After Germany invades Poland in 1939, the Nazis decree that 350,000 Warsaw Jews be forcibly moved into a cordoned area known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Idealistic teacher Mordechai Anielewicz (Hank Azaria) decides the Jews must rise up against the Nazis and creates the Jewish Fighting Organization (JFO). He tries to secure the support of Adam Czerniakow (Donald Sutherland), the morally conflicted head of the Warsaw Ghetto's Jewish Council, but Adam declines because he knows that any act of resistance will provoke the Germans to retaliate by killing innocent Jews. Determined to mobilize a resistance alone if he has to, Mordechai recruits his friends and covert couriers whose ability to pass as Aryan helps them smuggle in arms and explosives from the Aryan side of the city, building up an arsenal to fight the Nazis.

When the Germans begin deporting 300,000 Jews to the Treblinka death camp, the JFO begins acts of resistance that culminate with ghetto fighters firing their first gunshots against the Nazis. When it becomes clear that the JFO is a force to be reckoned with, the German High Command sends in General Stroop (Jon Voight), who is determined to end the uprising in two or three days.

Capturing the horror that unfolds is Fritz Hippler (Cary Elwes), a filmmaker assigned by Hitler's chief propagandist to promote anti-Semitism with a film about Jewish life in the ghetto.

When the Nazis continue to suffer more casualties in their battle with the ghetto fighters, General Stroop decides to raze the ghetto. But even that can't stop the JFO. Forced to go underground into bunkers but energized by their success, the resisters fight on, ultimately holding off the Nazi army longer than the entire country of Poland. They're determined to live with honor--and if need be, die with honor--while lighting the torch for resistance in the occupied territories.

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The Jews walled up in the ghetto did not have huge arsenals of weapons and the people who became heroes were ordinary citizens -hence the lack of a huge cast of big-name stars is welcome. And the performances coaxed from the likes of Cary Lewes, as the sickeningly anti-semitic film-maker Fritz Hippler are worthy of praise. And it was a revelation to see David (Friends) Schwimmer turning in such a heart-rendering turn as one of the heroes of the revolt (and he gets full marks for a realistic but not-over-the-top accent).

Where the drama falls short - as all are bound to - is the inability to reveal the true horror these human beings were forced to endure - and for how long. A 10-part mini-series mihght give some idea of scale of time. The drama Tenko, about women interned by the Japanese, ran for three series! Also missing was the role played by very young children in getting information and food in and out of the Aryan side of Poland.

However, not enough people know enough about this dark period of history so Uprising should be seen.

30 of 36 found the following review helpful:

Years later, but we must never forget...Jan 30, 2005
By M. Miller
I have seen a variety of Holocaust films, due to my interest in World War II, and I would have to say this is probably one of the best, if not the best, that I've ever seen.

Uprising brings to us everything that Schindler's List does: touching story, great cinematography, and good actors. However, instead of focusing on a middleman such as Schindler (German helping Jews), this film focuses on the Jews helping themselves.

The emotions were strongly carried through due to overall great performances from many actors: Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Donald Sutherland, and many more.

This is film of hope, love, and cherishing life while you have it, all while in the toughest of times. These people overcame enormous odds by standing up to the oppressive and barbarous reign of the Germans, and not unlike one of the German characters, we now have it on film. Moreover, it is a great film.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

Good representation of the ghetto life yet incomplete of the fightingJun 21, 2006
By Pawel Mantykiewicz
I recently finished reading Conversations with Executioner which is Jurgen Stroop's account of what happened in the ghetto. The first half of the movie very well shows the living conditions in the ghetto and the brutality of the germans. Also the building of the wall around the ghetto and ways to sneak out were very realistic. Donald Suterland's acting is great, and he very well portrais the role of head of jewish council. Hank Azaria's acting was wonderful he really brought the character of Mordechai Anielewicz to life and in contrast David Schwimmer's performace was posibly worst I seen of him so far, he looked the part but with hard to place accent which faded in and out and lack of realism he should have been replaced with someone else. The movie takes a turn for the worse in the second half when the actual uprising starts. I was surprised that there was very little mention of the Polish Underground Army which has helped the jews in the ghetto in many ways from supplying weapons to supplying food and building materials for the bunkers. Overall the entire fighting seemed too claen and too orderly. There are repeated scenes and unrealistic scenes of battle. Also in his report and his confessions in prison Stroop never mentioned using gas in the ghetto. Most german attacks are shown as disorganized and chaotic, they were like that before Stroop took over the command, at which point he had very well organized attacks especially with flame throwers and large caliber anti-aircraft guns. Also at the time in Poland from a builders stand point houses were built out of red brick some from concrete and all had red clay shingles roofing, during the fighting you can see that the houses which are being destroyed are made from wood and drywall and roofs are covered in modern asphalt shingles. All those small details build up and take away from the big picture.

In conclusion this is a good movie however Andrzej Wajda made a better one. I suggest seeing both.

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

A Pretty Good MovieOct 05, 2005
By vanhubris
This movie is about the Jewish uprising in Warsaw during World War 2. All in all-it's a pretty good movie--but as the movie seeks to use Goebbel's propaganda movie "The Eternal Jew"-to show how the Nazis dehumanized the Jewish people-this movie does the same thing to the Germans-not that the Nazis weren't evil--but every German in this movie is either totaly wicked--or mere cannon fodder--deserving whatever evil befalls them.

That quibble aside--the movie presents a fairly accurate account of the uprising and is worth watching. I had a hard time taking David Schwimmer in a serious role--though there was nothing wrong with his performance--and Donald Sutherland seemed ill cast- like he was merely reprising his role from "Citizen X"

Though I enjoyed this movie--I would recommend Wajda's "Kanal"-for a great movie about "the sewers" and for putting a "face" to the Jewish victims-I would recommend the Czech movie "The Shop on Main Street"

In no way denigrating this movie--which I do recommend--but I feel both of the movies mentioned are superior--for those who have more than a casual interest in the subject matter--and don't mind sub-titles.

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