| Product Summary | | Publisher: Trimark | | Format: DVD | | UPC: 00031398836322 | | Buy.com Sku: 40223282 | | Item#: VSMVV6 | | Category Keywords: Documentary | Rating:  |
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Features: DVD
From Errol Morris, the award-winning director of The Thin Blue Line, comes the provocative and chilling true story of Fred A Leuchter, Jr., the son of a prison worker and a self-taught execution expert who consulted with prisons across the country to make capital punishment more humane. When Leuchter is called in as a high-profile expert in a sensationalistic Canadian trial, his ego, bravado and absurd testimony reaches national media prominence. Soon, a firestorm of controversy erupts. Ironically, what Leuchter thought was going to be an apex in his career--only ruins it!
"Two big thumbs up! Brilliant!" Roger Ebert And Lisa Schwarzbaum, Roger Ebert & The Movies
"Mesmerizing." Details Magazine
"Compelling!" Marie Claire Magazine
Editor's Note
The story of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., a man whose complete belief in himself as an expert in anything he devoted his time to ended up ruining his professional career. Growing up in the American prison system, where his father was an employee, Leuchter literally stumbled into his first position as the individual who perfected the electric chair, making capital punishment run more smoothly for the officials, as well as victims. This improvement convinced other prisons that he could make the same adjustments to their chosen outlets: lethal injections, gas chambers, and gallows. Soon, Leuchter was the country's predominant expert on the maintaining and designing of execution equipment. The trial of one Ernst Zundel would change all of this, however. Charged in Canada with the publishing of historical lies in the form of a pamphlet which firmly refuted the reality of the Holocaust and proposed that the gas chambers at Auschwitz were an invention by Jewish sympathizers, Zundel needed the support of an expert who could prove that this was, in fact, the case. Enter Leuchter, who traveled to Poland (on his honeymoon!) and collected samples from various sites to prove, for himself, whether or not these chambers existed. His results, which appeared to everyone except the revisionists and himself as being utterly ridiculous and inaccurate, ruined his marriage, personal life, and career in the penal system. All of this due to his stubborn belief that everything he did was perfect and unflinching. A truly sad story.
Plot Summary
Another revealing documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Morris, MR. DEATH paints the portrait of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., a man whose professional career suffered greatly due to his unflinching belief in himself. Stumbling into a career as an expert on various forms of execution devices, Leuchter was eventually recruited by Ernst Zundel in order to support his belief that the gas chambers at Auschwitz were an idea falsely conceived by Jewish sympathizers. Using his traditional mish-mash of film stocks, Morris' film grows in impact as the true colors of Leuchter begin to shine.
| Features | Parental Lock | | Audio: English Dolby Surround | | Widescreen Version | | Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Access |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Trimark |
| Release Date: 7/22/2003 |
| Running Time: 91 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1999 | | Catalog ID: 8363-D | | UPC: 00031398836322 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Errol Morris - Director | | Peter Donahue - Director of Photography | | Karen Schmeer - Editor | | Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. - Featuring | | Caleb Sampson - Musical Score | | Errol Morris, et al. - Producer |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...A stunning achievement..." 01/20/2000 p.63-4Premiere
"...A masterpiece....Delivers a wallop..." -- 4 out of 5 stars 07/01/2000 p.99 USA Today
"...Morris is still smart enough to let a jaw-dropping story play out by itself in cinematic deadpan..." 12/29/1999 p.2D Los Angeles Times
"...As a chronicler of bizarre Americana without peer, Morris seems to have found the ideal subject in Leuchter....MR. DEATH, which is shot through with one dark absurdity after another, emerges as a cautionary tale if ever there was one..." 12/29/1999 p.C4 Chicago Sun-Times
"...[Morris] combines dreamlike visual montages with music by Caleb Sampson to create a movie that is more reverie and meditation than reportage..." 02/04/2000 p.27 James Berardinelli's ReelViews 8 of 10
...Ultimately, Mr. Death is a masterful character study that raises dozens of questions about morality, scientific process, and human nature. The film's most noteworthy characteristic is that it gives us real insight into the workings of the lead character's mind, and challenges us to form our own opinions. For that reason alone, it is a highly rewarding experience. - James Berardinelli
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