Uprising (2001 TV Movie) User Reviews

Overwhelming as well as devastating portrayal of survival against Nazi atrocities and all irrational obstacles

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 28 July 2013]

In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, Reinhard Heydrich chief of Gestapo began to place all Polish Jews in ghettos, where they could slowly die of hunger and disease. The campaign was to be administered by the Waffen-SS the party's military formations that fought as integral units in the armed forces. The Warsaw ghetto was the largest of these segregated areas established by the Nazis in Poland. In 1940 Heydrich, using the excuse that the spread of typhus had to be contained, set up a special section 11 miles in circumference enclosed by a brick wall 10 feet high . The cost was paid by the Judenrat (whose leader named Adam Czerniakow is perfectly played by Donald Sutherland) , the Jewish Council of twenty-four-members, which was in charge of Jewish affairs inside the ghetto . The daily struggle against hunger and disease is aggravated by the German demands for "deportations to the east" that many begin to suspect are camouflaged mass murders . Later on , there takes place the upheaval by a handful of fighters .

This is an emotionally tale and very decent drama about a group of Jews from uprising until terrible ending in the Warsaw ghetto . Jon Avnet correctly directs a spellbinding portrait about the holocaust with intense drama , action and spectacular as well as sad scenes . A splendid all-star-cast gives magnificent acting in real-life characters such as Leelee Sobieski as Tosia Altman , David Schwimmer as Yitzhak Zuckerman , Stephen Moyer as Kazik Rotem, Sadie Frost as Zivia Lubetkin , Radha Mitchell as Mira Fruchner , Mili Avital as Deworah Baron and special mention to Hanz Azaria who is excellent in a complicate and suffering role . An of course , we can not forget the great John Voight as Major-General Jurgen Stroop who carried out the brutal repression . Emotive as well as sensitive musical score by the classical Maurice Jarre . Impressive and adequate production by the Spanish Benjamin Fernandez who previously had designed ¨The others¨ and ¨Daylight¨ . Evocative and atmospheric cinematography by cameraman Denis Lenoir .

Adding more details over largely described on the movie regarding 'the Warsaw ghetto uprising', the events happened on the following manner : From 300 to 400 died daily in the Warsaw trap. More than 43.000 starved to death during the first year. Children crazed by hunger crawled through the sewers to the non-Jewish sectors of the city to smuggle in a bit of food. People were no longer moved by the sight of men and women falling dead on the streets. The Nazi authorities began intensified measure on July 22, 1942. As a memorial to Heydrich, Heirich Himmler ordered all Jews except those already in concentration camps to be deported .The ghetto and all labor camps would then be destroyed. Mass deportations to the gas chambers of Treblinka began. In two months 300.000 Jews were eliminated. The Judenrat was ordered to deliver 6.000 Jews daily for deportation. Each day thousands were driven by guards through the gates.Young Zionists, pioneers training to go to Palestine, mobilized first to be followed by members of the Polish workers party . On July 28, 1942, the Jewish Combat organization consisting about 1.000 men and boys was formed. All resolved to kill as many of their tormentors as they could before they died.The Jews fighting from rooftops, cellars, and attics,Poles outside the ghetto now began to send in more revolvers, grenades, and dynamite. In 1943 the guerrillas divided into twenty-two groups built an intricate network underground cellars and tunnels ,linked with command posts . In April 19,1943 German troops moved in on the ghetto to send all who were left to Treblinka in a final action. First came the armed trucks, tanks, and armored cars. The ghetto fighters poured a hail of bullets, grenades and bombs, the fighting went on for twenty-eight days. The guerrillas fought to the last . Many committed suicide at the moment before capture. The Germans dragged survivors from the cellars and rubble. Fewer than 100 escaped, the last 60000 Jews had been exterminated or killed in the explosions and fires.Polish sources reported that the fighters had killed 300 Germans and wounded 1000. From Warsaw Jewish resistance moved to swamps and forests .

A reasonably good made-for-TV movie

[glimmrmoon · 8/10 · 8 August 2005]

I always have very low expectations of made for TV movies as they tend to be poor in comparison to feature films. But this one actually impressed me. The focus of the film was not the entire holocaust, but it focused on the Warsaw ghetto uprising of the Jews (the previous reviewer might have saved themselves some trouble had they simply read that beforehand) so the writing and characters were focused and good and it was all based on true people and events. The sets were well-constructed. I had forgotten I was watching a TV movie. A good cast. Good acting. Much of the cast was unknown, most of them not even Jewish. Donald Sutherland and Cary Elwes gave outstanding performances as did John Voight. Definitely worth viewing. Many good extras on the DVD as well.

Despite the many flaws, this is an enjoyable series

[philip_vanderveken · 7/10 · 22 June 2005]

WWII, and the Holocaust in particular, is a very interesting subject. There has probably never been more interest from the public towards everything that concerns this war, which started already more than 65 years ago. Every week new books, documentaries,... are published with new theories, with evaluations of some important (often Nazi) personalities, with information about the concentration camps,... Because most of the survivors have already died or will die soon, the stories of the last eye-witnesses will get lost if not registered on tape or camera. But all these stories are also a good base for movies and mini-series like this "Uprising".

"Uprising" tells the story of the Nazi oppression of the Jews in the Ghetto of Warshaw and their rebellion against it, which started in 1943. It all begins in 1939 with the growing list of prohibitions and regulations leading to the virtual imprisonment of about half-a-million Polish Jews in an old district of Warsaw. Their daily struggle against hunger and disease is made even worse when the Nazis demand for "deportations to the east". Many begin to suspect that the deportation of these groups of laborers are actually camouflaged mass murders and at the end of 1942 they start to realize that they are all doomed. They decide that, if they have to die, they better die in honor by taking up the arms against their oppressors. They start building hidden shelters and bunkers in the basements and cellars of the buildings, often with tunnels leading to other buildings and start collecting arms and ammunition for the battle which will begin on 19 April 1943...

Even though I must say that overall I liked the series, I can't say that it was always very convincing. There were a couple too many problems with it that really bothered me. One for instance is the way all the people are depicted. The heroic Jews don't have to expect any help from the arrogant and anti-semitic Polish Catholics who know exactly what is going on, but don't care. The Poles only want to help when offered enormous amounts of money and even then are very reluctant. In reality the Poles also suffered a lot under the German oppression and without their help there would probably never have been a Jewish Uprising. And no, I'm not a Pole myself, so I'm not saying this to justify my people's actions, it's just the way it was.

Another thing that I really didn't like was the use of the languages. The Germans speak English most of the time, except for when they are giving some short orders, than you'll hear them talk German. The producers and director have to make a choice, either they all speak German or English, but not a mix of the two. And about the language I also have another remark. Can someone please tell me why those purely American actors, who all know how to speak normal English, speak with that funny, but also incredibly annoying accent? Do they really believe I will not recognize Leelee Sobieski, David Schwimmer,... when they talk in a slightly different way? I'm not asking that they speak Polish, I'm sure they can't, but don't make a fool out of yourself by trying to convince people that you are talking another language, just by adding such an accent, it can never work...

Still, even though the series isn't always historically accurate, uses a range of annoying accents and is too stereotypical when it comes to the roles of the different people, not everything about it was that bad. The acting for instance is good. In my opinion this was the best role I've ever seen Leelee Sobieski play and all the other actors did a nice job too. I certainly liked Jon Voight as Major General Jurgen Stroop, but it is Cary Elwes, who played Fritz Hippler (the director of "Der Ewige Jude" or "The Eternal Jew"), who certainly deserves to be mentioned as well.

All in all this isn't a bad series. If you try to see it as a drama based on actual events, rather than to see it as a 'documentary reconstruction', than you certainly should be able to enjoy it. There are some nice action scenes, some good acting and other interesting features. You just will have to try to see past some major flaws... I give this series a score between 7/10 and 7.5/10.

Good movie, shameful stereotypes

[georgegolembiewski · 17 September 2002]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Uprising despite its obvious flaws. A good story is told how Warsaw Jews defy the Natzis, but it is all too simplistic and frought with inaccuracies. All the Jews are young and handsome while Poles are plain looking middle aged people with tattered clothing ,unwashed,and with bad teeth. They also are all indiifferent to the plight of the Jews , and will only help if given money or threatened by the courageous and noble Jews. Poles on thother hand are just voka swilling mercenaries. In truth the Warsaw Ghetto uprising could never got off the ground without the assisrance of the Polish underground. Nowhere in this movie are Poles given credit for their contributions to this effort. Like the Jews they too were victims of the Natzi atrocities, but you'd never know that from wathing this film. Uprising is a great story with some serious deficiencies. A more balnced portrayal of the plight of Polish Jews , and Polish Catholics would have really educated the public about this moment in history. Unfortunately this did not happen.

Never Again

[chrislutz · 6/10 · 6 November 2001]

Never again should Hollywood make another Holocaust movie. The genre is worn out. This mini-series is competently done, but it really doesn't add anything. Not listening closely to the commercials for the show, I had originally thought the story was about the Warsaw uprising in 1944 when the Polish home army rose up to fight the Germans with the approach of the Soviets. When I started watching and found out what it was about, the first thought in my mind was "not another one". Plus, the links to the websites at the end make the series seem more like an attempt at propaganda than a straight retelling of a story.

There was a similar mini-series in the early 80's about the same topic although the name escapes me. So NBC is incorrect when it says this has never be discussed before.

A masterpiece of sorrow and shame.

[dwbball50 · 10/10 · 6 November 2001]

A masterpiece of sorrow and shame. No this does not mean it lacked the qualities of a exceptional movie but rather it means that it made me feel sorrow for the Jews during World War II. This made for TV "movie" is beyond any another of its kind in the making today. Uprising has no limits in its ideas and messages. It does not hold back the truth but rather tells the story of a group of Jews in the ghetto, using a naturalistic style. The plot is intriguing from the beginning and never fails to keep you sliding up instead of down in your lazy-boy. Moreover, the message is what needs to really be looked at in this film.

So, what makes this film have such an impact? The actors and the characters they played are the answer. Leelee Sobieski is simply incredible and on the contrary to many of David Schwimmer's TV shows or movies, he plays the part of a serious, brave, and invincible Jew, who is looked at as a leader among his people. Many new faces are seen in this movie and they all do a fantastic job.

The entertainment value is beyond comparison with any other made for TV movie. This was not a cheap movie to make and the actions scenes are not little exploding apples on an indoor movie set. Buildings are blown to pieces, Jews and Germans are slaughtered throughout the movie and tortured. You will not walk away from this movie without learning more about World War II and the Holocaust. Uprising is implicit in its message and entertaining to the very last second. If you are a history buff, an action fan, or someone who just simply likes Leelee Sobieski or David Schwimmer, I highly recommend Uprising for you. When it comes out on DVD on December 18, 2001, I would for sure get it, and watch it over and over again.

I really do hate to say that any movie comes close to Saving Private Ryan, but Uprising does, and ironically, it is a made for TV movie which makes it even that much better. Take the time to rent this or buy the DVD when you can, it is well worth the purchase.

Watchable war drama

[willians_franco · 7/10 · 13 August 2020]

GOOD. I like films based on real events, especially involving the events of Nazi-occupied Europe. This is an interesting mini-series made for TV. It has good movement and seeks to portray as much as possible the facts that occurred. The pace is fast as if the author wanted to condense as many scenes as possible within its 3 hours. The cut of the scenes is typical of films for TV. Recommended for those who like films about war.

As accurate as film can make it.

[marvopolo · 10/10 · 7 January 2007]

I saw this film in Australia with a relative who survived the Ghetto uprising. He said that, in spite of some inconsistencies, it was as accurate as film could portray it. While it is true that there was more than one resistance faction, and sometimes they were at odds, the essence of the event is portrayed well. The Polish Resistance's attitude was mixed, but my relative, who was a courier in and out of the Ghetto said that many individual Poles risked their lives to hide him. The woman who escaped with the baby at the end of the film is also related to me. Her husband, who was killed in the first days of the uprising, was a major planner and organizer. Of course, it affected me greatly since my mother originally came from Warsaw and I lost many relatives.

Wake me when it's over.

[=G= · 6/10 · 14 May 2003]

"Uprising" tells an interminably long tale of a bunch of Jewish WWII freedom fighters in Poland's Warsaw Ghetto who managed to become a thorn in the side of the German occupation forces. By the numbers and looking every bit like the budget-conscious t.v. flick it is, "Uprising" is flat, stagey, manipulative, uninspired, and almost 3 hours long. Little more than a lot of semihistorical busyness, contrived suspenseful moments, stereotypical sneering Germans soldiers brutalizing the helpless Jew with the usual assortment of naked corpses scattered about, this flick is a failed attempt at tweaking history for the sake of entertainment. Nonetheless, the film may have some value for people young enough to have not yet had their fill of holocaust films with enough time on their hands to contend with the long run time. (C)

Riveting Historical Drama

[RodReels-2 · 10/10 · 5 November 2001]

On the night the Emmys awarded "Anne Frank" the best miniseries of 2000-2001, NBC began airing yet another WWII-era epic which has to be the odds-on favorite for the trophy next year. This is as fine a miniseries as I have ever seen. David Schwimmer, Leelee Sobieski and Hank Azaria are all highly believable in their roles as Jewish resistance fighters. Donald Sutherland and Jon Voight turn in fine performances in lesser roles. And director Jon Avnet delivers a compact, credible piece of little-known history regarding the Warsaw ghetto uprising. For a small screen effort, one has to be amazed at how closely the style resembles that of big screen efforts like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List". All in all, a well-done miniseries that deserves a second viewing. How often can one say that about any miniseries.

Rodney Dangerfield

[caspian1978 · 6/10 · 27 March 2005]

Hank Azaria is the new Rodney Dangerfield. Why? Because he gets no respect! For instance, Hank Azaria is the star of the movie. He does an excellent job with a polish accent. He must have spent months in the gym buffing up for the role and he is in most of the movie. Then again, he is not listed as the lead star of the movie. This honor goes to Leelee Sobieski, whom, is only in no more than half the movie and has very little lines. Then again, she did go nude for about 15 seconds. While you do not see Mr. Azaria's backside or front side, Ms. Sobieski covers some of what God gave her, while the rest is on display for the audience's liking. This is a good television movie. Powerful and entertaining. Still, this movie's fanbase is made up of teenage boys who want to see Leelee Sobieski's 15 seconds of nude fame. Pity, this is a decent movie and worth watching.

David Schwimmer

A magnificent and historically challenging tale

[[e-mail] · 8/10 · 27 February 2014]

"Uprising" is an epic that deserves the widest possible audience among those who care to watch more about the lives, destiny, fate and remarkable bravery of Jews under Hitler's monstrous III Reich. The film also helps to remedy misconceptions about Jewish history.

I rate it alongside Polanski"s "The Pianist", also set in the Warsaw Ghetto, Stephen Daldry's "The Reader" and "Amen" by Costa-Gavras, to name but three. But the latter films deal more with the plight of Jews as victims of the Nazis and moral issues evoked by the horror of the death camps, while this movie focuses on a less well-known but tremendously heroic aspect of the war in Eastern Europe, in which Jews refused to submit to the slaughter.

At a length of almost three hours and with a superb ensemble cast, "Uprising" recounts the story of the armed insurrection against German invaders by Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto that began in April 1943, from its inception months earlier to the ruthless crackdown - by means of weapons, gas and even water - that put an end to the main insurgency but not Jewish resistance.

Those hours never drag. We are shown a realistic treatment of daily life and death, conflict and mass destruction in the Ghetto. We follow the debates and acts of the Jewish Resistance Movement, particularly once it learns for sure that the hundreds of thousands of deportees from the Ghetto are being transported not to labour camps but to their extermination. "Uprising" also gives the viewpoint of those, including Jewish community leaders, who refused to back armed insurrection on practical or moral grounds.

The first time I watched the movie I gave it an 8/10, but have upped that score to a 10/10, for all its minor flaws, upon "going to source" for a while and discovering how much writer Paul Brickman and director Jon Avnet shared a commitment to accuracy, down to small details.

It's hard to know whether they told the truth about the love affairs that bonded some of the Jews in heart and spirit, but no matter. Such relationships are among the many things that give depth and humanity to the film, along with family ties and grief, and like dilemmas faced by collaborators and some of the Jewish police who served as puppets of the occupants.

Two or three people change sides, including a black marketeer and brothel owner who comes to play an important role, and they are tested according to a code laid down early in the film as a deceptively simple classroom debate on the possibility of being a moral person in an immoral world. We see what the leader of the Jewish community does on being ordered by the Germans to put children on the trains, we see the director of a Ghetto orphanage confronted by more kids than he can afford to take in, we see a woman tied with ropes to a chimney pot so that she can swing round and around on a rooftop to hurl Molotov cocktails down on troops marching into the Ghetto along with a Tiger tank, we see the daily struggle for food and we see courageous expeditions outside the walls and barbed wire to obtain guns, ammunition and explosives and to inform the Allies about the death camps.

Most surreal of all, we see Fritz Hippler, the filmmaker ordered by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels to make a hateful movie on "The Eternal Jew", in action several times shooting the violence of the Uprising, to the chagrin of German generals confounded by the astounding initial success of the Jewish resistance decimating their troops in a well-planned surprise attack.

Critics in other posts have accused the film of being unfair to the so-called "Aryan" Poles in Warsaw, claiming that they are portrayed as anti-Semitic, but this is not evident. True, some Poles are shown up as cowards living a life in fear, but others maintain safe houses outside the Ghetto for the Jewish resistance, which also gets support from the like of railway workers. However, the Polish national resistance rejects pleas from Jews for more weapons. Their arguments for denying help may seem spurious with historical hindsight, but they are tactical ones, which leave us to decide whether there is underlying prejudice.

What has long intrigued me has been the fiercely combative spirit of the Israeli people - despite the loss of six million lives and the tremendous scars borne by countless others after the Holocaust - that played a part in the swift and sometimes bloody foundation of Israel in Palestine, in political haste soon after World War II. This strength of will strikes me as being rooted in more than a fight to rebuild and maintain a Biblical homeland. In saying that, I equally fiercely refuse to bear either with Zionist extremists or their foes. But to watch "Uprising" is to help right a historical wrong that presents Jews as being the perpetual victims of persecution down the centuries, who never organized themselves and fought back.

In Warsaw, they did rise up and the film testifies to the way in which a deep-rooted, shared faith underpins such action, however hopeless it may seem. The insurrection was inevitably crushed, but when the film ends, we learn that afterwards, for all the might of the Wehrmacht behind them, German soldiers were too scared to enter the Ghetto at night for fear of "Jewish ghosts". Is it possible that the state of Israel has survived in part due to the persistence of ghosts?

So much right, but so much wrong.

[apjc · 7/10 · 22 December 2017]

This rates 7 for addressing the issue of Poles, Jewish councils and police who were complicit in these horrors. It's perhaps not in it's scope to mention the Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian & Ukrainian Einsatzgruppen responsible for so many atrocities, or even the mob violence that happened in many of these areas. It's always best to blame the SS, even the Germans do. But then it gets into fantasy land, they all look like Israeli freedom fighters, their armbands are the flag of Israel not the hated star of David imposed by the Nazis. It also fails to relate the importance of the Russian army proximity, and the Free Polish government in England. Any Polish risings were doomed as the Russians would not fight someone else's war.

Propaganda and a waste of time

[airen · 1/10 · 5 November 2001]

Since the early 90's, America and more notably Americans are on a steep learning curve about the existance of holocaust. Unfortunately, the view is always being told from just one perspective, and this TV-novela is no exception. There are a few good movies about the holocaust: "Schindler's List" while not being the best, tries to be more or less objective; Wajda's "Korczak" does a better job, but does not have enough of the muscle to be well known internationally; and a slew od documentaries (usually found on your local PBS channels), that give the information from all sides without taking on a slant of any sort. "Uprising" is definitely NOT one of the best movies; it belongs in the worst kind, filled with propaganda and inaccuracies. It repeats the same formula used in so many holocaust movies in the recent years: "good Jews, evil Nazis, dumb Soviets, indifferent Poles". It adds nothing of value to the discussion, with the exception of being rather offensive to the Poles and having a higly visible Zionist slant (escape to Palestine). What makes me disenchanted, and not just by this movie, but by countless others before it, is that one group's ignorance (Americans in general) is being replaced by other group's (media tycoons riding the holocaust bandwagon) subjective opinions. WWII in Europe was not JUST about the holocaust, and the holocaust was not JUST about the Jews. I'm still waiting to see a movie that will address ALL of the targets of Nazi persecution in the holocaust: Jews, Roma, gays, Catholic priests, Greeks and countless others. And while there is no denying of the evil and insanity of Hitler's plan, I'd like to see a little more objective analysis of why and how it happened, and not the simplistic view being presented in EVERY Hollywood movie on this subject.

good but disappointing

[ivyabattoir · 18 April 2004]

I started out really liking this movie. The scene with Dr. Janusz Korczak and his orphans being led to their deaths singing was chilling, the directing and acting was fantastic, the scene with Adam Czerniakow and the Menorah was so funny my brother and I laughed out loud. But I was thoroughly disappointed by the way they left it. You see, the ending is too... Optimistic. 'The human spirit strikes out against the Nazis', is ridiculously hollywoodic, and I can't understand why this won an Emmy. They forgot to mention that the resistance failed- or actually succeeded, since it was never their intention to fight for freedom, but for dying with honor- and everyone died in the end. Oops, I guess they forgot to mention that, why spoil a good Hollywood ending?

Not bad

[spoonwarrior · 7/10 · 5 November 2001]

Ok, so I admit that this thing didn't suck half so bad as I had feared it would, and was all in all rather entertaining, but ground-breaking it was not. It failed to offer anything that previous, and more artistically rendered stories had not. If you go in for this genre it's worth a look though.

great, tv has come a long way

[sean_36 · 9/10 · 18 December 2001]

I did not quite know what to expect when I sat down to watch this. The tv ads looked ok, but I thought it would be like most mini-series where the characters stand around talking for 3/4 of the film with a few unrealistic, tamed down action sequences litered about. I was shocked when it turned out that this movie was actually really, really good. It is packed with action, triumph, sorrow, hardship and any other element that may make a film great. The battle sequences are extremely well done and almost rival those in Saving Private Ryan, almost(they are nowhere near as gory). It is also quite graphic for a tv movie, with babies drowning, naked bodies being thrown about, and even a guy getting tortured with a blow torch. It is nowhere near the level of Shindler's List(but that can be expected), but it is far, far better than that resent piece of propaganda crap Pearl Harbor. A great film and possibly even one of the year's best.

A little disappointed

[dlee7674 · 6/10 · 12 April 2008]

I went to the library one day and saw this movie on the shelf, i had vague memories of this being on TV a few years ago and thought i should watch it. I had to push myself to get through the first half hour before it got better. The acting starts out really bad and the dialog is horribly written. But at a certain point it hooks you in and the rest of the film is pretty good. I didn't know much about the Warsaw uprising until i saw this movie, then i asked my dad who like me is a history buff and happened to know a lot about this. He thought it was pretty good but we just didn't think the acting was very good. Jon Voight was the biggest disappointment, i am usually a fan of his work but this just came up short for me. All in all a 6 out of 10 film.

An amazing movie and an amazing event

[lsthomas9 · 10/10 · 29 May 2005]

As the tag line says, "They did the one thing the Nazis never expected, they fought back." There is no holding back in this film, no hiding behind Hollywood glitz or pretty faces. Just raw emotion and the sting of reality. And that's the way it should be.

"Uprising" is based on the actual events that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII when a courageous and utterly amazing group of Jews held off the Nazis longer than the entire Polish army! From the very beginning, one is swept up into the war and into the lives of the brave Uprising fighters. For those who saw "The Pianist" and perhaps wondered what exactly was going on when Szpilman watches buildings being blown up over the ghetto wall or when they mentioned an uprising, this is it (you will actually recognize several areas in the ghetto from both movies, ex. the factory where the fighters are). I've read one of the fighter's memoirs as well as seen several documented photographs of the ghetto (before it was destroyed) and I was so blown away by how accurate the portrayal of the uprising was.

Every single actor, from the minor ones to the big names, poured everything into their performances in order to portray these heroes as accurately and honorably as possible. There wasn't one fighter that I did not connect with or pay attention to. Schwimmer, Azaria, Mitchell, Sobieski and Frost did, perhaps, their best performance in this film, however, it was Stephen Moyer's portrayal of Kazik that really drew me into the story.There is so much hope and strength in all of the characters that you really connected with them.

This film truly earns its spot along side "Schindler's List" and "The Pianist" and is a true inspiration to all.

Not realistic enough. Politically biased.

[matiasddsm · 6/10 · 25 January 2021]

Good news first. Interesting scenes of ghetto buildings and their undergrounds and hidding places. Very good performances by most of the cast. Headlines with names and dates, make it easier to understand.

Bad news now. Heavy spoilers. In the real ghetto, one of those flags in the roof of the building was not what the movie shows (it was the flag of one of the parties, not that of Israel). The movie completelly forgets the ZZW contribution to the resistance in the uprising and unfairly depicts only ZOB actions. None of the actors took a week to loose some weigh to play these demanding roles. Leelee Sobiesky looks incredibly good (as always) even in her brest implants and Hank Azaria kept his weigh lifting sessions during the filming. In the movie, it looks very unrealistic. None of the characters looks like a starving person.

How can the wooden bridge of Chlodna street not appear once in the movie? Plus, you can't make a Warszawa ghetto movie of you don't take seriously the famine that went one there. The movie is entertaining and useful to bring atention to some historial facts for those who know nothing about WWII.

Uprising is historically accurate

[merclover · 10/10 · 12 May 2007]

Larry Adams is wrong when he questions the historical accuracy of the film Uprising. Marek Edelman and Simha Rotem ("Kazik"), both former ZOB Ghetto fighters, were advisors on set during the making of the film and commended its authenticity. The Polish Home Army gave minimal help to the Jewish fighters even though they had considerable caches of weapons organised through the Polish Government in exile in England. In a documentary about the making of the film, Marek Edelman said the Jewish fighters, numbering around 750, got a mere 100 weapons or so from the Poles, some pistols, rifles and explosive material (he called it "powder"). The pistols proved useless once the fighting started. The Poles attitude was that Jews would not be good fighters so weapons were wasted on them. They, the Poles, argued that they had to conserve their weapons for their own rebellion when the Russians arrived to provide support. They paid a terrible price because the Russians stopped on the far bank of the Vistula and let the Germans decimate the Poles. Stalin wanted any potential Polish leaders destroyed before a Soviet takeover. If the Jews had strong Polish support, why didn't the Poles fight alongside them in the ghetto or at least help to organise a rescue effort from outside? Apart from a feeble attempt to blow a hole in the ghetto wall they did nothing.In his book,"Resistance", Israel Gutman, Professor of Jewish History at Hebrew University, describes the Easter Sunday celebrations on April 25th as depicted in the film, with Poles dancing to music and children riding carousels, hawkers selling Easter treats etc a stone's throw from the burning ghetto where Jews were dying.The Jews fought and died alone. Many Poles did indeed help Jews to survive in hiding,for example the Zegota organisation, but many also informed on them, betrayed them to the Germans or blackmailed them in their desperate circumstances. When the Poles own uprising took place in 1944 a company of Jewish fighters, among them former members of the ZOB, led by Yitzhak Gutterman, actively participated in the campaign. Uprising is a tremendous film that genuinely endeavours to portray the heroism and tragedy of the Jewish Ghetto rebellion. As director, John Avnet, said "I just let the story tell itself."

Great Storytelling, Great History

[hannahroseimagery · 9/10 · 30 December 2021]

Uprising manages to combine interesting and relatable characters with an almost completely true-to-life story. No embellishment needed; this really happened. It does bear mentioning that eyewitness accounts describe the ghetto as unbearably crowded (whole families to a single room, etc.), which the movie does not depict. Also, Mordecai Anielewicz was only 24 when he died. Actually, many of the characters were significantly younger than depicted (teens and early 20s, rather than 30s). The actors are amazing, so I don't mind, but I think it's worth noting. Overall, a surprisingly incredible movie. If you really are interested in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, read The Bravest Battle by Dan Kurzman (nonfiction). Fair warning tho: it may give you nightmares. What incredible people those in the ZOB were 🇮🇱

See the Pianist Instead

[dianos · 2/10 · 26 January 2005]

If you have to choose between this movie and the Pianist, please choose the later. By far the greater movie of the two. Although Uprising might not be a totally bad movie (if it was made about a fictional event) It seems to totally miss the point. The helplessness the desperation, the sheer agony of the whole event is turned into some action flick riddled with cheap accusations, while the ordinary Jews are portrayed as a heroic group of commandos that don't miss a shot and can take on the well trained Nazi forces. Sobieski's acting definitely deserves notice, but she should be ashamed! Herself being half Polish she's taking part in falsification of history that not only discredits her people but also creates a false account of what the remaining Jews tried to do... That is die with dignity and honor, revenge the atrocities, with little to no hope of escaping alive. Any serious resistance lasted a few days, with a few random shots being fired for another couple weeks after. The fighters that have managed to escape the total destruction of the ghetto, joined the well planned massive Warsaw Uprising few months later... Which although much bigger and successful at first suffered a similar faith. Being cut off from the outside with Soviet forces standing on the east side of the river and the western allies who's policies it represented restraining themselves to only some air supply drops (only one British soldier fought in the uprising, with thousands of Polish soldiers defending Great Britain and their Capital) the movie makes no mention of the later uprising, one of the biggest in history that was planned for months to overthrow the German occupation. The heroic action scenes would find their place there. But instead of making a movie with the ideology of Masada, you're given this... monstrosity. If you decide to watch this movie try to keep in mind that both uprisings are combined for you into one happy Hollywood package. Both uprisings that seem so similar at a far glance, but with completely different reasoning behind them.

action scenes are too hollywood

[eric1 · 6 February 2002]

A civilian step to four or five german soldiers with a handgun,he shoots with one hand while walking! Guess who won the the pistol vs machineguns duel? The civilians killed them all!Even a trained S.W.A.T man can not do that. This kind of stuff could be OK in a John Woo film, but is inacceptable in a half-documentary war movie, this kind of action scenes may be fun for some audiences but also ruined the whole movie.

Why not?

[jamesoake350 · 10/10 · 5 March 2004]

I live in England and bought this film through recomendation from a friend. But what I would like to know is why was the film not released worldwide in cinemas? The cast, particularly Donald Sutherland and David Schwimmer, was hugely impressive, the effects second to none and the subject not yet explored by any preceeding picture! So if anyone can tell me the reason for this I would much appreciate it because I believe that the film should have been exposed to a much wider audience.