The Cohen Film Collection announced recently that two major films by acclaimed director Costa-Gavras – Capital, the Oscar winner’s most recent feature, and Amen, his César-winning historical drama from 2002 – have been digitally remastered and will be released in deluxe Blu-ray and DVD editions on June 10, 2014. The Blu-rays will have SRPs of $34.98 each and the DVDs will have SRPs of $24.98 each.
Wamg invites you to enter to win one of 3 Prize Packs containing the two films on Blu-ray.
Enter Your Name And E-mail In Our Comments Section Below. We Will Contact You If You Are A Winner.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary. Prizes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Contest Ends – Tuesday, June 24th, 11:59p est.
Since his debut in 1965, the Greek-born,...
Wamg invites you to enter to win one of 3 Prize Packs containing the two films on Blu-ray.
Enter Your Name And E-mail In Our Comments Section Below. We Will Contact You If You Are A Winner.
Official Rules:
1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winners Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries. No Purchase Necessary. Prizes Will Not Be Substituted Or Exchanged.
Contest Ends – Tuesday, June 24th, 11:59p est.
Since his debut in 1965, the Greek-born,...
- 6/10/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In "Amen.", filmmaker Costa-Gavras plunges again into the arena of political morality to create an angry drama about silence and conspiracy. This one ranks with his best political works -- "Z," "State of Siege", "Missing". The film, a story about the Catholic Church turning a blind eye to Nazi atrocities during World War II, represents a return to form by the European director after years of struggle to make his kind of provocative films in the United States.
Here he works in English with a mostly European cast in a large-scale production, which should help "Amen". gain distribution, especially in North America. But this is also a dialogue-heavy historical drama, which means critical acclaim and awards here at the Berlin festival might be needed to break the film out of the art house ghetto.
The focus of his drama is real-life figure Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur). By any measure, this is a complicated man. A deeply religious Protestant, Gerstein nevertheless became a top hygiene expert for the SS. In this capacity, he delivered Zyclon B gas to the death camps in the east. Yet it is a matter of historical record that Gerstein spent years trying to bring information about the slaughter of Jews to the attention of the Vatican and other religious figures.
Based on the 1960s play "The Representative" by Rolf Hochhuth, the screenplay by Costa-Gavras and Jean-Claude Grumberg takes the view that Gerstein allows himself to become a participant in the machinery of the death camps to bear witness to their horror. "I'll be spy for God", he declares when others counsel him to resign. At another moment, Gerstein says that rather than leave his country, he chooses to be "a German in Germany" who will someday recount his wartime experiences.
Gerstein fails in all his clandestine endeavors. He is neither able to sabotage the transportation of Zyclon gas nor can he persuade the Vatican to speak out. After being taken prisoner by the Allies, his famous Gerstein Report helps document the Holocaust -- but not before he commits suicide.
Other prominent figures populate the drama, including two fictional ones. A Jesuit priest, Ricardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), believes Gerstein's stories. Through his contacts at the Vatican, which reach all the way to Pope Pius XII, he brings Gerstein's plea to denounce the genocide only to meet with diplomatic mumbo jumbo and empty religious rhetoric. Another character, a camp doctor (Ulrich Muhe), is a Faust-like character who never wavers in his bargain with the devil. He prides himself in a silenced conscience, which allows him to help the German nation and race prosper.
Then there is the heart of the matter, the pope (Marcel Iures) himself. A figurehead and diplomat more than a spiritual leader, the pope represents a legacy of historical anti-Semitism and political maneuverings that bear little relationship to theology. He personifies religion stripped of ethics.
The actors perform these roles with tremendous subtlety and conviction. Yet none of the key characters emerges as a well-rounded individual. They stand for ideas, so Costa-Gavras and Grumberg refuse to hobble them with doubts or complexity. This leaves the story at times flat by draining away the kind of moral ambivalence that makes for great drama.
The film's subject is history, not emotions. Gerstein is explored as a man only insofar as he acts in history, not as a husband or father or friend. Throughout his career, Costa-Gavras has made character subservient to historical action. Here he displays masterly control over the design, photography and historical realism of his film. But what it lacks, as do most of his films, is the simple beating of a human heart.
AMEN.
Claude Berri presents
a Katharina/Renn Prods. co-production with TF1 Films
in association with KC Medien and Canal Plus
Producer: Claude Berri
Director: Costa-Gavras
Screenwriters: Costa-Gavras, Jean-Claude Grumberg
Based on the play "The Representative" by: Rolf Hochhuth
Executive producer: Michele Ray
Director of photography: Patrick Blossier
Production designer: Ari Hantke
Music: Armand Amar
Costume designer: Edith Vesperini
Editor: Yannick Kergoat
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kurt Gerstein: Ulrich Tukur
Ricardo Fontana: Mathieu Kassovitz
Doctor: Ulrich Muhe
Cardinal: Michel Duchaussoy
Count Fontana: Ion Caramitru
Pope: Marcel Iures
Gerstein's father: Fredrich von Thun
Running time -- 130 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Here he works in English with a mostly European cast in a large-scale production, which should help "Amen". gain distribution, especially in North America. But this is also a dialogue-heavy historical drama, which means critical acclaim and awards here at the Berlin festival might be needed to break the film out of the art house ghetto.
The focus of his drama is real-life figure Kurt Gerstein (Ulrich Tukur). By any measure, this is a complicated man. A deeply religious Protestant, Gerstein nevertheless became a top hygiene expert for the SS. In this capacity, he delivered Zyclon B gas to the death camps in the east. Yet it is a matter of historical record that Gerstein spent years trying to bring information about the slaughter of Jews to the attention of the Vatican and other religious figures.
Based on the 1960s play "The Representative" by Rolf Hochhuth, the screenplay by Costa-Gavras and Jean-Claude Grumberg takes the view that Gerstein allows himself to become a participant in the machinery of the death camps to bear witness to their horror. "I'll be spy for God", he declares when others counsel him to resign. At another moment, Gerstein says that rather than leave his country, he chooses to be "a German in Germany" who will someday recount his wartime experiences.
Gerstein fails in all his clandestine endeavors. He is neither able to sabotage the transportation of Zyclon gas nor can he persuade the Vatican to speak out. After being taken prisoner by the Allies, his famous Gerstein Report helps document the Holocaust -- but not before he commits suicide.
Other prominent figures populate the drama, including two fictional ones. A Jesuit priest, Ricardo Fontana (Mathieu Kassovitz), believes Gerstein's stories. Through his contacts at the Vatican, which reach all the way to Pope Pius XII, he brings Gerstein's plea to denounce the genocide only to meet with diplomatic mumbo jumbo and empty religious rhetoric. Another character, a camp doctor (Ulrich Muhe), is a Faust-like character who never wavers in his bargain with the devil. He prides himself in a silenced conscience, which allows him to help the German nation and race prosper.
Then there is the heart of the matter, the pope (Marcel Iures) himself. A figurehead and diplomat more than a spiritual leader, the pope represents a legacy of historical anti-Semitism and political maneuverings that bear little relationship to theology. He personifies religion stripped of ethics.
The actors perform these roles with tremendous subtlety and conviction. Yet none of the key characters emerges as a well-rounded individual. They stand for ideas, so Costa-Gavras and Grumberg refuse to hobble them with doubts or complexity. This leaves the story at times flat by draining away the kind of moral ambivalence that makes for great drama.
The film's subject is history, not emotions. Gerstein is explored as a man only insofar as he acts in history, not as a husband or father or friend. Throughout his career, Costa-Gavras has made character subservient to historical action. Here he displays masterly control over the design, photography and historical realism of his film. But what it lacks, as do most of his films, is the simple beating of a human heart.
AMEN.
Claude Berri presents
a Katharina/Renn Prods. co-production with TF1 Films
in association with KC Medien and Canal Plus
Producer: Claude Berri
Director: Costa-Gavras
Screenwriters: Costa-Gavras, Jean-Claude Grumberg
Based on the play "The Representative" by: Rolf Hochhuth
Executive producer: Michele Ray
Director of photography: Patrick Blossier
Production designer: Ari Hantke
Music: Armand Amar
Costume designer: Edith Vesperini
Editor: Yannick Kergoat
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kurt Gerstein: Ulrich Tukur
Ricardo Fontana: Mathieu Kassovitz
Doctor: Ulrich Muhe
Cardinal: Michel Duchaussoy
Count Fontana: Ion Caramitru
Pope: Marcel Iures
Gerstein's father: Fredrich von Thun
Running time -- 130 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/15/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.