The Rape of Europa (2006)

The story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage.

Directors:

Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen

Writers:

Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen

Stars:

Joan Allen, E. Randol Schoenberg, Maria Altmann

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Allen	...	Narrator (voice)
E. Randol Schoenberg	...	Self
Maria Altmann	...	Self
Wolfgang Fischer	...	Self
Jonathan Petropoulos	...	Self
Kenneth Lindsay	...	Self
Lynn Nicholas	...	Self
Nancy Yeide	...	Self
Gottfried Toman	...	Self
S. Laine Faison	...	Self
Andrej Kamienski	...	Self
Maria Osterwa Czekaj	...	Self
Monika Kuhnke	...	Self
Count Adam Zamoyski	...	Self
Vincent Pomarède	...	Self

Storyline

THE RAPE OF EUROPA takes the audience on a journey through seven countries telling a story of greed and warfare that threatened the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art. Young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back, mounting a campaign to rescue and return countless art works displaced by the war. Joan Allen narrates this chronicle about the battle over centuries of western culture.

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Plot Keywords:

art | nazi | plundering | nazi germany | monuments men | 

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Taglines:

Imagine The World Without Our Masterpieces

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Genres:

Documentary | History | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Monuments Men (2014)

User Reviews

Rape of Europa --

Wow, it is so tempting to comment on how the release of this film casts a dark shadow over the destruction of Babylonian manuscripts in Bagdad, Iraq a couple years back. I will not, though.

Hitler, according to one of the talking heads in this film, "was not a bad painter at all, but he certainly was not great or innovative, either." That's well-stated, in my opinion. Of the three artists applying for the scholarship, he was easily the least talented. This fact is suggested, as well. I suspect that while he was not an artist of note himself, the most that could be said was that he did have an eye for artwork. Whether that would be a "remarkable" eye remains to be suggested, but it hardly matters.

There are a few scenes in this film that are so incredibly harrowing, my mind had wandered into thoughts of how destructive was the damage in Europe: peculiar that that's precisely the objective of "good art," that it causes the mind and imagination to wander as such.

The last twenty minutes offers a noticeable glimmer of hope (and it is not a too-little-too-late message, either): Give Back. At least that's what I heard.

That said, this film offers a novel voice to the narrative presented. Thumbs up.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian Polish German French Italian

Release Date:

12 November 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Похищение Европы

Filming Locations:

Bad Aussee, Steiermark, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Actual Films, Agon Arts and Entertainent, Oregon Public Broadcasting

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (35 mm version) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1