The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies; A Critic's Ranking of the Very Best

Secaucus, NJ: A Birch Lane Press Book, Carol Publishing Group, 1998. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xi[1], 212 pages. Pages 85-88 have a crease. Signed and dated on the front free endpaper by the author, Kathryn Bernhelmer. Contains Acknowledgments, Introduction, the fifty films, Afterword, Bibliography and Index. Kathryn has spent her professional life writing about, teaching, and presenting the arts. Founding Director of the Boulder Jewish Film Festival, Kathryn was Director of Menorah and ACE at the Boulder JCC from 2003 through August, 2019. The former film and theater critic for the Boulder Daily Camera, Kathryn is the author of "The Fifty Greatest Jewish Movies" and "The Fifty Funniest Films of All Time." The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies is the first book to review and rank movies depicting the Jewish experience, and it offers a fascinating guided tour through film history. This entertaining and illuminating collection of in-depth reviews, enhanced by fifty stunning movie stills, is filled with fascinating biographical and historical information. Do you know that Hollywood did not begin to address the horrors of the Holocaust until fourteen years after the end of World War II? Or that it was not until the 1960s that Jewish actors were routinely presented to the public without having their ethnic identity airbrushed? The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies provides a culturally sensitive critique of how Jews have been, and continue to be, defined. Excerpts from a review by Solomon Davidoff found on-line and is presented for scholarly use by readers to determine content relevance. Bernheimer provides commentary for each of the fifty films that begins with the standard information (title, studio, year of release, primary cast, director, length and rating) and a description of the entire photoplay, but goes into both positive and negative commentary. This is unlike some motion picture review books, which not only offer only positive commentary, but do not discuss the entire plot of the film, including the conclusion. I do want that information when reading full commentary of a production and its historical and cultural importance. "For the purposes of this book," says Bernheimer, "I define (a Jewish movie) as a film that examines an aspect of the Jewish experience and features at least one clearly defined Jewish central character" (p. ix). This definition--an excellent starting point--explains the presence and absence of a variety of titles of import. Previous similar lists have focused on seminal historical events of import to the Jewish community, such as the Holocaust, but Bernheimer does not limit herself (beyond this definition) in any way. A key aspect of this, is that she includes pictures by both Jewish directors (such as Sidney Lumet, Woody Allen, Otto Preminger and Steven Spielberg), plus films by non-Jews (such as Edward Dmytryk, Hugh Hudson and Norman Jewison). I agree with Bernheimer that The Chosen is one of the most important Jewish films of all time. Bernheimer's list does not specify titles by category, but instead lists films by importance, acknowledging that she has biases when deciding. A nice feature she includes is to begin at the top of the list with her number one selection, The Chosen, following on through to her fiftieth, Marjorie Morningstar, which implies to me the importance of all the films on her list, rather than making reading the commentary an anticipatory exercise, focusing more on what is to come, rather than what is being read. Bernheimer's list is a top fifty, focusing on all film genres and styles. Also of note is that telefilms, such as Holocaust and Shoah, and documentaries, like Almonds and Raisins: A History of the Yiddish Cinema, are included in her listing. Many such lists will consider only films that were created for the silver screen, or will ignore documentaries. The survey ranges from the 1920 silent production of The Golem, to Shine from 1996, and covers all genres and filming techniques (except animation), including spectacles (Ben-Hur), musicals (Oliver!), gangster films (Bugsy), war stories (Europa, Europa) and comedies (Goodbye Columbus). When considering the importance of this film survey, Bernheimer's book offers a look into the representation of a widely misunderstood culture, in a clear and concise style that gives the subject the attention it deserves. Condition: Very good / Very good.

Keywords: Jews, Movies, Cinema, Performing Arts, Anti-Semitism, Assimilation, Holocaust, Nazi, Darryl Zanuck, FIddler, Shindler, Shoah, Gentleman's Agreement, Exodus, Duddy Kravitz, Anne Frank, Yentl, Marjorie Morningstar, Woody Allen, Solomon Davidoff

ISBN: 1559724579

[Book #82826]

Price: $125.00

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