Watch Judith For Free

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

hyped garbage

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I am a big believer in historical accuracy in films and when a film excels I try to point it out...and when it fails I quickly do the same. In many ways. "Judith" is a fine film but when it comes to the central character, the filmmakers seem much more concerned about Sophia Loren as a sexy 1960s icon than a credible actress. Too often, she is inexplicably wearing what appear to be Chanel suits and is perfectly coiffed...like a 1960s Italian movie star. However, the film is supposed to be about a Jewish woman who escaped extermination in a Nazi death camp....and showing the lovely and super well-coiffed Loren in this role seemed not only stupid but a bit insulting.Judith (Loren) is a woman who miraculously survived a death camp. She's lost her son and her husband, Gustav Schiller, turned her in to the SS!! Not surprisingly, she hates the man and wants him dead- -but she also wants to force him to tell her what happened to their son. However, the Haganah (Israeli Defense) wants the guy as well, as he's now working with the Syrians--using his knowledge about German tank tactics to aid in the destruction of the soon to be announced state of Israel. If they had completely re-cast the part of Judith, had her at least appear in passing to be possibly Jewish and they had her wear normal and appropriate clothing for the era, the film would have been much, much better. Still, it's a strong story and worth seeing--that's why in spite of the problems I still give it a 7. How and why Loren was cast for this film is something I would really love to see. I am NOT being anti-Loren--she was marvelous in many movies but this one is just well beyond her range. Had the filmmakers done a better job in this respect, the film easily could have earned an 8 or 9.

I first saw Judith years ago on the big screen when it first came out and was blown away by both Sophia Loren's beauty and her performance as concentration camp survivor Judith Auerbach. Even among the nameless, faceless members of her faith in those camps Judith has a unique story to tell.For she was in fact the wife of Wehrmacht General Hans Verner who was given a choice by the Nazis his career or his Jewish wife. Verner disowned her and she was thrown into Dachau her daughter taken from her and presumed dead. She lived on hate to survive with only one mission, nail her ex-husband any way she can.But the Haganah in Palestine in the days just before the formation of Israel want Verner as well. He's rumored to be in Damascus teaching the Arabs the rudiments of tank warfare, Nazi blitzkrieg style. There aren't any good pictures of Verner and there is only one who can really identify him. Hence Loren is smuggled into Palestine from the refugee camps at Cyprus that we all know from Exodus. She's brought to a Kibbutz on the Syrian border in the care of Haganah commander Peter Finch. He's the one with the mission of getting Verner taken alive to extract information and they need Loren, but Loren has other ideas. Finch also takes an interest in Sophia personally, who wouldn't. Another who is taken with her is British Major Jack Hawkins in one of his last films before throat cancer claimed his larynx. He's a spit and polish army regular, but he turns out to have a streak of humanity in him that even he didn't realize.Judith kind of got lost between those other two great films about the founding of Israel, Exodus and Cast A Giant Shadow. It's been not broadcast for several years for inexplicable reasons and that's a pity because Sophia and the whole cast is wonderful.Judith more than either of the other two films shows a good deal more of life on the Kibbutz. Israeli actress Zaharira Harifai plays the camp doctor and more than anyone else awakens in Loren a feeling that she is among friends and that the new state of Israel will give her a home and she can make a unique contribution to its founding.Judith is not a film to be missed if it ever sees the light of day again. Demand TCM broadcast it.

This is the story of Jewish underground fighters' efforts to track down a former Nazi Panzer commander who has been helping the Syrians with tank strategies in the months before Israeli nationhood was declared. Only one woman can help them identify the commander, so they smuggle her into Palestine. Judith, the central character in the story, is a survivor of Dachau where she lost her son. But she has a darker past at the concentration camp which gives her the ability to identify the German commander. Played by Sophia Loren, Judith certainly has the physical ability to appeal to various men and get the information she needs. She also has a personal reason to find the German which complicates the story. For some reason, this movie has gotten a bad rap from some of the ratings guides but it is an entertaining and well-produced film. The technical aspects are first-rate as is most of the acting with Peter Finch and Jack Hawkins acquitting themselves admirably in opposing roles.

Saw this movie many years ago in the theatre and found it most entertaining with lots of drama and action. Had a lousy ending though, with woman seeking to find her son throughout the entire movie, failing in that endeavor. Maybe this is why I have never seen it come to the small screen.