5/5 excellent
  by tommy williams (cave creek, az United States)
I first saw this film in France when I was nine years old. It had a profound effect on me. Way to young to understand. Seeing it again as a adult many years later I understand so much more. Excellent. A must see for every adult. Classic.

5/5 More Relevent Than Ever
  by Martin C. Lipsius (Maitland, Florida United States)
This movie was acclaimed when it was released in 1961 but it's theme is as relevent now as then. In the movie, several German judges were put on trial for preverting the law for the advancement of the goals of the Nazi regime. What made these men both more tragic and more evil than many of the other Nazis is the fact that they should have known better. They were highly intelligent men who used their legal training and position to establish a veneer of legality for monstrous acts.

And in light of the last eight years, this theme reverberates today. As investigations unfold into the Gitmo and Abu Ghraib torture scandals and the lawyers in the Bush administration who used their legal training to justify water boarding and the abrogation of the "quaint" notions of the Geneva Convention---men such as Alberto Gonzales, Jay Bybee, John Yoo, David Addington, et al may well face a similar reckoning. The greatest tragedy is that they ignored the lessons of history---as Judgment of Nuremburg so powerfully illustrates.

4/5 Judgement At Nuremberg
  by Mel Pervis (U.S.A.)
It was espec espially good. As all classic movies are. It was a bit long though ( over 3 hours ) which was quite suprising. The story made the length bearable though.

5/5 A Real Must-See Movie
  by Barbara J. Frederick (St. Louis, MO)
You really must see this, both for its historical content and its entertainment value. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that depressing. For one thing, this was the trial of four Nazi judges. The big guys had already been tried. But as Judge Haywood (Spencer Tracy) pointed out, they were effectively giving the color of law to atrocities. At the very end, one of the defendants, Ernst Yanning (Burt Lancaster) said to Haywood that he did not know it would come to that, all those millions murdered. Judge Haywood replied, "It came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death you knew to be innocent."

So the story is really about justice, and the cast is amazing. Tracy and Lancaster are the start: William Shatner plays the young Army officer assigned to assist Heywood. Marlene Dietrich plays Mrs. Bertholdt, the owner of the house that was commandeered for Haywood's residence during the trial (which lasted almost a year). Richard Widmark is the prosecuting attorney; Maximilion Schell is the defense attorney. Judy Garland is Irene Hoffman, a girl who was sentenced to prison for perjury because she refused to lie.

The one seriously depressing part of the movie is when the prosecution plays the films made at the opening of the concentration camps. Piles of emaciated corpses, ovens with human skeletons, artwork on pieces of parchment made from human skin. The film started with a map of Germany and German-occupied states showing the locations of all the concentration camps: there were so many!

The most dramatic moment is when Ernst Yanning, against the advice of his attorney, makes a statement about his guilt and the guilt of all those who supported the Nazis. Only problem with his role was that when we saw him in his prison garb, I couldn't help seeing the Birdman of Alcatraz.

It's an important film, very well made, and over three hours long. Worth the time it takes, but be prepared for the fact that courtroom drama necessarily involves a certain amount of tedium, that being the nature of legal procedure.

5/5 As Good As Court Drama Gets
  by D. Mikels (Skunk Holler)
Nothing like a tense, action-packed, high stakes courtroom drama to get the juices flowing. Add to that the titanic issues of four former Nazi judges on trial for enforcing government laws and directives (based on the actual Nuremberg Trials), and JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG becomes one of the most riveting, compelling dramas in cinematic history. This 1961 classic literally races by at three heart-pounding hours, and the viewer will definitely walk away thinking long and hard about the myriad of questions this film raises. Were these jurists culpable for merely carrying out their government's laws, thereby making them responsible for the atrocities committed in the concentration camps? Should a judge refuse to carry out a law he finds reprehensible--even if it places his own life and safety at risk?

That's right. Chew on that for awhile.

JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG is further enhanced by a stellar, all-star cast, headlined by Spencer Tracy as the presiding judge of the military tribunal. Tracy was one of the greatest actors ever, and he brings a commanding presence to this role. Other legends include Burt Lancaster and a young Richard Widmark--but by far the best performance is turned in by Maximillian Schell as the defendants' dynamic, fiery barrister. And Montgomery Clift and Judy Garland are unforgettable in their relatively brief roles as witnesses (and Nazi victims). The cast keeps this gripping drama rolling towards a powerful climax, making JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG one of the very best courtroom movies ever made.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning