Night and Fog (1956)

The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.

Director:

Alain Resnais

Writer:

Jean Cayrol (commentary)

Stars:

Michel Bouquet, Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Uncredited cast:
Michel Bouquet	...	Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Reinhard Heydrich	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Heinrich Himmler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Julius Streicher	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Storyline

One of the most vivid depictions of the horrors of Nazi Concentration Camps. Filmed in 1955 at several concentration camps in Poland, the film combines new color and black and white footage with black and white newsreels, footage shot by the victorious allies, and stills, to tell the story not only of the camps, but to portray the horror of man's brutal inhumanity.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | concentration camp | jew | europe | death camp | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short | History | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

January 1956 (France)

Also Known As:

Night and Fog

Filming Locations:

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Argos Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

32 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While it was thought that Alain Resnais was reluctant to take on a Holocaust documentary, when interviewed in 1992 he said that the film is supposed to serve as an allegory for the French intervention in Algeria which occurred at the time of the film's release. Therefore, it make sense that he would use the word "deporte" instead of "jew" he was trying to make an anti-genocide statement in general and to use the word 'Jew' would have taken away from his larger message. That is also why he chose to use the figure of 9 million killed; including not only the 6 million Jews but also the 3 million others that were killed under the Nazi regime.

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Goofs

A few shots of the concentration camps are combinations of different concentration camps and sometimes do not show the locations suggested.

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Quotes

Récitant/Narrator: Somewhere in our midst, lucky kapos still survive, reinstated officers or anonymous informers. There are those who refused to believe or believed only for brief moments.

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Connections

Featured in Wir wollten die Republik verändern - Der Liberale Gerhart Baum (2012)

User Reviews

A masterpiece as only the French could make

This movie is the greatest Holocaust film ever, and few will ever deny this fact. Beautiful and intense, its makes the stomach turn when one sees the footage and pictures obtained in this film. I've never seen footage this brutal in my entire life, not even in a movie. The voice-overs seem odd at place, but it is really the voice of history, speaking of unspeakable horrors which are captured almost perfectly in this film. A dark tribute to those who lost their lives in the concentration camps. This should be used as a teaching tool for tolerance and the atrocities of World War II.