Memorable, crazy movie

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This one is hard to write something about, but I'm convinced that I should give a try at least. I'll begin with saying that anyone (from an appropriate age, let's say... sixteen?) should have at least seen this film once in his or her life. After that, imagine ten symbolic lines of silence. One... Two... Three...I read somewhere that the music used the film felt highly inappropriate, but I must disagree. It is no way disrespectful, and even morely so like an apt requiem, and as modest as it should sound. The music, just like the narration, the story and the cinematography, are means to an end: to show the world what had happened, and in a manner that will keep the audience watching. One could have just told the story, one could have just played the music, one could have just shown some photos, but Alain Resnais' construction of the world's most evil horror tales is, for the lack of a better word... perfect. Film-journalism at its best.10 out of 10.

The problem with most Holocaust films is that they portray the story as a one time only event. They make it so overly sentimental that the viewer is able to distance himself of what he's seeing and takes comfort on the idea that something like that will never happen again.But not Night and Fog.Alain Resnais presents the line between past and present as it really is: thinner than we think. To do that, it relies only on real footage of the concentration camps during the Holocaust and of the same concentration camps 10 years after the end of the WW II. The voice over tells us what we are seeing, making us look at all the details, never letting us off the hook. We're not supposed to feel comfortable, not even by looking at abandoned concentration camps. The fingernail scratches on the walls of the gas chambers are there. It happened and we better remember it! The fact that it has only 30 minutes doesn't make it less powerful. On the contrary, it condenses its message into an overwhelming half an hour.My only complain is for the soundtrack. Its complexity may get a bit distracting and almost inappropriate. Maybe some absolute silence moments could help make the message even stronger, if that's even possible.Overall, Night and Fog is a masterpiece. The fact that my mind and my body can't disconnect of what I just seen is the first sign I just witnessed something extraordinary.

Monsieur Alain Resnais' holocaust documentary "Night and Fog" is about different concentration camps in Europe where more than 9 million people lost their lives. What is most shocking is the attitude of those who were directly responsible for these deaths. There is not a single person who accepts the guilt. Everybody says that I am not responsible as the orders to kill came from the top. This film is able to make strong impact on viewers due to Jean Cayrol's powerful voice. As a concentration camp survivor, he wrote the text of this film. "Nuit et Brouillard" takes into account three different time periods. It all started in 1933 when a call was made regarding "Il Faut Une Nation Sans Fausses Notes" (One needs a nation without false notes).This was the period when concentration camps were getting constructed with each camp having a surprise element. For example : a symphony orchestra and a zoo. In 1942, military commander Heinrich Himmler gives the slogan "Il Faut Anéantir Mais Progressivement" (One must destroy but progressively).As per his instructions, models and plans of concentration camps are studied, deportation of Jewish people from all parts of Europe takes place and cyanide based pesticide Zyklon is used as killing by hand takes time. By 1945 Nazi brutality is at its peak as by this time concentration camps are huge cities with roughly 100,000 inhabitants. A lot of German companies namely Steyer, Krupp, Heinckel and Siemens benefit enormously from cheap labor provided by concentration camps. There is immense horror after the war when allied forces open the doors of concentration camps. It is at that moment deportees watch with horror without understanding anything. By directing "Night and Fog", Monsieur Alain Resnais has attempted to find an answer to human cruelty. The only question which all human beings can ask is this : "How can a human being inflict so much cruelty and suffering on another human being" ? His film features excellent cinematography and music by Ghislain Cloquet, Sacha Vierney and Hanns Eisler. Lastly anybody watching this film must bear in mind "Même Un Paysage Tranquille Peut Tout Simplement Conduire A Un Camp De Concentration" (Even a quiet landscape can simply lead to a concentration camp) !!!!!

Night and Fog is a horror documentary. The horror is the truth. This is an extraordinary account of the concentration camps during World War II, and even nearly 60 years on, it told me about them more in its mere 30 minutes than hours of school history lessons. It utilizes a very verite style as it blends gruesome archive footage with their own footage of their cameras gliding deep within the heart of the camps. It's very aware of the actual filmmaking process as it uses "we" a lot in the narration, giving the exploration a feeling of involvement with the viewer, even though the footage itself is embracing enough.It presents the events chronologically, delivering only the essential detail required for information and emotional impact, studying the camps as if an involuntarily culture within a manufactured city. It's impersonal, but remains hugely dramatic, partially due to the electrifying score. It's especially impressive for how it matches the devastating statistics with actual photographs and footage then relates it back to the present day, asking the question why did this have to happen as no one man will take responsibility and how do we stop history repeating itself, a common theme in Resnais' work. It's absolutely one of the most powerful and deeply affecting films ever made.9/10