Editor Reviews:

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Nominated* for eleven Academy AwardsÂ(r), including Best Picture, Judgment at Nuremberg is "magnificent" (Los Angeles Times), "continuously exciting" (The New Yorker) andboasts brilliant performances by an all-star cast. American judge Dan Haywood (Spencer Tracy) presides over the trial of four German jurists accused of "legalizing" Nazi atrocities. But as graphic accounts of sterilization and murder unfold in the courtroom, mounting political pressure for leniency forces Haywood to make the most harrowing and difficult decision of his career. *1961: Actor (Maximilian Schell, won); Actor (Spencer Tracy); Supporting Actor (Montgomery Clift); Supporting Actress (Judy Garland); Director; Adapted Screenplay (won); Cinematography (B&W); Art Direction (B&W); Film Editing; Costume Design (B&W).

Amazon.com essential video:
Director Stanley Kramer's socially conscious 1961 film tackles the subject of the war crime trials arising out of World War II in an earnest and straightforward fashion, exploring the consciousness of two nations as they struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of the Holocaust. Spencer Tracy plays the American judge selected to head the tribunal that will try the suspected war criminals. As he sets about his task, he must confront the raw emotion felt by the German people, and his own notions of good and evil, right and wrong. Regarded as a classic, this stark rendering of one of the most pivotal events in the 20th century features a stellar cast including Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Marlene Dietrich, a young William Shatner, and Maximillian Schell, who won an Oscar for his role as counsel for the defense for those charged with crimes against humanity. Judgment at Nuremberg is important viewing not only for the history of film, but for the history of modern times. --Robert Lane

Rating : - Is it any wonder that with a triumphant director, an all-star cast & an out-of-sight screenplay...
...Judgment at Nuremberg is the greatest narrative war-era film in all of American cinematic history.

"Judgment at Nuremberg" is an epic film that completely engulfs the viewer because of the nature and the severity of the subject matter. It is absolutely impossible to say who gave a better performance because the entire cast was perfect. Never has there been another motion picture with so many first-rate stars who all gave the performances of their collective careers.

The film is directed by Stanley Kramer, based on the screen play by Abby Mann. And the main cast includes:
Spencer Tracy / Judge Dan Haywood
Burt Lancaster / Dr. Ernst Janning (defendant/judge)
Richard Widmark / Col. Lawson (prosecuting attorney)
Marlene Dietrich / Mrs. Bertholt
Maximilian Schell / Hans Rolfe (defense attorney)
Judy Garland / Mrs. Irene Hoffman Wallner
Montgomery Clift / Rudolph Petersen (prosecution witness)
William Shatner / Capt. Harrison Byers (Judge Haywood's aide)

The performance of Spencer Tracy does stand out though. After all it's really his film. He was the type of man who didn't need to say very much for anyone to get what he was communicating. His facial and body expressions were just as detailed and expressive as the words that he said. My favorite line was towards the very ends when Judge Haywood told the defense attorney that: just because it's logical doesn't mean that it's right. As far as I'm concerned those are words to live by. And he said them perfectly, it wasn't like some big speech. It was just said very nonchalantly which made it that much more important.

Marlene Dietrich as Mrs. Bertholt was another member of the cast who didn't need to say much because her entire aura said it all. She was probably the premiere entertainer of the golden era and although she has a rather small role in this film it is still one of her very best. Mr. Burt Lancaster was another extraordinary, larger-than-life actor, playing the role of Ernest Janning (one of the defendants). Dr. Jamming said very little until he could take no more and when he finally spoke it was as if the floodgates swung open with all rapidity. Mr. Burt Lancaster is probably the only thespian who is talented enough to give this character such a heart and body and mind and make him appear almost victimized.

The film is over 3 hours long (190 minutes to be exact). Generally when I watch a movie that's more than 2 hours I tend to get restless and start thinking that the editor didn't do his job very well. "Judgment at Nuremberg" though is the perfect length because it tells the entire story, from beginning, to end. Perhaps it's no coincidence that there was a television series that was based on the original screenplay which predates the film.

The performance of Miss Judy Garland is totally her most decisive dramatic role ever. She enters the picture 90 minutes into the film and is only in 3 scenes however she still captures just as much attention as the other stars. Besides her beautiful eyes that she could never hide under any circumstance, you'll almost be unable to recognize her because she looked and sounded so un-Judy Garland. There wasn't a touch of glamour in Irene Hoffman Wallner. Instead she was this scared and almost timid lady who had been beaten down by the ravages of the extreme brutality that was all around her. The second time she took the witness stand was perhaps my favorite part of the entire movie because all of a sudden Mrs. Hoffman Wallner became so transfixed and animated because of that vicious lie that the defense attorney tried to shove down everyone's throats.

"Judgment at Nuremberg" is a larger-than-life, behemoth story that needs to be told because it articulates the effects of what happens when evil is afforded totalitarian. They say sloth is one of the seven deadly sins and after viewing this film I can certainly understand why. It's also an important movie because there is no winner and it doesn't end with a happy ending, (at least as far as I'm concerned I didn't see anything happy in this picture). Instead, it's one of those rare movies which conveys that there's a thin line between man's benevolence and man's utter bankrupt corruption.