentioned as well.

All in all this isn't a bad series. If you try to see it as a drama based on actual events, rather than to see it as a 'documentary reconstruction', than you certainly should be able to enjoy it. There are some nice action scenes, some good acting and other interesting features. You just will have to try to see past some major flaws... I give this series a score between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A masterpiece of sorrow and shame., 6 November 2001

Author: (dwbball50@mediaone.net) from Lombard, IL

A masterpiece of sorrow and shame. No this does not mean it lacked the qualities of a exceptional movie but rather it means that it made me feel sorrow for the Jews during World War II. This made for TV "movie" is beyond any another of its kind in the making today. Uprising has no limits in its ideas and messages. It does not hold back the truth but rather tells the story of a group of Jews in the ghetto, using a naturalistic style. The plot is intriguing from the beginning and never fails to keep you sliding up instead of down in your lazy-boy. Moreover, the message is what needs to really be looked at in this film.

So, what makes this film have such an impact? The actors and the characters they played are the answer. Leelee Sobieski is simply incredible and on the contrary to many of David Schwimmer's TV shows or movies, he plays the part of a serious, brave, and invincible Jew, who is looked at as a leader among his people. Many new faces are seen in this movie and they all do a fantastic job.

The entertainment value is beyond comparison with any other made for TV movie. This was not a cheap movie to make and the actions scenes are not little exploding apples on an indoor movie set. Buildings are blown to pieces, Jews and Germans are slaughtered throughout the movie and tortured. You will not walk away from this movie without learning more about World War II and the Holocaust. Uprising is implicit in its message and entertaining to the very last second. If you are a history buff, an action fan, or someone who just simply likes Leelee Sobieski or David Schwimmer, I highly recommend Uprising for you. When it comes out on DVD on December 18, 2001, I would for sure get it, and watch it over and over again.

I really do hate to say that any movie comes close to Saving Private Ryan, but Uprising does, and ironically, it is a made for TV movie which makes it even that much better. Take the time to rent this or buy the DVD when you can, it is well worth the purchase.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Never Again, 6 November 2001

Author: chrislutz from Toledo, OH

Never again should Hollywood make another Holocaust movie. The genre is worn out. This mini-series is competently done, but it really doesn't add anything. Not listening closely to the commercials for the show, I had originally thought the story was about the Warsaw uprising in 1944 when the Polish home army rose up to fight the Germans with the approach of the Soviets. When I started watching and found out what it was about, the first thought in my mind was "not another one". Plus, the links to the websites at the end make the series seem more like an attempt at propaganda than a straight retelling of a story.

There was a similar mini-series in the early 80's about the same topic although the name escapes me. So NBC is incorrect when it says this has never be discussed before.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
A reasonably good made-for-TV movie, 8 August 2005

Author: glimmrmoon from United States

I always have very low expectations of made for TV movies as they tend to be poor in comparison to feature films. But this one actually impressed me. The focus of the film was not the entire holocaust, but it focused on the Warsaw ghetto uprising of the Jews (the previous reviewer might have saved themselves some trouble had they simply read that beforehand) so the writing and characters were focused and good and it was all based on true people and events. The sets were well-constructed. I had forgotten I was watching a TV movie. A good cast. Good acting. Much of the cast was unknown, most of them not even Jewish. Donald Sutherland and Cary Elwes gave outstanding performances as did John Voight. Definitely worth viewing. Many good extras on the DVD as well.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
great, tv has come a long way, 18 December 2001

Author: seancammack

I did not quite know what to expect when I sat down to watch this. The tv ads looked ok, but I thought it would be like most mini-series where the characters stand around talking for 3/4 of the film with a few unrealistic, tamed down action sequences litered about. I was shocked when it turned out that this movie was actually really, really good. It is packed with action, triumph, sorrow, hardship and any other element that may make a film great. The battle sequences are extremely well done and almost rival those in Saving Private Ryan, almost(they are nowhere near as gory). It is also quite graphic for a tv movie, with babies drowning, naked bodies being thrown about, and even a guy getting tortured with a blow torch. It is nowhere near the level of Shindler's List(but that can be expected), but it is far, far better than that resent piece of propaganda crap Pearl Harbor. A great film and possibly even one of the year's best.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
An amazing movie and an amazing event, 29 May 2005

Author: from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

As the tag line says, "They did the one thing the Nazis never expected, they fought back." There is no holding back in this film, no hiding behind Hollywood glitz or pretty faces. Just raw emotion and the sting of reality. And that's the way it should be.

"Uprising" is based on the actual events that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII when a courageous and utterly amazing group of Jews held off the Nazis longer than the entire Polish army! From the very beginning, one is swept up into the war and into the lives of the brave Uprising fighters. For those who saw "The Pianist" and perhaps wondered what exactly was going on when Szpilman watches buildings being blown up over the ghetto wall or when they mentioned an uprising, this is it (you will actually recognize several areas in the ghetto from both movies, ex. the factory where the fighters are). I've read one of the fighter's memoirs as well as seen several documented photographs of the ghetto (before it was destroyed) and I was so blown away by how accurate the portrayal of the uprising was.

Every single actor, from the minor ones to the big names, poured everything into their performances in order to portray these heroes as accurately and honorably as possible. There wasn't one fighter that I did not connect with or pay attention to. Schwimmer, Azaria, Mitchell, Sobieski and Frost did, perhaps, their best performance in this film, however, it was Stephen Moyer's portrayal of Kazik that really drew me into the story.There is so much hope and strength in all of the characters that you really connected with them.

This film truly earns its spot along side "Schindler's List" and "The Pianist" and is a true inspiration to all.

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