Documentarian Marcel Ophüls (The Sorrow and the Pity) directed this brilliant 267-minute examination of Klaus Barbie, the infamous "Nazi Butcher of Lyons." Barbie was the Gestapo chief responsible for the death of most of Lyons' population, including women and children, during the Nazi occupation of France. After WWII, he cooperated with American intelligence agents, who helped him settle in Bolivia in 1951, conveniently ignoring his numerous atrocities. Finally, Barbie was extradited to France and put on trial in 1987, where he received a sentence of life in prison. Avoiding the usual atrocity footage, Ophüls instead comprises his film of interviews with those who knew Barbie, suffered because of him, or stood by and did nothing while he got away with murder. The accumulated details and appallingly self-serving answers to Ophüls' probing questions point an accusatory finger not only at Barbie, but at France, the United States, South America, and ultimately most of humankind. A stunning and powerful achievement, the film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1988. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Sophie Brunet - First Assistant Director, Marcel Ophüls - Director, Albert Jurgenson - Editor, Catherine Zins - Editor, Peter Kovler - Executive Producer, John S. Friedman - Executive Producer, Hamilton Fish V - Executive Producer, Pierre Boffety - Cinematographer, Viktor Leitenbauer - Cinematographer, Michael Davis - Cinematographer, Lionel Legros - Cinematographer, Reuben Aaronson - Cinematographer, Marcel Ophüls - Producer, Bernard Bats - Sound/Sound Designer, Judy Karp - Sound/Sound Designer, Anne Weil - Sound Editor
