While the filmmaking is standard documentary fare and the approach overtly biased, the narration, with tales of intelligence intrigue and ruthless foreign policy, is compelling and convincing.
Comment
12/05/02
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)
95
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:53
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: This compelling unauthorized biography takes a muckraker's view of the controversial diplomat.
Theatrical Release:Sep 25, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER, a documentary based on the book by British journalist Christopher Hitchens, argues that Kissinger, the former U.S. Secretary of State and the recipient of the Nobel... [More]
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Reviews for The Trials of Henry Kissinger
Not everyone will welcome or accept The Trials of Henry Kissinger as faithful portraiture, but few can argue that the debate it joins is a necessary and timely one.
10/11/02
Even if you don't think [Kissinger's] any more guilty of criminal activity than most contemporary statesmen, he'd sure make a courtroom trial great fun to watch.
10/25/02
A fascinating, bombshell documentary that should shame Americans, regardless of whether or not ultimate blame finally lies with Kissinger. Should be required viewing for civics classes and would-be public servants alike.
10/28/02
Takes a fresh and absorbing look at a figure whose legacy had begun to bronze.
10/31/02
Top CriticScores by marshaling facts that speak for themselves. And they don't speak kindly.
11/29/02
Top CriticDirectly charging him with mass murder, the film colors Kissinger as a secretive, paranoid, duplicitous megalomaniac who rose to political superstardom while literally--the movie claims--getting away with decisions that left hundreds of thousands dead.
09/13/07
Jarecki and Gibney do find enough material to bring Kissinger's record into question and explain how the diplomat's tweaked version of statecraft may have cost thousands and possibly millions of lives.
05/07/03
The film is a blunt indictment, part of a perhaps surreal campaign to bring Kissinger to trial for crimes against humanity.
01/10/03
The Trials of Henry Kissinger is a remarkable piece of filmmaking … because you get it.
01/07/03
It's both a necessary political work and a fascinating documentary...
03/10/03
It makes compelling, provocative and prescient viewing.
10/10/02
Top CriticA fast-moving, fluidly told tale, Eugene Jarecki's documentary certainly will likely inflame Kissinger's ardent cronies. And yet, as one-sided as its story is, the movie also manages a measured disposition.
10/11/02
May not be a breakthrough in filmmaking, but it is unwavering and arresting.
09/26/02
Top CriticNo review available.
06/18/05
Like the best 60 Minutes exposé, the film (at 80 minutes) is actually quite entertaining.
10/05/02
A muckraking job, the cinematic equivalent of a legal indictment, and a fairly effective one at that.
12/01/02
Though an important political documentary, this does not really make the case the Kissinger should be tried as a war criminal.
09/17/02
We still live under the Kissinger doctrine that, as one British observer puts it, 'international law applies to everyone except Americans.'
09/24/02
Top CriticEfficient doc.
10/02/02
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