Renders one of the most arresting untold stories of World War II into something quite unaccountably boring.
Comment
01/07/08
The Rape Of Europa (2007)
79
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:31
Rotten:8
Average Rating:7.2/10
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Genre: Musical & Performing Arts
Synopsis: Joan Allen narrates this documentary that chronicles the plight of Europe's greatest artistic treasures during the Nazi reign. As the Third Reich attempted to destroy the continent's culture, art... [More]
Director: Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham
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Reviews for The Rape Of Europa
The directors might have benefited by going smaller %u2014 for instance, focusing on two or three pieces of lost artwork and tracing their history. This art documentary simply isn't artful enough.
05/29/08
It's long for a documentary, almost two hours, but it has a big story to tell.
03/06/08
Top CriticThe Rape of Europa delivers an unexpected knockout punch...
10/05/07
Not helping matters are Joan Allen's blanched tones as narrator, or the general flatness of the talking heads.
09/28/07
Filmmakers Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newnham do a superb job of telling this neglected story in vivid detail.
01/11/08
Top CriticA startling documentary.
01/04/08
Top CriticThis one has focus trouble, canvassing too many countries, too many issues, and the filmmaking is on the ordinary side.
01/03/08
Top CriticHitler's methodical plan to plunder and destroy Europe's great works of art gets lush treatment in this comprehensive documentary.
10/04/07
You don't have to be an art lover to shed a few tears over the excellent human spirit involved in protecting such art treasures from violent, despotic greed. And, for their proper restitution.
09/23/07
That Hitler was mad is well known. That he was mad about art, not so well.
08/15/08
Top CriticAs thorough as the movie is, it could easily devote another hour to cases like this.
02/01/08
The movie doesn't dramatize this crime -- it catalogs it. With deadening monotony.
09/13/07
Top CriticScrupulously researched, jaw-droppingly vast in scope and incredibly detailed.
09/17/07
PBS, here's your ideal, intelligently made documentary for your fund-raising campaigns.
09/13/07
Narrated by Joan Allen, the film is a remarkably comprehensive look at the cultural destruction that accompanied the slaughter.
03/28/08
The Rape of Europa boasts a strong narration by Joan Allen as it explores a less familiar aspect of World War II and the legacy left by the Nazis.
06/20/08
Rape of Europa is a history lesson dressed as a measured thriller.
09/27/07
Its lack of both style and focus keeps it from being a success as a feature film.
04/24/08
Surprisingly vast and involving.
09/28/07
Top CriticLatest News for The Rape Of Europa
January 11, 2008:
Juno, No Country for Old Men Among Writers Guild Award Nominees
If there's one Hollywood awards ceremony that you'd think would be able to go off without a hitch this year, it'd be the Writers Guild Awards -- but you'd be wrong. More...
November 20, 2007:
Fifteen Documentaries Vie for Oscar Consideration
A little over a week after reporting the names of the dozen films being submitted for Oscar consideration in the animated feature film category, Variety has given readers the... More...
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