Nanking (2007)
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway, Stephen Dorff, Jürgen Prochnow, Rosalind Chao
Screenwriter: Elisabeth Bentley, Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Story: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Producer: Ted Leonsis, Bill Guttentag, Michael Jacobs
Composer: Philip Marshall
DVD Info
Release:
Apr 29, 2008
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.78
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
- Dolby Digital - Chinese, Japanese
- Subtitles - English (SDH) - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Audio Commentary - Filmmaker's Commentary
- Trailer - 1. Theatrical Trailer
- 2. Trailer Gallery
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
The lesson here is not simply to vilify the Japanese soldiers of that era, but to make sure that we never forget who we are and what our country stands for today.
A deft and dramatic melding of talking-head documentary, historic photos and film footage and readings by a cast of actors, the film is a devastating depiction of man’s inhumanity to man. It is also about how some of us are brave enough to say 'No.'
Nanking is a sometimes clumsy and sometimes artistically flawed documentary but in the end it presents a powerful account of what happened in Nanking at the end of 1937 and beginning of 1938.
Sheds light on particular wartime atrocities largely neglected in the collective memory.
A brutal introduction to events that should be better known.
Nanking doesn't tell us why decency and compassion completely break down from time to time. It just tells us something terribly modern and all too familiar.
A handsome documentary on a brutal subject, Nanking delves into the 1937 Japanese invasion of China and the atrocities committed in the attack...
Nanking is grim but ultimately uplifting, a reminder that even in dangerous times, brave individuals can hold the line against barbarism.
Thankfully, the clarity of the impressions the actors vocalize withstands the gimmickry.
A harrowing look at how war takes its terrible toll on the innocent.
Anyone who sees Nanking should know going in what a brutal story it is, but no one should miss it because of a restrictive rating.
Even as history changes to accommodate current needs and frameworks, it's crucial to remember those who lived it.
Highlights both the best and the worst that humanity has to offer.
Nanking does justice to this tragedy even though it makes the mistake of mixing the testimony of actual participants with staged readings from actors subbing for real people.
The filmmakers employ a powerful technique of interspersing newsreel footage with wrenching on-camera interviews of survivors and sequences of actors reciting from the letters and memoirs of the Westerners on the scene.
I have rarely, if ever, seen a documentary reconstruction of a historical event that is so rich in firsthand (and well-preserved) photographic material.
The story of Nanking is told simply and well, it speaks for itself.
It is a harsh story and the filmmakers do not try to sugarcoat or diminish its power and tragedy.
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