Voyage of the Damned
by Stuart Rosenberg
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DVD details
Actor: Faye Dunaway, Lee Grant, Lynne Frederick, Oskar Werner, Sam WanamakerDirector: Stuart Rosenberg
DVD: 2 Layers, Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: Pan & Scan, 1.33:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-12-28
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
DVD Reviews of Voyage of the Damned
DVD Review: Riveting fact-based dramatization of the plight of Jewish refugees aboard the St Louis
Summary: 5 Stars
This fact-based drama of the harrowing voyage of the St Louis in 1939 makes for riveting viewing. In 1939, the Nazis came up with a devious plan - they would allow a number of German Jewish refugees to leave Germany and go to Cuba, but this was no magnanimous gesture. The Nazis knew that the tourist visas issued to the passengers were not really valid and that they would be turned away, and the Nazis counted on the rest of the Western countries to turn away the Jews, thus justifying their own anti-Semitic policies.
All in all, 936 Jewish [primarily German] refugees boarded the St Louis, a luxury liner headed to Havana, Cuba. These Jewish refugees came from all walks of life - a countess [played by the glamorous Faye Dunaway], and her brilliant surgeon husband [Oscar Werner],a depressed attorney [Sam Wanamaker], his wife [Lee Grant] and beautiful young daughter [Lynne Frederick] who falls for a member of the crew, Gunther [Malcolm MacDowell], two concentration camp refugees and many more.
The ship's captain, Capt Gustav Schroeder [Max Von Sydow] is anti-Hitler and has his hands full trying to maintain calm aboard his ship, especially with a fervent Nazi spy [disguised as a crew member] trying to aggravate the passengers with his pro-Hitler gestures. Things are made worse when the corrupt Cuban government refuses to grant the refugees haven. The Jewish passengers panic as they fear being sent back to Germany whilst the Captain tries his best to maintain calm.
This dramatization tries its best to convey the horror of those times. In reality, a few hundred out of the 936 German Jewish refugees found haven in different Western countries [I was shocked at the American government's response to their plight, disgustingly driven by politics]. Those who found haven in European countries such as Belgium, France etc escaped the Nazis for a short while before these countries were invaded by the Germans. The estimates of those who survived the Holocaust vary, and one account I read stated that about 227 of the original number of passengers died in the Holocaust [some accounts give a higher death toll].
The production values for the time [1976] is quite good, and the acting is above average, making for a credible portrayal of this "voyage of the damned". Recommended to those who like WW II/Holocaust-themed dramas.
DVD Review: EXCELLENT ADAPTATION OF REAL LIFE HORRORS
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this when it first came out and had never before heard of the SS St Louis...and I naively supposed that while other countries, such as Cuba, would turn away these helpless people, the USA would welcome them a la Statue of Liberty...("Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!")
apparently I was wrong, and my shock was first in discovering that this was indeed a true historical event and also that WE turned these poeple AWAY! THAT horrified me more than anything else and to this day I still do not understand WHY. This is the USA! What was up with FDR?
Excellent cast, great acting, right from the heart, and one is aware that the actors were caught up in this particular movie more than any others by virtue of the fact that is is a true story...
To this day, I am still appalled and mystified as to what went on in FDR's mind that he would consider it politically expedient to send these innocent people to their deaths...he has a lot to answer for in the next life!
DVD Review: perfectly-pitched human drama
Summary: 4 Stars
VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED, Sir Lew Grade's star-studded dramatisation of the infamous SS St. Louis affair, is absorbing and harrowing viewing. The cast is truly amazing and most of the characters come directly from real-life people caught up in the drama. During World War II, 937 Jewish citizens were curiously allowed to leave Germany and emigrate to Cuba. While many believed the offer to be a trap, most took their chances and decided to flee from the impending Holocaust. Sure enough, once the ship docks in Havana, the passengers are refused entry and their visas' are cancelled. With country after county refusing to take them, the Captain has no other option than to return to Germany...
The escalating horror and dread onboard the ship is perfectly-pitched amongst the strong cast, with standouts including Faye Dunaway and Oskar Werner as Dr. and Denise Kreisler; Max von Sydow as the Captain; Lee Grant as Lillian Rosen (with Lynne Frederick as her daughter); Dame Wendy Hiller as Recha Weiler; Julie Harris as Alice Feinchild and Helmut Griem as the menacing Otto.
The cast also features Malcolm McDowall as the sympathetic young Captain's steward; Katharine Ross as the frantic daughter in Havana trying to save her onboard parents; Paul Koslo as Aaron Pozner and Ben Gazzara as Morris Troper, who becomes one of the refugees' most ardent champions and saviours.
The rest of the cast includes Janet Suzman, Victor Spinetti, James Mason, Luther Adler, Nehemiah Persoff, Denholm Elliott and Georgina Hale. Originally shown on TV in two parts (179 mins); and the cinema version runs for 155 mins with several altered scenes and cuts.
DVD Review: Voyage of the Damned - film
Summary: 4 Stars
I just bought a copy of this film to donate to the local Holocaust library. The movie glosses over much of the atrocity of the event that is detailed in the book of the same name, especially the "great silence" by the United States. (I urge anyone interested in that aspect to read "The Abandonment of the Jews".) But the fact remains that many people will watch a movie, while they will not read the actual book. It is an historical event which every educated person should be aware of.DVD Review: True Horror in False Hope
Summary: 5 Stars
Aside from the fact that these events (or perhaps events just like them but more horrible ) took place, this film could not be more compelling.It is filled with first rate performances (some only in cameo, but all of them fully drawn and realized). This is perhaps among the best ensemble film work done by Lee Grant, Faye Dunnaway, Julie Harris, and a host of others. Tension builds with unrelenting force as the story shifts back and forth between The "damned" St. Louis, and Havana where "conscience" in the persons of a father and a leader of the Jewish agency (Ben Gazarra in a meaty role) attempt, unsuccessfully, to plead, then shame, then bully Cuban politicians into honoring the visas issued to the jewish passengers.
We watch as this tension takes its toll on so many of the passengers. We watch as the largely Nazi crew commits their small tortures upon the passengers. We know, as do the passengers and the Captain (Masterfully played by Max Von Sydow) what awaits them should they be forced to return to Germany. The fact that the entire voyage is a perverted Nazi publicity stunt ("See, no one wants them!") is driven home when both the United States and Canada refuse permission to enter their waters....
No spoiler here - you will have to watch the film to see their endings. The performances will haunt you. The set pieces (The entire masked - ball sequence for example) will haunt you. The soundtrack is evocative of europe in days gone by, and the beautiful theme, restated by a variety of instuments and in increasing earnestness, ties the many stories of this large ensemble cast into one coherent experience for the audience.
This is, to many, a mere footnote to history, the plight of these people. But watch and see if you don't feel the largeness of their fear. The impotence of their hopelessness. This underappreciated film has much to teach us that cannot be found in history books.
My only regret is - no widescreen edition. This film begs for it.
Description of Voyage of the Damned
This was not your standard passenger list. Some were concentration camp victims. Others just wanted to join relatives in Cuba. Some were wealthy enough to afford the voyage. Most left everything behind in hope they could escape German terror. The passengers are unaware that the voyage is a sham, simply one of Goebbel's propaganda exercises. This ship will not be able to dock in Havana and, when the rest of the world turns the ship away, the Jews will have to return to Germany. Just as hope has all but vanished, the passengers receive word that some European countries may take them in. Come what may, the passengers resolve not to return to the camps. Faye Dunaway, Max Von Sydow, Oskar Werner, Malcolm McDowell, Orson Welles, James Mason, Katherine Ross, Ben Gazzara, Lee Grant and Julie Harris.Drama DVDs
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