Watch The Counterfeiters For Free

So much average

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Can you be a hero in a concentration camp? Those who survived against near impossible odds in world war did so mostly by being useful to the Nazis. And, on the other side of the fence, can you be a guard and a decent man? On one hand, you are participating in a system of utmost barbarity; and in that milieu, anything short of pure psychopathy might seem like kindness. Can this have any meaning? 'The Counterfeiters' is a classy drama, and true story, about a Jewish forger who made false money to help the Nazis pay for the war; and whose cautious efforts at sabotage certainly feel heroic from the vantage point of a modern armchair. Yet when the camp is liberated, the well-fed highly-skilled forging team seem almost indistinguishable from their former captors in the eyes of their fellow inmates from the less privileged barracks. Many stories about the holocaust chose to address the evil of what happened tangentially, and this tale is no exception: there's a limit to the number of bodies any viewer can bear counting without becoming numb. But 'The Counterfeiters' is both thought provoking and entertaining (in a grim sort of way); and leaves you wanting to know more about its subject.

Wow. This film is thrilling, informative, and realistic. The cinematography is brilliant, and the movie effortlessly takes you straight to the '30s.There is so much to say, I'd say it in my blog:legendsonsilver.blogspot.com Overall, there are fantastic performances. The lead actors do justice to their roles. As for the direction, you instantly feel a classic brilliance emanating from the screen. The sets, the performances- everything breathes out of the screen. In this regard, the director does a better job than even Tom Cruise's "Valkyrie" did.

There have been countless films about WWII and the holocaust--lots. I have watched many of them but my family refuses. As my oldest daughter has said many times "I know what happened then. It was awful and evil. And, I've seen enough of them!". However, "The Counterfeiters" is not just another film about the holocaust but discussed an obscure but true story about a small number of Jewish prisoners who were able to spare their lives by working WITH the Nazis. Let me explain. The Nazis came up with a plan to destroy the economies of their enemies. First, they wanted to produce tons and tons of British pounds and flood the market with them. Then, do the same with the American dollar. And, while most may not know it, they were successful in producing perfect qualities pounds and dollars. This film is about how they did it and why, ultimately, the plan didn't change the outcome of the war.The film has some wonderful acting, a taut script and recreates the horror of the concentration camps. It's not pleasant but it IS also very fascinating--particularly the story of the hero (??) of the film--a cheap criminal with a talent for forgeries. Well worth seeing and a film that took the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Salomon Sorowitsch (superbly played by Karl Markovics) was a thriving Jewish counterfeiter in 1930s Berlin when he was arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. While there, he was put in charge of an operation, set up by the SS, to duplicate foreign currency in an effort both to de-stabilize the Allies' economies and to continue funding the Nazi regime and its war effort. This activity secured for him and his fellow workers numerous privileges - additional food, more humane living conditions, an increased guarantee of safety - that were denied to the other prisoners in the camp.On the surface, "The Counterfeiters" provides us with a grim and disturbing look at life in a Nazi death camp. But, like Lina Wertmuller's "Seven Beauties," it goes much deeper than that, exploring the thorny ethical issue of just how far a human being should be willing to go to ensure his own survival. As Sorowitsch himself states, in a situation such as the one in which he finds himself, "You adapt or you perish," and he refuses to let the Nazis, or anyone else for that matter, make him feel guilty for doing what it takes to stay alive. But soon there is dissension within the ranks, as Burger (August Diehl), a political idealist who believes there's a greater cause beyond their own survival, insists the men sabotage the effort - even if that means he and all his fellow workers die as a result. Yet, thanks to the inmates' delaying tactics, only a small number of dollars were ever produced.Brilliantly acted and solidly directed (by Stefan Ruzowitzky), "The Counterfeiters" is a complex morality tale that will have you questioning your own values and examining your own conscience long after it's over.