Triumph of the Spirit | | Cast : | Willem Dafoe, Edward James Olmos | | Director : | Robert M. Young | | Studio : | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 01, 1989 | | DVD Released Date : | January 11, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | December 22, 2004 | | Summary | UPSET | Content
 | I am more disatified with nearly all the reviews then the movie itself. This boxer had basically become a specialized kapo. And if you don't know what a kapo is, it is a prisoner who turns against their own and gets more food and other things denied to the others. In slavery regarding the blacks, there were people who turned in their own relatives to have a better chance of not being a slave themselves. In Auschwitz and other death camps, some of the kapos started liking hurting and killing their own and some even were geniunelly pleased when Nazi overseer's praised them for their 'work'. I can understand this is probably
human nature at its worst and could hardly be helped, but how can this be a triumph of the spirit? It was a global tragady. If your going to make a movie about this boxer, why not make a movie
of other kapos who were worse. Will the movie be called 'Triumph of the spirit again'? This boxer was lucky other Jews didn't kill him after liberation because fellow prisoners with 'lower'
status killed some of the kapos after liberation for their betrayal to their own people. This was legally wrong, but once again, it was human nature for some, ie revenge or even a slight bit of personal justice. To roughly quote a Holocaust survivor, this is not meant to dishonor the prisoners who did bad things to fellow prisoners. It was a man-made society that failed miserably and utterly dishonored itself. I prefer seeing a movie referring to all the good things prisoners did
for others even sacrificing their lives for others in the camps, like the prisoner who didn't have to, but joined 200 children all alone in the gas chambers to comfort them while they were in horror and death. THAT type of example is truely 'Triumph of the Spirit' and if people can't see that, then this world is really in trouble.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 19, 2003 | | Summary | TO LIVE OR TO DIE? | Content
| What does it take to live when your chances are equal to a zero? What does it mean to survive at the expense of the others? WWII, Greece, Germans, Jews, camps, death... A young, strong boxer has a chance to fight. The SS would have fun betting on it. If he wins, he gets to live a little longer and a loaf of bread. Many people get a piece of this bread but most of all is his father and a brother. They are all he still have. He wins and lives. The looser dies. Every time he wins, he saves whatever left of the family. Every time he wins, he kills the looser. At the end, only he survives. The whole family is dead. All friends are dead. Was he right? Was not it easier to die? Yes, it was easier to die but he selects the difficult way of living being responsible for deaths of other fighters. He was able to prolong lives of the loved ones. He lived to tell the story and to fight another day. His spirit was not broken but triumphed. This is an outstanding film with an excellent cast and the deepest power I have seen for a while. All I can say is see it for yourself and enjoy the best. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 24, 2003 | | Summary | Horrifying account of the depravity of man | Content
| I have just finished viewing this movie and am speechless. First, to have the movie shot on location at Auschwitz with the remains of the camp in use and in view was numbing. To actually see the "mock" selections, assurances of a hot shower and the lie of the "health camp" for children put a touch of realism to some of the Holocaust survivor accounts that I have read. I did not live through the Holocaust but if this movie was one tenth of one percent of what it really was like, may God comfort and be merciful to the survivors and their families. I have never heard of the main character, played by Willem Dafoe, but he must have been a very brave man. I salute you, sir and as a Christian, I ask your forgiveness for what was done to the Jewish people in the name of Jesus Christ. I cautiously recommend this film for any serious student of the Holocaust, and urge that the message therein never be forgotten or repeated. Thank you. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 02, 2003 | | Summary | Better, more realistic than Schindler's List/Dafoe is Great | Content
| Triumph of the Spirit is probably the most realistic dramatic recreation of the horrors of Auschwitz I've seen. Director Robert Young is a pro at bringing controversial independent films to fruition, and Dafoe gives one of his best performances here. He portrays Salamo Arouch, a Greek Jewish Olympic boxer deported to Auschwitz. This true story was filmed on location at Auschwitz and Birkenau (Auschwitz II) and we are shown the death machine in full operation. Again there is an intensity and realism to this film that makes Schindler's List pale in comparison.
Edward James Olmos portrays a gypsy singer who becomes a key ally of Salamo; Gypsy entertains the SS and Salamo boxes for them while they hope for the Russians to come. One relatively minor flaw of the film is that the actors who portray SS and camp guards seem benign, almost nice at times, and I really doubt the actual female guards were as good looking as a few of the Frauleins here.
But a good touch of realism is the languages. The Germans speak German, the Poles speak Polish, and the Russians speak Russian all without subtitles (compare this to Schindler's List). And the make up job was great; the victims really looked like they were on death's door.
If you want to know about the Holocaust this drama is near the top of the list with the best documentaries. And Polanski's "The Piano" should be good too. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 19, 2001 | | Summary | The best Holocaust Movie | Content
| I agree with Leonard Ross, this movie is much better than Schindler's List. It is much more accurate and gritty and realistic in its portrayal of life in the camps. It is also a movie about family bonds, love and relationships and shows how these bonds were ravaged by what took place during WW II. Short of showing actual film footage in my classroom, this movie speaks volumes about the plight of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. |
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