SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Lumsdal
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
kingsgo4th
One of the first major TV movie events (1974) concerned a case of libel in which a best-selling book "The Holocaust" named a knighted doctor as a concentration camp monster, Dr. Adam Kelno. A Polish Christian doctor who was in a camp as a prisoner (under the scrutiny of Nazi staff) Kelno claimed he was responsible for saving and sparing Jews who might have been butchered or gassed otherwise. But as 25+ years have passed, Kelno has led a modest, unselfish life and now, the author of the book, Abe Cady, needs to find living witnesses who can prove Kelno was no saint. My only beef with this (I didn't read QB VII) is my surprise that Cady, a street-smart writer and his sharp publisher (Dan O'Herlihy) would name a real, living person as an inhuman butcher and then worry about being sued and then, try finding living and written proof. Ben Gazzara as Cady, Anthony Hopkins as Kelno and Leslie Caron as his wife are superb in their roles. The story (running just over 5 hrs), is more of a saga including the lives of Cady and Kelno's family for a quarter century before converging at the titular QB VII (Queen's Bench, Courtroom 7) for a jury trial. While the story periodically dips into the strained family relations of both men, the heart of the story is engrossing, enhanced by on-location filming (including England, Europe and Israel) and a moving score by the late and great Jerry Goldsmith. Robert Stephens and Anthony Quayle are more than convincing as attorneys and Juliet Mills as Cady's wife and Joseph Wiseman as Cady's father both shine. I am not of the Jewish faith, but the film still packs a punch to the heart and is still profoundly moving.
A_Different_Drummer
Ground rules first. This masterpiece (won a half dozen Emmys) is not merely a lost miniseries from the 70s, but rather it is the first miniseries of its kind, the template from which all later efforts came. And what an effort it was! Adapted from an international bestseller about a non-Jewish physician who ends up getting special treatment in a concentration camp by "assisting" with medical procedures. When the camp is liberated, said doctor becomes prominent in England, and he (and his family) enjoy the benefits and respect that brings. Until his reputation -- what he may or may not have actually done in that camp -- is challenged in England by an upstart American who is convinced that atrocities were committed. OMG what a cast. Here we have, in a performance of astonishing depth, Anthony Hopkins long before he became knighted, long before Hannibal. And Ben Gazarra giving the performance of his life in counterpoint to the doctor that Hopkins was portraying, as the American upstart. The story engages from the start and just gets better. And better. And better. Today it seems clichéd to have the finale take place in a courtroom but as I said this was the FIRST miniseries, and such criticisms have no substance. I recently saw this beginning to end for the first time in over 30 years, and was again stunned by the quality and the nuances. Like many of the productions that I focus on here on IMDb, it is a one of kind, something so special that to compare it is to misunderstand it. See it.
MartinHafer
This was a fascinating mini-series based on the Leon Uris novel of the same name, and it helped to launch the mini-series genre. It is VERY fortunate that the producers were able to get such gifted stars as Ben Gazzara and Anthony Hopkins for the leads. Writing, acting, music and exotic locales make this a must-see.The plot is based on a real-life lawsuit against Uris following the publication of his novel EXODUS. Dr. Adam Kelno is a very well-respected medical doctor who was knighted for his humanitarian work. However, the writer Abe Cady writes a novel that names Kelno, among others, as having committed was crimes while working for the Nazis many years earlier. The central questions of the series are DID Kelno work for the Nazis and IF he did, was he the benevolent man he claims to have been or a monster who was NOT forced to commit atrocities.
Robert-87
Strong acting and a blistering courtroom drama unfold in this six hour mini-series.Ben Gazzara and Anthony Hopkins are fantastic and the make-up job on Anthony Hopkins is phenomenal as the artist has him look the way he does now and the show is 25 years old.Very good entertainment that moves along at a rapid pace.