Protocols of Zion (2005)

A documentary about the rise of anti-Semitism in the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Director:

Marc Levin

Stars:

Marc Levin, Kofi Annan, Joanne Baron

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Kofi Annan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joanne Baron	...	Herself
Shmuley Boteach	...	Himself - Radion Host, Talk America (as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach)
Michael L. Brown	...	Himself - Author, Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus
James Carroll	...	Himself - Author, Constantine's Sword
Abraham Cooper	...	Himself - Simon Wiesenthal Center (as Rabbi Abraham Cooper)
Father Coughlin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eric Daniels	...	Himself - Prisoner
Scott DeCarlo	...	Himself - East Rutherford, NJ Police Department
Mehdi Eliefifi	...	Himself - Interfaith Activist
Abraham Foxman	...	Himself - Anti-Defamation League
Hutton Gibson	...	Himself - Mel Gibson's Father (voice)
Mel Gibson	...	Himself (archive footage)
Hadassah Gross	...	Herself (as Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross)
Ted Haggard	...	Himself - President, National Association of Evangelicals (as Pastor Ted Haggard)

Storyline

After the infamous 9/11 attacks of 2001, there came a virulent resurgence of antisemitism reemerging in America convinced that the Jews were responsible for the terrorism. Feeding this is the repeatedly debunked book libel, Protocols of the Elders of Zion and its disguised adaptations. Director Marc Levin goes on a journey to interview the promoters of this kind of hate in all its forms.

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Plot Keywords:

libel | book | anti semitism | neo nazi | forgery | 

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Taglines:

Some lies never die.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some disturbing content and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

ThinkFilm [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Сионские протоколы

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,733, 23 October 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$177,861, 19 February 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO/Cinemax Documentary

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the subjects from Trembling Before G-d (2001), another American documentary concerning contemporary Jewish issues, can be seen briefly in the anti-war protest.

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Goofs

When Marc Levin is walking up a gravel road with a white supremacist leader, the shots from behind show them passing several parked cars as they are engaged in conversation. Shots of them from the front, however, do not include these cars. In addition, the shots from behind show the two persons approaching the same cars several times.

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Connections

Features Al Shatat (2003)

User Reviews

A promising, yet disappointing film

This documentary has a promising start: a report on the current day use of the discredited anti-Semitic fraud, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Levin is at his best when he's covering how this silly false text is still being cited by anti-Semitic political activists, white supremacists, and the like. Actually, he could have spent even more time describing the theories regarding the document's source and history.

Unfortunately, he loses focus. After giving his main topic too abbreviated a treatment, he takes a scattershot approach which is ultimately a superficial analysis of 20th and 21st century anti-Semitism and the politics of Israel. Covering the issues of anti-Semitism and Roman Catholicism (and more pointedly, anti-Semiticism in the "Passion of the Christ") for example, could have been its own documentary. Instead, it is just a misplaced digression in this movie. Next, a presentation of anti-Semitism among Arab-Americans and Palestian-Americans, their motives and their views, takes up about 30 minutes of film.

In reality, each of these major themes: the current role of the Protocols in anti-Semitics politics, the tension between the Christian church and Judaism dating back to the Crucifixion, and the Arab-Israali conflict could take up its own proper treatment via documentary. Levin does each a disservice by trying to cover all in one modest film.