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Features: DVD, Widescreen, German, French, English, Spanish, Subtitled, Trailers
Winner of the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe Award, this "incredible" (Los Angeles Times) and eerily true tale of a young man's will to survive "brings a fresh approach" (Variety) to the horrifying saga of the Holocaust. Europa, Europa "bounds from one jaw-dropping episode to the next" with "poetic clarity" (New Yorker Magazine) and grace. In the midst of unimaginable chaos in WWII Europe, Solly, a resourceful Jewish teen, narrowly escapes capture by Nazis and is forced to run for his life. Separated from his family with little hope of survival, Solly vows to stay alive--even if it means donning a German uniform and posing as a Nazi soldier! His charade is so convincing, he eventually lands in a school for Hitler Youth where he is able to enjoy the privileges of his enemies. But Solly's secret is soon jeopardized when he falls for a pretty young German girl and his true identity becomes increasingly difficult to conceal. With everything at stake, will Solly be able to maintain his front or will he be exposed to those who love him--and worse--to those who want him dead? A "riveting and moving" (Leonard Maltin) film filled with "compassion and irony" (The Hollywood Reporter), Europa, Europa's true account of survival is "a brilliant depiction of an incredible journey" (Stuart Klein, WNYW-TV) that you'll find entrancing from beginning to end!
"A pure miracle of history!" New Yorker Magazine
"A pure miracle of history!" New Yorker Magazine
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Editor's Note
Agnieszka Holland's EUROPA EUROPA is the fascinating fact-based story of Solomon Perel (Marco Hofschneider), a German Jew who survived the Holocaust by concealing his identity, literally within enemy ranks. When Nazi thugs smash into the Perels' house, 13-year-old Solly manages to flee. Upon his reunion with his family, they head for Poland, hoping to find safety but war soon overcomes that land, and once again Solly is forced to run, this time with his brother. They become separated, however, and ultimately Solly falls into the clutches of the Nazis. He quickly realizes he has just two chances for survival: convincing them that he, too, is a pure-blooded Aryan, and hoping that they never find out the truth. Based on Perel's miraculous autobiography, Holland's film is an epic drama that features a moving performance by Hofschneider. Holland uses exquisite pacing to build even greater tension; the further Solly digs himself in with the Nazis, the closer to being exposed he becomes. It is this ironic twist of fate that makes EUROPA EUROPA such a powerful motion picture; the screenplay for this gripping story was nominated for an Academy Award.
Plot Summary
A true story based on the remarkable autobiography of Soloman Perel, this film details the events of his life as a Jewish boy in World War II Europe as he undergoes an odyssey for survival over the period 1938-1945. He escapes from a Polish ghetto, lives in a communist orphanage, attends an elite school for Hitler youth, and fights on several battlefields, all the while concealing his identity in this powerful motion picture directed by Agnieszka Holland (THE SECRET GARDEN).
| Features | Audio: French, Russian, German Dolby Digital Mono | | Subtitles: English, Spanish, French | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: MGM |
| Release Date: 7/24/2007 |
| Running Time: 113 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1991 | | Catalog ID: 1004337 | | UPC: 00027616884190 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: Russian | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], French Dubbed, German, Russian | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.66:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1992) | | | Agnieszka Holland, Nominee, Best Writing, Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium |
| Memorable Quotes| "His penis saved his soul... Otherwise he might have become a total Nazi." Holland talks to Amy Taubin about "Europa, Europa." ---- Sight & Sound | | |"You know there are two new Europes -- the west and the east... Western Europe has become very proud; they've forgotten that their roots are not so nice. And in the east, it's the same thing only they want to be more like the west. They want to be the European New Order. But Europe, any Europe, never resolved the madness... of the of the Holocaust and something larger that is was a part of -- the dream of making a totalitarian state that's more important that the individual. Of course there's difference between Communism and Nazism. Communist ideology in some way was utopian. It was about social justice, while Nazism was clearly a pathology from the beginning." Holland talks with Amy Taubin about her film "Europa Europa." ---- Sight & Sound, 11/1993 |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...[EUROPA, EUROPA] brings new immediacy to the outrage by locating specific, wrenching details....Several remarkable episodes..." 06/28/1991 p.C10Los Angeles Times
"...It's an incredible story, as only true stories can be..." 07/26/1991 p.F6 Washington Post 10 of 10
There are a great many movies about the tragic experience of the Jews during the Second World War, but only a handful as passionate, as subtly intelligent, as universal as this one. In Europa Europa, Agnieszka Holland tackles a great theme and, in the process, has made a great movie. - Hal Hinson
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