"Holocaust" (1978) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

16 April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Plot:

The saga of a Jewish family's struggle to survive the horror of Nazi Germany's systematic marginalization and extermination of their community.

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Germany | Doctor | Lawyer | Anti Semitism

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Tom Bell	...	Adolf Eichmann (2 episodes, 1978)
Joseph Bottoms	...	Rudi Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Helena Slomova (2 episodes, 1978)
Rosemary Harris	...	Berta Palitz Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
Tony Haygarth	...	Heinz Muller (2 episodes, 1978)
Michael Moriarty	...	Erik Dorf (2 episodes, 1978)
Deborah Norton	...	Marta Dorf (2 episodes, 1978)
George Rose	...	Lowy (2 episodes, 1978)
Robert Stephens	...	Uncle Kurt Dorf (2 episodes, 1978)
Meryl Streep	...	Inga Helms Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
Sam Wanamaker	...	Moses Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
David Warner	...	Heydrich (2 episodes, 1978)
Fritz Weaver	...	Dr. Josef Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
James Woods	...	Karl Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
John Bailey	...	Hans Frank (2 episodes, 1978)
Blanche Baker	...	Anna Weiss (2 episodes, 1978)
Michael Beck	...	Hans Helms (2 episodes, 1978)
Käte Jaenicke	...	Frau Lowy (2 episodes, 1978)
Charles Korvin	...	Dr. Kohn (2 episodes, 1978)
Stanley Lebor	...	Zalman (2 episodes, 1978)
Cyril Shaps	...	Weinberg (2 episodes, 1978)

Also Known As:

Holocaust: The Story of the Family Weiss (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

475 min | USA:420 min (DVD) (2008) | Finland:448 min (DVD) (2008)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (self applied) (2008) (DVD)

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company:

Titus Productions

Trivia:

So many people watched this mini-series in New York City when first broadcast, that when commercials were on, the local water pressure dropped due to so many people using their toilets at once.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In 1935 the family is talking about Hindenburg as if he was alive at the time. In fact, Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934.

Quotes:

Erik Dorf: Doctor, things won't get easier for you.
Dr. Josef Weiss: How much worse can they get? We're no longer citizens. We have no legal rights. Our property can be confiscated. I can't belong to a hospital. I can't get any drugs. In the name of *humanity*, what else can you do to us?
Erik Dorf: You mustn't come to me for help.
Dr. Josef Weiss: No appeal on the basis of past associations?
Erik Dorf: No appeal. I bear you no personal malice.
[Pauses]
Erik Dorf: Leave.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Seinfeld: The Bubble Boy (#4.7)" (1992)

You can forgive...

...but you must not forget.

Chomsky's "Holocaust" stands as the best mini-series ever made in my book .The performances are uniformly good,from Meryl Streep to Joseph Bottoms and from James Wood to David Warner.All have to be praised.

The actors were so involved Michael Moriarty (who portrays Erik Dorf) said that he cried after playing the Xmas party scene .Marta Dorf (Deborah Norton) epitomizes the Neo-Nazi we may encounter even today:she never believed that her husband was wrong "let's light a candle for his soul ,children" and she never will ,whereas Dorf perhaps understood his crimes when he saw the photographs in the American officer's office.

"Holocaust" is full of great scenes ,but I think it should be reserved for students over 12,because some moments are unbearable .It should be shown in every secondary school in the world.A deeply moving sequence shows Berta Weiss (the marvelous Rosemary Harris) saying goodbye to her pupils :she urges them to become educated persons ;she leaves them with sweet memories of "the taming of the shrew" and with a song she could not even sing one last time with them.

If you should see only one mini-series,it would have to be this one.A must.