Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (174)
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It is not a documentary, not journalism, not propaganda, not political. It is an act of witness. While the full Ebert review this infamous quote comes from is surprisingly decent, I feel the need to address statements like it and the disservice they do to art and our means of engaging with it. Shoah is absolutely a documentary, journalism, propaganda (what isn’t?), and, of course, political. Statements such as Ebert’s are indicative of a widespread process described best in Ways of Seeing: the mystification of art, an “analysis” that, intentionally or not, disconnects the work from the viewer. There are echoes of this sentiment all over reviews of the film: that it’s unrateable, not a film, an act of objective…
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Had to be broken into two viewings due to the duration and difficulty of subject but previously I had only seen clips in college, mostly with regard to the economic visual craft of the interviews when we were studying documentary form, so I’m glad I finally took the time to sit through all 9.5 hours of it. Through a combination of minutely, horrifyingly detailed first-hand accounts of the torture and genocide of Jews during the holocaust (from victims, witnesses and perpetrators) and tranquil contemporary footage of the locations, landscapes and architecture that was once home to them Lanzmann creates this quiet, routine, ghostly mood around the act of witnessing (theirs and ours) and a major work of historical documentation. The…
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At a certain point learning about history just reduces people to statistics. Shoah is so vital because it tries to make history be about people again. It is a reminder of how seriously we should treat history. It is an act of historical record, letting survivors and witnesses to the Holocaust speak. Their words are preserved here, and even when interviewed through a translator the translator is not edited out, allowing the original answers to be heard exactly. Shoah is not a history lesson, nor does it examine the origins or events of the Holocaust. Instead it is a document of what people saw, collected through individual testimony. It isn’t chronological nor comprehensive, but a mosaic of stories from people…
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*Twitch Redeem by Seventh_Persona.* THE BEST CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE THAT EDGAR COCHRAN HAD IN HIS ENTIRE LIFETIME. To them I will give within my temple and its walls, a memorial and a name, better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. -Isaiah 56:5 How do you surpass Sátántangó (1994)? How are you supposed to beat the best, most comprehensive, emotionally edifying, spiritually cathartic and humanly complete cinematic experience of one’s life? Be real. Speak about life, be impartial, embrace humanity, spread social justice, emphasize the need of love and human understanding, be convinced that utopias are possible, consider all human spheres as mutually dependent instead of mutually exclusive, make of documentation a priority…
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At 9 hours and 26 minutes, enduring this is the very least you can do. I don’t care who you are or what’s going on in your life, you have everything to be thankful for. There are no words for the type of suffering discussed in this monumental and essential examination of some of the worst atrocities that mankind has ever inflicted upon itself in its entire existence. It is impossible to comprehend or visualize the things that you hear. It still continues today. We should all wake up each morning and be grateful that we have the gift to live. Countless millions were never given that chance. Whether to meditate on films like these or to reflect in your prayers, it is important to remember an entire people whose existence was scattered to the wind, and in your own way let them not be forgotten.
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“They had it coming.” Normally I like to start reviews with an important quote or phrase from the film. This time, however, I’ve got one from real life, as this is attributed to my late grandmother, a Polish Catholic who passed away 10 years ago this month. She was 91 then, and she was born in the US shortly after her parents emigrated from Europe. Babcia (something of the Polish word for grandmother) was a good woman, at least what I knew of her. I mean she died when I was 25, so I was no kid. I knew her. But my uncles always said that her harsh religious upbringing instilled some prejudices. (For what it’s worth, that entire side…
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I intended to watch “Shoah” over the course of two weeks. I ended up viewing it in two days. Nine hours in two days — but how to look away from what feels like the most essential film you will ever see? “Shoah” is not possible to critique as a movie. I’m not sure it even is one. It’s a recorded testimony, and one that should exist in the forefront of all our minds for generations to come. But it won’t. And this is “Shoah’s” only imperfection; one without remedy in humanity. We forget. Over the nine hours of “Shoah,” I found myself crying at random intervals. It was not always in response to a particular account, but the overwhelming…
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There’s a reason you hear the person answer the question and the subtitles only appear when the translator speaks. Their faces.
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Shoah is a profound achievement in documentary filmmaking as well as a heart-wrenching memorial about the Holocaust. It features long lingering images of the countryside around the Nazi death camps which create a perception that even nature still hasn’t recovered from the terrible events which transpired there, let alone humanity. Directed by Claude Lanzmann who chooses against utilising sadly all too familiar archival footage to communicate the atrocities; instead, he decides to linger on the expressions of observers, evildoers and the survivors of this terrible chapter in history while additionally exhibiting vacant synagogues within the communities that were once occupied by Jews. Juxtaposed with the stories from concentration camp survivors as they share their dreadful memories are some almost incomprehensible…
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DDragonknight 8 月 24, 2026
”My god, why hast thou forsaken us?” It’s absolutely impossible – and more importantly unfair – to rate Shoah or rank it against any other movie. I’m not even sure if I can call this a film. Shoah is the kind of experience that rattles you, it brutally drags you out of your comfort zone and makes you watch, hear and imagine things that are extremely tragic and shockingly inhumane and like many of its interviewees who burst into tears while remembering their horrible memories you will find yourself devastated and numb by the end of this frightful and eye-opening nine hour journey. Trust me, this is a life-changing experience. French director Claude Lanzmann opens a window into the dark…
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“HARD TO CAPTUERE IN WORDS” Hi everybody, well how should I start to write something about a nonfictional topic that has change the world and the way how my homecountry Germany was seen in the world forever. Normally now I would write a short summary, but I won’t do that right now. I just give you a short description of how I feel. I already told Nico, the other part of „two cineast“, that this is probably the toughest review I will ever write. I feel overpowered, carried away, sympathized and powerless and helpless, about the fact that this happened right here, Germany, in the time of my ancestors. I am talking about the Holocaust, and this is exactly what…
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Que dire, juste regarder et écouter! Des témoignages terribles 30 ans après la fin de la guerre et qui résonnent dans nos têtes et nos cœurs en nous disant…. Mais comment l’homme a t’il pu faire une chose pareil… Terrible également de voir quelques bourreaux nazis, face caméra, en train de discuter tranquillement de ce qui s’est passé, des vieux papys qu’on imaginent évidemment pas avec l’uniforme et l’écusson SS…. Et pourtant
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J
Took me 12-13 years of owning the bluray to finally sit down and watch this – that said, it was one of the more unique experiences I’ve had for a holocaust/WW2 film. Mainly the fact it’s all first hand accounts and body language, that had me captivated. Did it in one day with just a couple bathroom breaks for this old man.
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Monumental trabajo de nueve horas sobre testimonios de gente que ha sobrevivido a los horrores del holocausto de la segunda guerra mundial archivado como uno de los retratos brutalmente honestos, me imagino que debió ser un proceso traumático recordar aquellos momentos para quedar en la memoria.
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C
Clearly an extremely important movie. The need to capture the stories of these survivors over 11 years so that we never forget is of critical importance. The structuring was unique and added to the film. I watched it over the period of a week. I think it got slow in places over 9 hours but htat is more a critque of my attention span than the movie.
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Ooli 8 月 11, 2026
Terrifying and heartbreaking
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Tan increíble como real. 10 horas de documental de puro testimonio sobre el Holocausto, sin imágenes de archivo, sin música, sin nada más que diversas personalidades de la época relatando su papel, a cada cual más desgarrador y lamentable. Shoah es la más clara demostración de que un documental, si trata un tema con suficiente carga e interés, no necesita nada más que unas personas relatando tal barbarie para que llegue al espectador la envergadura del asunto. Lanzmann no rellena…
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For Fans Of: Man’s Inhumanity To Man
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総じてカメラの暴力性が私はどうも肯定的になれないのだが、床屋の場面だけはその暴力性が映画を超えている。
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Mejor documental sobre el holocausto. Durísimo.
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Nnepatoguskinas 8 月 10, 2026
Nepatogus kinas 2016 Holokaustas: atmintis ekrane/Holocaust: Screen Memory
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J
This is a tough one to review. The research that director Claude Lanzmann put into this film and the material collected here are worth five stars and then some. They are invaluable. On the other hand, it pains me to say that Shoah, as a movie, often struggles to make use of its own medium. In large swaths, the movie’s pacing, editing, structure, visuals, and sound design fail to convey the story of these survivors with the pathos they deserve.…
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SSugarKane 8 月 10, 2026
Swift is the spark that sets the forest ablaze, Slow is the smoke that lingers through the days. ✍️Lord Byron
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I started this mammoth, 9+ hour doc a week ago, Sunday, August 2. It was divided into 4 parts over 2 discs, so I didn’t feel too bad about splitting this up over multiple nights, as it was already divided up on its own. I wanted to watch this, but I was almost dreading it all the same. The description “Using no archival footage, Lanzmann instead focuses on first-person testimonies” had me thinking this was going to be 9 hours…
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This should be essential viewing for everyone at some point in their lives. Everyone owes it to the victims of the Holocaust to bare witness to some of their stories. Below are some quotes I picked out as I watched the documentary. You may find them useful, but they are mainly for my future reference. 1. “He worked with his eyes lowered.”- Witness. “At first it was unbearable. Then you got used to it…Now he thinks impossible. Yet it was…
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Que dire, juste regarder et écouter! Des témoignages terribles 30 ans après la fin de la guerre et qui résonnent dans nos têtes et nos cœurs en nous disant…. Mais comment l’homme a t’il pu faire une chose pareil… Terrible également de voir quelques bourreaux nazis, face caméra, en train de discuter tranquillement de ce qui s’est passé, des vieux papys qu’on imaginent évidemment pas avec l’uniforme et l’écusson SS…. Et pourtant si! A VOIR OBLIGATOIREMENT, le temps passe très vite.
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J’ai eu l’occasion de regarder de nombreux extraits je ne l’ai pas regardé en entier, mais en l’ayant étudier pendant des heures je me laisse le noter.. Un chef d’œuvre un des premiers en son genre, on voit bien les deux point de vu du genocide. Pas d’archives on doit rester sur le témoignage qui peut être biaisé par l’émotion, le traumatisme, etc mais on ne pourra jamais les contredire.
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C’est pour cette raison que des oeuvres comme celle-ci (tout aussi littéraire, musicalement et artistiquement dans la peinture, le dessin, la gravure et la sculpture) existent : Pour qu’ont ne répètent plus jamais la même erreur, de cesser toutes guerres, de raconter l’histoire (mais toutes les histoires mêmes si elles sont cruelles à entendre) et de préserver le passé pour en tirer des leçons. Et est-ce que ça a marché ? Oui. Mais a-t-on retenu ces deux premières leçons après…
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We are humans? Do you understand it? Shoah makes sure that we do. By forcing us to look into eyes that have lived through the horrors of the Holocaust, and listen to surviving witnesses breathe aloud atrocious images of their experience, we are brought face to face with vulnerability, morality, and duty. Rising far above entertainment, Shoah is a vital testament to profound intention- the preservation of history while it is still alive. A cinematic monument demanding reverence and realization. 3. The longest one
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Nine and a half hours of incredible testimony from survivors, bystanders, and orchestrators of the “final solution.” The profound psychological toll this had on everyone who participated is not often explored in such agonizing, horrific detail. No other resource on the Holocaust really paints a picture of the individual lives lived when victims were segregated, treated as subhuman, and then deported to be exterminated. Most of the survivors were interviewed in their new lives in Israel. The documentary forewarns that this should never happen again, and the irony is not lost on me.
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You won’t become a holocaust-master by watching Shoah, but it is an intelligent and respectful movie, which is the best thing you can reasonably hope for. You’ll notice it’s very long but it could honestly be longer. A handful of people (maybe twenty) will tell you about an episode of genocides they witnessed. Eventually, some part of them cracks, and then the film cuts away. Once they’ve said something revealing, we’ve got what we came for. There’s no need to…
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Jjournalive 7 月 30, 2026
This is not merely a documentary; it is a monumental work of remembrance, a harrowing testament to human tragedy. History rendered with unflinching clarity that refuses to let silence or forgetfulness prevail. I yearn to wander through the histories, the languages, and the cultures of the world. I want to keep learning, not only to satisfy my curiousity but to build a shield against ignorance. With each story, each fragment of knowledge, I feel myself profoundly altered—becoming not just more informed, but more human. The more I learn, the more I am moved, and the more I am compelled to remember.
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C
How can you even begin to rate or review what is probably, socially, the most important film ever made? What can you say that will do it justice? What do any criticisms even mean? Like, I think the length does create a sort of numbing effect, but there’s not a second that I think should be taken out; it’s all too important.
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When I first came across this movie and saw how long it is, my first thought was “No way I’m watching that.” But as time went on, I actually got more and more interested in what this movie actually was. Next thing you know, I devote a whole day to watching all 9+ hours of it. I originally was going to split up this watch over several days, but decided that I wanted to get it over with in one…
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One of the most important documentary films ever made
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…do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and to your children’s children… There’s a scene in Shoah where Lanzmann forces a survivor to continue reliving and recounting an unspeakable experience from Treblinka: Lanzmann: Go on, Abe. You must go on. You have to. Bomba: I can’t. It’s too horrible. Please. Lanzmann: We have…
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Watched this in pieces over the span of a month or so. One of the most towering works of documentary in any shape or form, ever. Lanzmann is witness and artist all at once, his observation of moments of deep humanity made to seem as poetry.
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Incroyable travail de témoignage et de reconstitution historique.
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M
Shoah is an essential record of the darkest moment in human history and a deeply affecting piece of filmmaking. What you feel watching it is hard to put into words. I think every adult on this planet should see it.
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Cualquier cosa que añada sobra. Inconmensurable.
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K
O Holocausto, um dos acontecimentos mais monstruosos que já aconteceram mesmo em uma humanidade tão suja quanto a nossa, e os impactos e vestígios da Segunda Guerra Mundial e o Nazismo foram e continuam sendo assuntos explorados das maneiras mais diversas possíveis. Mas acredito que “Shoah”, um documentário de nove horas onde Claude Lanzmann entrevista um número de testemunhas do período retratado, é uma das obras mais complicadas e, talvez por isso, humanas já feitas sobre o assunto.
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menos mal q filmin la tiene en formato serie porq si no no sé si hubiese sido capaz de verla ya no solo por la duración, q también, sino por el horror de escuchar historia tras historia todo el rato lo mismo pero a la vez diferente porq no relata en sí lo sucedido q eso ya todos lo sabemos sino relata la memoria de lo sucedido, de la gente q lo vivió, 30 o 40 años después, por eso…
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D
This is an extensive yet such an important piece of film. From hearing survivors of the Shoah speak of their experiences in the concentration camps, people living around the camps, people driving the trains or some Germans who worked at the camps has been truly fascinating to witness. Even though there were many parts that made me emotional, I only wish I hadn’t been so desensitized so that I might have felt more.
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T
How does someone even go about writing a review for Shoah. The nearly 10 hour holocaust documentary is a monumental film and important not only in the world of cinema but in history. I’m not sure how this film is intended to be watched but I saw it over the course of multiple sittings. Honestly I found the whole experience emotionally exhausting that I found it difficult to watch it for longer than a couple hours at a time. The…
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DDoktor_Muffel 7 月 15, 2026
Roulette Challenge 2026: DOPPLEBANGERS 15. Experimental documentary Once in a lifetime documentary. Never again! Das ist das Ende vom Glauben an jegliche Humanität als Teil der menschlichen Natur! Amazon Prime/ Sooner Org.m.dt.U.
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I truly feel this film is impossible to watch in one sitting for 99% of people. Shoah is by far the greatest documentary of all time, and it isn’t close in the slightest. This is the most important film ever. There are many documentaries about the holocaust, so what makes this one different? There are 2 decisions, and they are both extremely obvious. the first one is the length. 9 hours may seem long, but as you keep watching, you…
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M
Oui j’ai vu 9h30 de documentaire, et le pire c’est que je ne me suis même pas ennuyé. Par contre, je vais jamais m’en remettre… Il n’y a pas de musique, ni d’effets spéciaux, ni d’archives, seulement des témoignages. Seulement des histoires très poignantes, racontés avec beaucoup de souffrances. Très difficile à regarder, mais très important à voir ! C’est un documentaire sur la seconde guerre mondial (facile à deviner vu le titre mdrrr mais au cas ou), divisé en…
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A great movie, single-minded and relentless in its pursuit of the truth of what happened in the Holocaust, although hampered slightly by its maker’s complete rejection of anything other than documenting directly, without any archival footage or evocation of the times, his subject.
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«…покинув ти нас за що? І палили нас вогнем і ніхто від твого заповіту не відрікся.» (1942) 9 годин стрічки, 11 років зйомок, 6 років страждань. Немає жодного архіву, все, що бачимо це вже пережите минуле і єдине дано – це слова і обличчя. Увесь час тільки інтервʼю свідків: зевак, врятувавшихся, тортурщиків. Режисер дарує відчуття залученості та розуміння індивідуального досвіду. Хочеться багато написати, а одночасно з цим немає слів ( а це значить про як найкраще виконану справу).
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Critiquer Shoah revient presque à nager à contre-courant tant le film est sacralisé par la critique et l’histoire du documentaire. Ce qui pêche à mon sens : ses 9h30 sans la moindre image d’archive, uniquement des témoignages et des plans de lieux actuels, un parti pris radical et défendable intellectuellement, mais qui à l’usage installe une redondance formelle plus usante que nourrissante beaucoup de scènes auraient gagné à être resserrées sans perdre leur force. Le rythme reste quasiment uniforme sur…
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RRau 7 月 13, 2026
The most emotional, honest, and deeply moving documentary of all time. Hardest watching experience ive got.
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“If you want to live, you must hope.” The inherent problem with an over nine-hour Holocaust documentary, no matter how well-made, is that for the most part the people most willing to see it are going to be the people who least need to. This is every bit as chilling and despairing as you’d expect. Well-made, not so much as a film as an essential historical documenting of one the inarguable low points of humanity as a species, but one…
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Un monument mémoriel, mais aussi un film fondamentalement politique – le parallèle entre la situation politique des résistants antinazis et des Sonderkommandos à Auschwitz avec celle des leaders juifs du ghetto de Varsovie qui demandent à Karski de plaider leur cause aux Alliés… Lanzmann n’appuie pas tant dessus, mais c’est grosso modo le débat entre réformisme et révolution, et c’est fascinant. Évidemment, c’est long, mais c’est tellement fascinant qu’une fois qu’on est dedans, on n’en décroche pas (enfin, je l’ai…
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Quel documentaire ! Par cette œuvre, on découvre des points de vue qu’on n’a pas l’habitude de voir sur la Shoah. Se rendre compte de cet événement à travers les récits des survivants, des témoins ou encore des responsables est vraiment saisissant. Les histoires du coiffeur ou du journaliste qui se rend dans le ghetto sont bouleversantes. De plus, on découvre le point de vue des villageois qui n’arrivent pas à réaliser les horreurs commises, tellement celles-ci ont été gardées…
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Undoubtedly comprehensive. For me it was a little too comprehensive.
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There’s a reason you hear the person answer the question and the subtitles only appear when the translator speaks. Their faces.
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Unbedingt empfehlenswert, auch, wenn man ihn kein zweites Mal sehen möchte
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Près de 10 heures de témoignages sur les camps de la mort et sur leur gestion. Le premier (et sûrement le plus long) réquisitoire filmé sur cette innommable tragédie.
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As much I can be critical of the ingrained zionism behind the project, I cannot help but be hypnotized by this fossilised remnants of then still-living survivors of Holocaust. A 9 and half hour meditation on grief and remorse for the genocide supported by their own friends and neighbours of different faith. A harrowing watch which becames unnerving when you realise most of the interviews are conducted in Israel (i.e, they themselves commited a similar genocide and ethnic cleansing to establishing their settler colonial entity)
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Review for Part 1 (First Era) I think it’s extraordinarily ironic that Lanzmann’s seminal contribution to holocaust history actually seems to undercut his ideology of the Holocaust. Lanzmann is famous for viewing Nazism as an unknowable, ununderstandable, almost mystical evil. And yet Shoah offers such deep insight into the contradictions and thinking of the perpetrators and bystanders of the Holocaust. I think the failure to recognize how unmystical it is contributed to Lanzmann and many others’ failure to recognize the…
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AAmr Soliman 7 月 7, 2026
what a journey
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GGailloux 7 月 6, 2026
« Tous ces enfants qui ne grandiront jamais » Franchement je pense que le bruit des rails va me poursuivre pendant très longtemps et tant mieux parce qu’il ne faut jamais oublier pour ne pas reproduire les mêmes erreurs inhumaines, surtout quand tu es le peuple visé par ces actes atroces. Ça serait con, hein ? Par contre Lanzmann, on oubliera pas les agressions sexuelles
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Sometimes you smile, sometimes you cry. If you’re alive, it’s better to smile. Claude Lanzmann (an extraordinarily interesting figure in his own right) spent more than ten years on Shoah, a quiet, devastating documentary on the extermination camps that have become one of the lasting legacies of the Second World War. Such a tragedy is unfathomable in the modern age, but still so close to us in relative history that Lanzmann’s exhaustive, nine-and-a-half-hour work of art still holds an unbearable…
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I had definitely seen parts of this before, as a teenager, at school and most likely in BBC4 documentaries. There are testimonies I had echoes of memory hearing in the past, and many more that I had not heard before. What is most essential about Shoah is Lanzmann’s refusal to represent what happened in the camps. We see them as they were when he shot his footage, and our mind projects on to them that which came before. This is…
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The Faces. The Places. It’s hard to find words to describe this documentary. It excels in all aspects, especially in allowing interviewees to speak their truth without being led and without an ounce of exploitation. There is no rubbernecking here; no horrid attempt to depict the atrocities in minute detail. It breathes and lingers (in a necessary way) on eyes that have had their innocence taken away and on haunting landscapes where the worst crimes in human history occurred. The most important documentary ever made.
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스트라우브–위예를 연상시키는 방식으로 고요한 역사적 풍경 위에 참상의 진술이 무심히 얹힌다. 홀로코스트 생존자들의 무수히 많은 인터뷰 파편들을 이어붙여 역사적 비극의 무게를 물리적으로 감각하게 한다. 표정의 긴장, 몸짓의 흔들림 등에서 알 수 있듯 아픈 기억은 그들의 몸과 언어 속에서 지속적으로 현재화된다. 영어-독일어-프랑스어-폴란드어 등 여러 언어를 경유하며 다소 거칠게 번역된 불완전한 증언들은 이 거대한 역사가 매끄럽게 설명 가능한 이야기로 소비되는 것을 거부하려는 감독의 윤리적으로 가능한 최선의 선택으로 읽힌다.
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Not many words… only emotions. Watched this over the course of two nights, and it’s truly one of the greatest documentaries ever made.
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Devastating film detailing the Nazi “Final Solution.” This is a living testament to the lived experiences of all sides of the holocaust – the Jewish Survivors, the Polish Townspeople, re-settled German citizens and the Nazi perpetrators. Trauma and pain seep from every frame of “Shoah”. The details burn in your mind and live with you after viewing the film. The film is presented in a very somber, spare style that forces you to experience the memories of the participants. For…
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There are so many sentences in here that gave me goosebumps, I can’t even imagine how it felt to see with your eyes what happened. Lanzman does an amazing work here, giving the viewer the chance to comprehend what actually happened
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This film was incredibly frustrating and puts me in two minds about it. It’s an incredibly important physical piece of testimony that feels held back by the decisions of the director. The director kept interrupting the testimony of the survivors asking unimportant questions that kept disrupting the weight of what was being said. Additionally, while I don’t have an issue with the fact that no archival footage was used, often times a person would be talking about their experiences in…
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DDylan ~ Club Silencio 7 月 3, 2026
Many German interviewees were reluctant to talk or refused to be filmed, so Lanzmann used a hidden camera, producing a grainy, black-and-white appearance. The interviewees in these scenes are sometimes obscured or distinguished by technicians watching the recording. During one interview, with Heinz Schubert, the covert recording was discovered by Schubert’s family, and Lanzmann was physically attacked. He was hospitalised for a month and charged by the authorities with “unauthorised use of the German airwaves”.
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Si vous avez le temps essayez de le finir vite mais perso j’ai pris plus d’une semaine pour le regarder ( il dure 10 heures donc ben )
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C
Shoah (1985) é talvez o documentário mais extenso e mais importante que já vi — nove horas e meia de depoimentos sobre o Holocausto, sem uma única imagem de arquivo. Claude Lanzmann passou doze anos entrevistando sobreviventes, testemunhas e ex-membros da SS, construindo um retrato da memória baseado só na palavra falada. A recusa de Lanzmann em usar imagens históricas não parece uma limitação, mas uma posição ética: talvez o horror não deva ser mostrado, só testemunhado. É um filme…
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A
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E
I mean there’s really nothing I can say about this harrowing work of art, that hasn’t been said more eloquently from many others. I will mention that I’ve been holding off on this watch for decades because I was worried it was too daunting a task to sit through all nine and a half hours. But if you’re worried like I was, I want to assure you that this is a very engaging film. It’s not a boring movie to…
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A
Devastating. Brutal. Tragic. Sickening. It’s hard to believe that this is real and that this is only a few select stories echoing what tens of millions if not more could tell were their lives not snuffed out by cold and inhuman people. #23
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J
I’ve learned a lot about the Holocaust over the years – the documentaries, the films, the courses in school. I learned stuff here I had never considered, or had misunderstood, in prior iterations. I give it 5 stars for its importance but I felt defensive for the survivors, bc I feel Lanzmann was harder on them than he was the perpetrators he talked to. But I understand why it was necessary. I understand now how it was possible that…
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S
Deuxième époque J’ai été bien occupé entre le visionnage de la première et de la seconde époque j’ai vu quelques films je suis sorti avec des amis mais ce film continuait de troter dans mon esprit même pendant tout ce temps Son visionnage est éprouvant les témoignages sont durs et les images bien que vide de violence sont évocatrice du passé, de la violence et de la déshumanisation un grand documentaire que je n’oublierai jamais
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K
Continually devastating.
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T
A film that everyone needs to see, along with the bonus material on how the movie was made.
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L
le genre de film qui te marque à vie
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D
“Like,” is not the word of course. “Necessary” is more like it.
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V
This is an absolute masterpiece and despite the nearly 10 hour runtime I am frankly in awe of how hard it must have been to cut as much original footage as Lanzmann did. As with most media that deals with the Holocaust, it is difficult to watch at points. The barber interview (Abraham Bomba) made me tear up a bit because for so long you see him narrating in a monotone with a neutral expression, until he tells us about…
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C
Sometimes there are emotions you just can’t put into words
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C
It’s incredible that this exists. It’s as important now as ever to be aware of the deep hatred of Jews that exists in this world. Seeing the recent rise in acceptance of it once again has been very difficult to witness. This should be required viewing for all cowards on the internet that continue to spew the hatred without caring where that leads. Watched for 2026 Criterion Challenge
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M
C’est peut-être le film le plus important de l’histoire du cinéma : un travail de journalisme et de cinéaste saisissant, un vrai sens du montage, des images, une approche toujours juste pour un témoignage rare et essentiel de l’histoire. Dommage que le film dure 9h ce qui le rend vraiment éprouvant et peu accessible (la journée était dure)
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B
It’s probably by design that this documentary is draining to experience. Absent any archival footage or scoring, it’s stripped down nature only emphasises the horrors that reveal themselves through blunt interviews with those targeted by the Reich, those witnessing the extermination and even a few of those who conducted it. There are moments here of such sharp painful recollection that are as hard to sit through as any film I’ve ever seen and it’s incredible to fathom just how destructive…
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P
J’ai enfin terminé ce documentaire de 9 heures, qui m’a envoyé? C’est 9 heures où j’aurais pu faire autre chose. Je trouve qu’il y a plus de choses qui ne vont pas que de choses bien. On va donner le positif en premier peut-être. Il faut rappeler que Shoah à bouleverser la mémoire du genocide avec ce documentaire. Claude Lanzmann ne voulait prendre aucune images d’archives ni fictionnaliser. Il pense que ces événements ne peuvent être traduit que par la…
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F
One of the most important films you will ever see. Completely soul crushing.
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S
Première période Au bout des premières 4heures 34 c’était presque comme si je re apprenais complètement ce qu’était la shoah par par les images d’archives pas par le “ça s’est passé comme ça” mais par le “regardez ce qu’il en reste”
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J
Obra maestra se queda corto
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OOdettethrewup 6 月 16, 2026
art
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S
wanted to write this review after visiting auschwitz. it is the most difficult movie i have seen and the hardest place i’ve been to my whole life. everyone should see it at least once. you will never be the same ever again.
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FFlavvvvvvv 6 月 15, 2026
Le film est un véritable devoir de mémoire de la Shoah. Contrairement à d’autres œuvres sur le sujet, il ne s’attarde pas forcément sur les événements les plus connus de cette période, mais se concentre davantage sur les détails. Chaque personne interrogée est questionnée sur l’ensemble de son vécu, avec des questions de plus en plus précises au fil de l’entretien. C’est évidemment très difficile à regarder, mais il y a, selon moi, aussi un devoir de notre côté. Ces…
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N
I did spend 9 hrs watching this (not in one go do not worry) but it was worth it, truly amazing and shocking. The way lanzmann conducts his interviews is amazing, it is a tough watch (as expected) at times esp when he emotionally pushes his interviewees. All the doc is, is various interviews no footage or anything and so it makes it purely focused on the interviews and testimonies.
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A
This is not a documentary, this is a historical record. The first hour or so was tough – having a french lady translate from other languages into french, and then have her portion subtitled is a shit choice. We’re getting a translated version of a translated version. There was no need for the translator to have been kept in at all, it changed words and added time. The length of this is also a boundary. Almost no-one will watch 9.5…
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MMarco Méndez 6 月 13, 2026
Las películas sobre el holocausto actualmente no están envegeciendo bien. Sobre todo las que se hacen en Hollywood. Aún así, éste particular documental de casi 10 horas de duración (impensable hoy en la era de Netflix), en el que sólo se valen de los testimonios de sobrevivientes y cómplices, fascina e incomoda por igual sin recurrir a ninguna toma de archivo. Así como nadie es antisemita por criticar el actuar de Israel sobre Palestina, no hay que perder perspectiva de…
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C
Let me preface this brief review with this. No movie needs to be over three hours, let alone fucking nine and a half. However, I do understand why this comprehensive doc is so long. It’s telling the story of the greatest atrocity in human history, and it’s doing so from every angle. In that respect, Shoah is a monumental cinematic achievement. Personally, I am just very put off by the mammoth run time and the film’s slow pace. But interviewing a Nazi war criminal with a secret camera? That’s next level.
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H
Had to watch this across 4 sittings (about 2-2.5 hours per session) given the extreme length, subject matter and slowness. On the one hand, on paper I respect the hell out of making this such a monumental effort, as it only makes sense given the immense toll of the Holocaust. But on the other, even at 566 minutes (many of which I was consciously counting, even having broken up my viewing), it’s intuitively just not possible to adequately capture the…
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B
classic
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L
La présentation de la Shoah par sa « logistique », un enfer sur terre. Un travail de mémoire vertigineux. Un chef d’œuvre.
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M
This isn’t a 5 star movie in the typical sense. Rather, it deserves 5 stars due to the importance of undertaking the task of documenting the holocaust through extensive interviews. This is difficult to watch, but it allows the viewer to learn in detail what happened from the perspective of those who were there.
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M
I finally took the time to watch this highly regarded documentary about the Holocaust, which I, because of its heavy subject and long length of 9.5 hours, ended up watching in five sittings over the course of four days. The documentary is a haunting eye witness account of multiple aspects of the workings of the concentration camps and ghettos that the Jews suffered and died in during the Second World War. We hear from survivors, bystanders and even from a…
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Y
Jsuis pa suffisamment inspiré pour faire une review sur Shoah, mais c’est un exemple ce film. Cependant pour un souci de bien être regardez le en plusieurs fois.
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F
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N
J’ai vu que les 4 premières heures et putain ça calme
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K
I don’t think it is possible to overstate the importance of this film. Whilst it is not remotely enjoyable, and is a difficult watch for pretty much the entirety of its 9 hour run time, I am incredibly glad that I have watched this. The testimonies of the survivors throughout are absolutely harrowing and some of the saddest and painful experiences that I have ever seen or heard in my life. There are certain points where you frankly can’t believe…
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T
“The Christians first said to us: ‘You cannot live among us.’ Then the Germans said: ‘You cannot live.’” Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah remains arguably the most significant achievement in documentary cinema. Over nine and a half hours, the film rejects conventional historical devices such as archival footage, explanatory narration, and rapid montage. Instead, Lanzmann constructs an oral and spatial archive built from testimony, landscape, silence, and duration. The result is not simply a documentary about the Holocaust, but a confrontation with…
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Ggabriel 6 月 2, 2026
32,2 minutos assistidos (5,65%) 5/5
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P
I don’t think anybody could ever admit to liking this documentary, since you’re not supposed to like it, but it’s a vital historical document. My only complaint is that they make a big deal about how it has no archival footage, which for a 9.5 hour documentary is really impressive, but that means most of the footage is just B-roll of nature and ruins. Having archival footage wouldn’t have been an issue, although of course you’d be hard pressed to…
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F
Not a fan of his interviewing style, but such a foundational piece of work for the recording and documentation of witness testimony.
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F
My last movie in the 1001 movies you must see before you die list (My 950th movie this year) I started watching the 1001 list irregularly last year in March, but in January of this year I decided to watch them all this year (at that time I had about 720 left on the list.) The 1001 list is definitely worth watching, but it’s probably not worth binge-watching (like I kinda did). The 1001 list has a lot of bad/unnecessary…
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M
À 1/3 du film c’est poignant
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S
In World War 2, 6 million Jews were exterminated. If I am being honest, that never communicated too much weight to me. It may as well be 5 million; it may as well be 7. It could be 6 million seconds passed. What Shoah does is dissolve that barrier. Lanzmann raises the question: does that say much? Shoah is subjectively the most important film in all of human history. The extermination of millions of real human beings is not overlooked,…
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P
This is less of a movie and more historical documentation. The settings and accounts of these interviewees are surreal and impactful, set against the mundane benality of their then-current daily life. It’s like a period piece, disguised as a documentary. Even at almost 9.5 hours, in the end I felt as though telling these stories could have easily gone on for 9 more. And given how good the stories and accounts were, I would have watched it.
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AAdamVillani 5 月 31, 2026
I’m not assigning this a star rating. It stands as a monumental document of history. Although it is a very good film, it does not feel appropriate to rate it as such.
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B
There’s lots of films where you see people die. This is first film I felt like I was actually watching someone die.
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C
Es bedarf keines weiteren Wortes, “Shoah” lässt keine Unklarheiten offen!
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B
Rien à dire
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B
Nothing new to be said here. Shoah will shape your view of the Holocaust in new ways should you chose to spend 9+ hours with this documentary. I hope the world never needs a documentary like this again. (Also, don’t let the runtime scare you. It took me like 10 sittings to get through)
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M
Claude Lanzmann hat 1985 nichts weniger geschafft als eine neue Art zu erfinden den Holocaust filmisch darzustellen. Ähnlich wie Adorno vertrat er die Ansicht, dass der Holocaust unvorstellbar ist und sich nicht auf konventionelle Art darstellen lässt. Sowohl die historischen Archivmaterialen wie Bilder der Leichenberge als auch eine filmische Fiktionalisierung wie in “Schindlers Liste” gauckeln nur eine historische Authenzität vor und versuchen zu erklären, was sich nicht erklären lässt. Archivbilder sind meist erst spätere Aufnahmen der Allierten, sind darüber hinaus…
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B
“There is no proper response to this film. It is an enormous fact, a 550-minute howl of pain and anger in the face of genocide. It is one of the noblest films ever made.” – Roger Ebert
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J
I love being a master student who specialises in the importance of holocaust testimonies
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A
“Perhaps it will shake the conscience of the world.” “You must bear witness to our suffering.” Monumental.
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K
The horror and importance of these memories of the worst moments of recent human history are only amplified by the realization that we as a collective seemingly learned nothing from it.
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K
One of the most important films ever made.
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A
One of most essential films ever done, and a testament on how to use the medium to approach the unthinkable. Very difficult for someone to experience it and not have a before/after process. Lanzmann goes after everything, he’s a journalist, investigator, detective, but also uses filmmaking to document and express his personal grief The constant bleak travellings of the sites, progressively adding a kind of photographic memory to the narrators; the obsession with the railway, veins flowing to the horror.…
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S
Felt it was appropriate to finally watch this the week I graduated with my Masters’ in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. I was actually assigned to watch this for a class but I was traveling that week so I never got around to it until now. This was overwhelming in the most appropriate way possible. Having the Criterion Collection companion booklet was a vital resource to keep the many different testimonials straight in my head. I don’t know if I’ll ever…
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P
Very tragic film, nobody should ever be forced onto a train.
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FFrank Brown 5 月 22, 2026
“So you want to die. But that’s senseless. Your death won’t give us back our lives. That’s no way. You must get out of here alive, you must bear witness to our suffering and to the injustice done to us.” This was a slog. An enlightening, surprising, horrifying, necessary slog.
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C
You know what more Holocaust documentaries need? An American historian talking about currency exchange rates for 15 minutes
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J
Shoah es una obra monumental y radical sobre el Holocausto, construida exclusivamente a partir de testimonios, paisajes y memoria oral, sin recurrir a imágenes de archivo. Lanzmann plantea así una posición ética y estética clave: la imposibilidad —o al menos la extrema dificultad— de representar directamente el horror de la Shoah sin traicionarlo. La película se sitúa también en el centro de la controversia sobre si el Holocausto puede o debe ser representado en imágenes, defendiendo una aproximación basada en…
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S
Des images fortes et bouleversantes, toutes filmées sur les lieux mêmes des crimes, où les paysages calmes d’aujourd’hui portent encore le poids de l’horreur. Les témoignages, venant de survivants, de témoins et même d’anciens SS, sont d’une brutalité difficile à entendre, tant les détails sur les méthodes employées glacent le sang. On sent toute l’importance historique et humaine de cette œuvre monumentale. Pourtant, le montage finit par alourdir l’ensemble : plusieurs entretiens nous font entendre le témoignage dans sa langue…
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H
It was torture to end it « Des juifs ont souffert, Lanzmann les torture »
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Ttsto 5 月 18, 2026
Ich will ehrlich sein, das war schon sehr anstrengend. Über 9h Rohmaterial von Zeitzeugen-Interviews werden mit ein paar Landschaftsaufnahmen zwischendrin und spärlicher Moderation aneinander gehangen, mit allen Pausen und Längen. Es wirkte mehr wie ein Archiv als ein klassischer Dokumentar-Film. Das war nunmal ermüdend. Aber dennoch ist das hier ein wichtiges Stück Film- und Zeit-Geschichte. Man weiß, was in den KZs passiert ist. Doch die Erzählungen von Überlebenden und von Mittätern (SS-Leute, Aufseher und Kollaborateure) zeigen Details und persönliche Erfahrungen,…
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KKaeiou 5 月 18, 2026
J’étais à deux heures de la fin…
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B
Definitely worth dedicating a few hours of your life to.
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G
Deze negen uur durige film behoord naar mijn mening tot een van de belangrijkste documentaires die ooit is gemaakt. Het is een kunstwerk dat stil staat bij een van de donkerste periodes van de geschiedenis van de mensheid. Het is een gedetailleerd dialoog met overlevende van concentratiecampen, voormalige SS commandanten en ooggetuigen van “de Final Solution”. Het is zeker de moeite waard om deze film ooit gezien te hebben!
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AAm 🐠 5 月 17, 2026
Bon alors déjà pour contexte je voulais voir cette œuvre depuis que j’en ai entendu parlé en cours d’hggsp mais c’était dispo nul part. Par miracle Arte l’a diffusé alors j’ai pu le voir. Mais j’ai eu tellement de mal à terminer. C’était extrêmement long, normal en sachant que ca dure 9h. À la fois c’était grave intéressant mais en même temps je décrochais tout le temps et j’ai du étalé mon visionnage sur une semaine. Mais ça me tenait très à cœur de le voir, d’autant plus que c’est que des témoignages tellement variés et ils doivent être entendus.
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D
Forensic and unsentimental, and still a despairing, crushing watch. Filip Müller’s spine-chilling description of the “death struggle” once heard can’t be forgotten.
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H
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H
C’était long et il m’a fallut longtemps pour tout voir mais cela en vaut la peine. J’ai pas réussi a tout regarder d’une traite mais par partie et franchement on n’en apprend beaucoup avec ces témoignages. Clairement un film a montrer en cours (sur plusieurs cours mdrrrr)
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O
Der Film besteht hauptsächlich aus einer Staffelung an verschiedensten Interviews mit Zeitzeugen, die hauptsächlich das Leben in den Konzentrationslagern aus den jeweiligen persönlichen Erfahrungen der Betroffenen schildern. Das führt dazu, dass sich die Informationen oft wiederholen. Das kann sehr mühsam sein, doch ist es sehr wirksam darin die große Masse an systematisscher Verunmenschlichung darzustellen. Es gibt zwar auch ein paar Berichte von Personen die im Holocaust System Teil der NSDAP waren, doch bestehen diese erwartbarer Weise zu großen Teilen aus…
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W
J’ai enfin visionné Shoah de Claude Lanzmann, bien que considéré comme chef d’œuvre mémoriel, je le trouve bonnement moyen pour plusieurs raisons, je le qualifierai même peut-être de film prétentieux. Tout d’abord, je pense que c’est un peu ce qu’on pourrait qualifier de branlette mémoriel (comme branlette intellectuelle) pour sa longévité. En effet, le film regorge de 5/5 car au premier abord les 9h que propose Lanzmann semble à priori pouvoir capturer l’essence même de la Shoah puisqu’il est si…
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P
Despite the deluge of books and films which have appeared on the subject, Shoah differs from all that has come before, even though almost everything related by the film’s multiple speakers is knowledge already known. What Shoah accomplishes is a total immersion into another reality. It tends to collapse the past into the present, blurring the distinctions, making the past part of the present again, making the past part of the present. It points out just how matter-of-fact so many…
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AAutomneBaltique 5 月 15, 2026
13.05.2026-15.05.2026
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F
Humbling – the content of this film is delivered in an understated and deeply conducted way and yet is utterly horrifying.
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O
Wow
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M
A Tad bit long
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A
Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, a Hebrew word meaning “Holocaust,” is a work of such immense, staggering brilliance that it renders all other achievements secondary. While Lanzmann undoubtedly contributed other works to the world of cinema, this monumental achievement stands so completely on its own that his legacy would remain entirely secure had he never directed another frame. For me, Shoah represents the absolute pinnacle of documentary filmmaking, an utterly magnificent exploration of human history’s darkest chapter. Spanning over nine hours and…
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C
자극적인 영상 하나 없이 오직 목격자들의 증언만으로 역사의 가장 비극적인 순간을 복원해낸 방식이 경이로웠습니다. 묵묵히 이어지는 대화 속에 담긴 그 엄청난 고통과 진실의 무게 때문에 보는 내내 마음이 무거웠어요. 잊지 말아야 할 기억을 기록하는 방식에 대해 가장 정직하고도 강력한 질문을 던지는 작품입니다.
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K
I watched it over three sittings because I genuinely don’t think a person is meant to absorb it in one, and even spread out that way it left me hollowed out for days. There’s no archival footage anywhere in it, no black and white photographs of piled bodies, nothing you’d typically expect from a Holocaust documentary, just people talking, decades later, and the quiet countryside where it all happened, trains still running along tracks that once led to gas chambers,…
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伊
Wasn’t sure what to expect from this one going in. Watching the weight of the footage speaking for itself unfold felt surprisingly intimate. There’s a far more affecting than expected quality to the patience of letting people tell their own story throughout. Meanwhile, some of the dialogue leans a little too on the nose. There’s something genuinely eye opening about how it handles the restraint in letting silence do some of the talking. An okay watch that I won’t be revisiting anytime soon.
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T
SIFF2025
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D
Holocaust testimony gets its genuinely exhaustive, essential documentary treatment, survivors and perpetrators recounting genuine, considerable atrocity through unflinching, patient interview alone throughout the monumental narrative depicted. Nothing about the horror gets illustrated through archival footage, testimony alone carrying the entire considerable weight throughout. Performances and testimony carry enormous restrained devastation throughout every difficult confrontation depicted across the considerable, lengthy runtime. The patient, unhurried interview style rewards close attention with genuine historical understanding throughout. This remains genuinely essential, monumental documentary filmmaking,…
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N
Возможно, кому-то это понравится, но точно не мне.
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Uun certain regard 5 月 3, 2024
40년 전의 일에 대한 증언을 기록한 이 영화는, 공개된 뒤 40년이 지난 지금 관람하는 입장에서 여러가지 생각을 들게 만든다. 당시를 경험한 이들이 대부분 고인이 된 지금 시점에서 이 영화가 지닌 기록물로서의 가치는 감히 매길 수 없을 정도로 고귀하다. 그렇지만 그저 나열되기만 하는 인터뷰는 한 편의 영화보다는 역사서처럼 찾아봐야 할 분량을 부분적으로 열람하는 식의 방식 외에는 용이하지 못한 것 같다. 더불어, 고통을 떠올리기 주저하며 답변을 꺼리는 인터뷰 대상에게 답변할 것을 강요하며 밀어붙이는 감독의 윤리적 태도에 대해서도 의문이 든다.
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Y
Baru selesai beres-beres rumah, aku ulang lagi bagian awalnya karena kelewat. Semakin lama, aku nggak bisa nahan haru. Pemilihan warna secara keseluruhan aja udah cukup bikin aku diem lama merhatiin. Terlepas dari rating-nya, aku masih pengen nikmatin rasa ini sebentar lagi.
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O
Malgré quelques choix maladroits (certains cadrages trop appuyés, quelques questions inutiles) un document qui exprime le pouvoir d’évocation des mots: entendre des gens parler de quelque chose dont on n’a pas de perception peut émouvoir et bouleverser. Compassion pour les victimes, incompréhension pour les bourreaux, les deux font écho en nous et nous demandent vainement pourquoi?
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V
El análisis a continuación trabajará los aspectos más importantes en relación a la transposición de los lenguajes entre el libro Shoah de Claude Lanzmann y el documental homónimo. Es importante aclarar que, en este caso, se da una particularidad entre el texto fuente y la transposición. En mi opinión, la transposición es el libro, realizado luego de la película. Lanzmann, en el prefacio Palabras Previas que lo introduce -luego del texto de Simone de Beauvoir- afirma que: “Presento aquí al…
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G
Brilliant innovative technique
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R
For more than nine hours I sat and watched a film named “Shoah,” and when it was over, I sat for a while longer and simply stared into space, trying to understand my emotions. I had seen a memory of the most debased chapter in human history. But I had also seen a film that affirmed life so passionately that I did not know where to turn with my confused feelings. There is no proper response to this film. It…
1
- Synopsis
- Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.
- Director
- Claude Lanzmann
- Studio
- Historia, Les Films Aleph, Ministère de la culture
- Country
- France
- Language
- French, Yiddish, Hebrew (modern), German
- Year
- 1985
- Runtime
- 566 mins
- Italy28 Aug 1985
- USA23 Oct 1985
- Israel01 Jun 1986
- USA01 Nov 1985
- Netherlands07 Oct 2016
- USA27 Apr 1987
- USA28 Apr 1987
- USA29 Apr 1987
- USA30 Apr 1987
- Italy01 Jul 1987
- Germany03 Jul 1987
- UK25 Jan 2015
- UK01 Feb 2015
- Netherlands29 Apr 2019
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