nazis Tagged Articles at Cinematical

That's right, Slappy. I'm a so-called Professional Film Critic, and I've never seen Schindler's List. Hell, I recently admitted -- publicly, no less -- that I've never seen Lawrence of Arabia, either. So I may as well go out on a limb and 'fess up to missing this one, too.

In both cases, my initial non-viewing was purely circumstantial. I just somehow never found myself watching these particular movies. In the case of Lawrence of Arabia, I'd certainly like to see it, but it's something like 43 hours long, so it rarely shows up on cable. Maybe someone will give me the DVD for Christmas or my birthday, and I'll take a few vacation days off to stare at Peter O'Toole's blue eyes. It could happen.

But Schindler's List? I can confidently say that I'm never going to watch it. As a cultural icon, I can appreciate its existence -- the film illuminated the horrors of the holocaust at a time when much of the world seemed happy to let it start fading into memory. It inspired programs that recorded the audio histories of survivors, and raised awareness of global genocide. For these things alone, it's a valuable piece of cinema.

But it's also a movie. Just a movie. One that I'll never watch.

In my mind, there's nothing more intense and powerful than a story that revolves around those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis in concentration camps during WWII. As I write this, two of my favorite films on the subject come to mind: Life is Beautiful and Schindler's List. While both were extremely different in tone, there's no escaping the horrific setting each of them share.

For a different take on how these camps affected those that actually survived, Paolo Barzman will direct (off a script from Jefferson Lewis) an adaptation of Matt Cohen's novel, Emotional Arithmetic. The book centers around three people who reunite on a renovated farm forty years after they formed life-long bonds while prisoners in a concentration camp. Signing on to star in the pic are Gabriel Byrne, Christopher Plummer, Max von Sydow, Roy Dupuis and Susan Sarandon. As each of them struggle to play with the hand they are dealt, a darkly disturbing past continues to remind them that "moving on" might not be so easy.

Returning once again to the world of vampires, Joel Schumacher (who also brought us the very awesome 80s flick, The Lost Boys), has signed on to direct Town Creek for Gold Circle. Oh, but this isn't your average vampire movie -- it's got Nazis too! In fact, they're vampire Nazis. Okay, the only way I'll shell out ten bucks to see this is if the following dialgoue is featured:

GUY THAT'S ABOUT TO DIE: Check it out, they're Nazis!

OUR HERO: Oh no, my friend -- they're vampire Nazis! Look out, behind you!

Apparently, the story surrounds a West Virginia man who is forced to question his own morals upon rescuing his brother from the evil clutches of a vampire Nazi. See, this family kidnapped his brother in order to feed him to their pet vampire Nazi, which they keep locked up in the basement. Folks, I kid you not -- that's the plot description. Dave Kajganich (who also adapted the upcoming Nicole Kidman film, The Visiting) wrote the script.