François Truffaut called Night and Fog “the greatest film ever made.†But when Alain Resnais finished his documentary; with its depiction of Nazi atrocities; the resistance of the French censors was fierce. A mere decade had passed since the end of the war; and the French public was unprepared to confront the horrors shown in the film—let alone the possibility of French complicity. In fact it would be through Night and Fog that many viewers first learned; as film critic Serge Daney put it; “that the worst had only just taken place.â€An engrossing account of the genesis; production; and legacy of Resnais’s incomparable film; this book documents in extraordinary detail how a film that began as a cinematic spin-off of an educational exhibition on “resistance; liberation; and deportation†went on to become a significant step in the building of a collective consciousness of the tragedy of World War II. Sylvie Lindeperg frames her investigation with the story of historian Olga Wormser-Migot; who played an integral role in the research and writing of Night and Fog—and whose slight error on one point gave purchase to the film’s detractors and revisionists and Holocaust deniers. Lindeperg follows the travails of Resnais; Wormser-Migot; and their collaborators in a pan-European search for footage; photographs; and other documentation. She uncovers creative use of liberation footage to stand in for daily life of the camps featured to such shocking effect in the film—a finding that raises hotly debated questions about reenactment and witnessing even as it enhances our understanding of the film’s provenance and impact.A microhistory of a film that altered the culture it reflected; Night and Fog offers a unique interpretation of the interworking of biography; history; politics; and film in one epoch-making cultural moment.
#4293223 in Books Facts on File 2004-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .53 x 7.58 x 9.50l; .90 #File Name: 0816055572128 pages
Review
4 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Grossly biased; celebrative and subjectiveBy hellotherepennameAlthough it is clearly an introduction to the islamic empire ( a mere 100 pages); this book still manages to be a solid propaganda for everything islamic. Many times it mentions how various things in the west originates in the islamic world (tennis; architecture in florida; knowledge) but doesn't explain that in the last 100 years; things have only come from the west to the islamic world. (architecture; knowledge; technology) Nor does it mention the great upsettling of people: the people explosion of most islamic countries and the flow of these to the west - as well as the lack of westerners moving to the islamic world.When it mentions the meeting of west and islamic; it doesn't explain the unflattering side of the islamic empire; but only the victiimizing and flattering side: in the example below; the infobox "muslim influence in spain" has two lines about how the islamics came to spain (only says that they were there) and then launches in a tirade of how the christians threw them out; and underlines how cultured the islamics are and what lasting impression they've left."At the height of the Islamic Empire; the Arabs controlled the southeastern two-thirds of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to Cordoba; the Muslims revitalized such Spanish cities as Toledo;Granada; and Seville. For more than five centuries; Spain was a unique place in Europe; a region where culture and learning were valuedand nurtured. By 1248; when Seville was conquered byChristian forces; the Muslims had lost control of all of Spain; except Granada. The conquerors did not initially expel all the Muslims. By about1500 though; after the fall of Granada; things had changed. In their attempts to wipe out all traces of Muslim influence; the Christian conquerors banned Arabic and Muslims in Spain were faced with the choice of conversion or exile. Despite this; Islamic influences can still bedetected throughout the region. For example;many Arabic words are part of the Spanish language.The Spanish expression olé comes fromthe Arabic wallahi; which means "by God!" Many other Spanish words that begin with al are Islamic in origin; including alcachofa (artichoke);aldea (village); and aljibe (well)."This is clearly a book designed to teach muslim american children (or to make american children see the wonders of the muslim cultures) whom a teacher desire to have a certain perspective. This book can not be used as as an objective teaching instrument nor can it be used by adults as introduction to muslim culture and history; at least not without several other books on the subjects.
