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The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone

DramaWarHistory
2001, Movie, 1h 48min
An unflinching reckoning with the horrors of the Holocaust, this intense moral drama from Tim Blake Nelson (adapting his own play) considers the cost of survival in the most extreme of circumstances. At the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, a group of Jewish prisoners known as the Sonderkommando are tasked with the horrifying job of helping to exterminate fellow Jews under threat of death. When a fourteen-year-old girl somehow survives the gas chamber, the Sonderkommando become determined to save her—even if it means risking their own lives.
Country: United States
Cast:
Steve Buscemi,
Harvey Keitel,
David Arquette,
Natasha Lyonne
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Ratings

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IMDb rating
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7.0
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10.0

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roger177
Critic Roger Ebert
rated 10

Tim Blake Nelson's film presents this story with straightforward realism. He constructed a nearly scale-model duplicate of Auschwitz in Poland and brings to the crematorium scenes a sense of the forges of hell.

Read full review at Roger Ebert

Cast & Crew

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Tim Blake Nelson
Director
Steve Buscemi
As 'Hesch' Abramowics
Harvey Keitel
As SS-Oberscharfuhrer Eric Muhsfeldt
David Arquette
As Hoffman
Natasha Lyonne
As Rosa
Mira Sorvino
As Dina
Mariana Stansheva
As Girl's Mother

Frequently asked questions

What is The Grey Zone about? Toggle content

In the heart of Auschwitz, a group of Jewish prisoners known as Sonderkommando were forced to assist the Nazis in their genocide by disposing of the bodies of their fellow prisoners killed in gas chambers; in exchange, they were granted a few more months of life. One day in October 1944, one of these groups hatched a plan to rebel and destroy at least one crematorium. As they receive weapons from Polish citizens nearby and gunpowder from a nearby munitions factory staffed by female prisoners, they face a moral dilemma when they discover a young girl who miraculously survived a gas chamber. The men become obsessed with saving her, and this sets off an internal conflict that ultimately imperils their plans for a rebellion. The insurrection eventually begins, but it is brutally suppressed by the SS, who execute all captives. As the girl is about to be set free after watching the executions, the SS officer, Muhsfeldt, shoots her. The movie ends with a voice-over recitation by the dead girl.

Where can I stream The Grey Zone? Toggle content

You can stream The Grey Zone on: Amazon Prime The Criterion Channel Amazon Store Fandango at Home Fawesome Amazon Prime ⎥ Freevee

What movies are similar to The Grey Zone? Toggle content

Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as The Grey Zone include Downfall, Saving Private Ryan, Enemy at the Gates, The Patriot, The Thin Red Line, Path to War.

When was The Grey Zone released in theaters? Toggle content

The Grey Zone was released in theaters on September 13, 2001.

 

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