The first reviewer tells it all , in an exhaustive way ,about the historic context .
The only thing which disappointed me in his review is that he did not mention the director : Robert Siodmak is a legend ! A career which spanned almost half a century , began in the silent age ("Menschen am Sonntag" ) ,continued in France after he was driven away from his land by the Nazis ("pièges" "Mollenard ,capitaine corsaire) reached peaks of film noir in America ("the killers" " the dark mirror" "the spiral staircase " "cry of the city" ,to name but four) ;back in Germany ,he was to produce more great works such as "die Ratten " or " Nachts,wenn der Teufel kam"
It's really a sad swansong for an once first-class director ;the second part ,more than the first one, looks like a pilot for an imaginary miniseries. History takes a backseat to mushy love stories ,all of them for once having a bad end ; bergmanian Harriet Andersson stands out in an international cast ,but the screenplay is disjointed and some scenes come at the most awkward moment (the crucifixions) ; Orson Welles ,like in the first episode ,does not seem to be interested in his character ,the same goes for Laurence Harvey .Many scenes are botched , made in a slapdash manner .
One wishes Siodmak had called it a day on a high note.
The only thing which disappointed me in his review is that he did not mention the director : Robert Siodmak is a legend ! A career which spanned almost half a century , began in the silent age ("Menschen am Sonntag" ) ,continued in France after he was driven away from his land by the Nazis ("pièges" "Mollenard ,capitaine corsaire) reached peaks of film noir in America ("the killers" " the dark mirror" "the spiral staircase " "cry of the city" ,to name but four) ;back in Germany ,he was to produce more great works such as "die Ratten " or " Nachts,wenn der Teufel kam"
It's really a sad swansong for an once first-class director ;the second part ,more than the first one, looks like a pilot for an imaginary miniseries. History takes a backseat to mushy love stories ,all of them for once having a bad end ; bergmanian Harriet Andersson stands out in an international cast ,but the screenplay is disjointed and some scenes come at the most awkward moment (the crucifixions) ; Orson Welles ,like in the first episode ,does not seem to be interested in his character ,the same goes for Laurence Harvey .Many scenes are botched , made in a slapdash manner .
One wishes Siodmak had called it a day on a high note.