The Memory of Justice (1976)

Explores the subject of atrocities during wartime, especially during World War II and the Vietnam War.

Director:

Marcel Ophüls

Writer:

Marcel Ophüls

Stars:

Yehudi Menuhin, Noël Favrelières, Anthony Herbert

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yehudi Menuhin	...	Himself
Noël Favrelières	...	Himself - French Paratrooper in Algeria (as Noel Favreliere)
Anthony Herbert	...	Himself (as Col. Anthony Herbert)
Edward Sowders	...	Himself - US Deserter (as Eddie Sowder)
Telford Taylor	...	Himself (as Gen. Telford Taylor)
Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier	...	Herself - Nuremberg Prosecution Witness
Robert M.W. Kempner	...	Himself - Attorney
G.M. Gilbert	...	Himself - Psychologist (as Dr. G.M. Gilbert)
Karl Dönitz	...	Himself
Albert Speer	...	Himself
Walter Warlimont	...	Himself (as General Walter Warlimont - OKW)
Eugen Kogon	...	Himself - Author
Walter Bauer	...	Himself - Farmer
Alexander Mitscherlich	...	Himself
Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen	...	Herself

Storyline

Explores the subject of atrocities during wartime, especially during World War II and the Vietnam War.

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Plot Keywords:

atrocity | war crime | nuremberg trial | vietnam war | 20th century history | 

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Genres:

Documentary | War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA France West Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

4 October 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nicht schuldig?

Filming Locations:

Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Polytel International Film, Stuyvesant Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

278 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Quotes

Hans Kehrl, Himself: Time and again in Nuremburg our rations were arbitrarily cut off. For instance, for the two days of Christmas, we were given nothing to eat. The German bakers didn't want to work or something like that. It was worse than a concentration camp because a prison is worst than a camp. At a camp you always have a certain feeling of freedom, whereas in a cell you never do. At a camp you can walk around when you like and where you like as far as a barbed wire but you can't do that in prison.

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Alternate Versions

When initially previewed at the New York Film Festival, the film included remarks by Telford Tayler critical of Israel. These were later deleted when their verity was challenged.

User Reviews

the memory of justice, Ophüls own favorite

Yesterday evening, Paris cinema Etoile, 23.00 : Two masters of documentary together. Accompanied by his friend of 40-years Frederick Wiseman (who insists on Ophüls' talent for quality interviewing), Marcel Ophüls tells the public that "the memory of justice" is his favorite own film and that it was a public disaster when it came out in 1976 in the USA... The public is still vibrant with the nearly five hours projection (although the version projected is a 10 years old TV recording in DVD - the only existing 16mm copy seems to be in Germany in 29 reels).

Very dense, tense and complex editing makes this film another fascinating film from the director. With wit and elegance, the film passes from one interview to another, focusing mainly on the lessons NUREMBERG trial left us, mainly through the point of vue of Telford Taylor (USA prosecutor at the trial) who as a character and in Marcel Ophüls' own words appears as "Mr Smith goes to Nuremberg" (he served also as historical adviser on the picture). Some Nazi talk to exonerate themselves, Albert Speer being the most controversial and in the same time most charismatic one. After having study NUREMBERG trial itself in the first part through archive images and long interviews of 1975's survivors of the facts, the film draws in the second part a parallel between Nazi atrocities, American exactions in Vietnam (contemporary to the shooting of the film) and French torture in Algeria...

A single review cannot contain all the complexity of the film but I was surprised no review had been written before. If you are lucky enough to see this title aired on TV in your country or projected nearby, please watch it or go to the cinema and bring young people with you in order to learn more together and start a discussion... (If I noted it 7 out of 10, it is because my personal impression of the film was that the second part lasted a bit too long and was a bit confusing in its first hour (third hour of projection))