BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?

Subject: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Aug 04 - 02:00 PM

Starring Danny Kaye. Great film! I wish I had seen it while the thread about the BNP was still going on!

I bought 4 DVDs for £6. This was one of them and the best. Set in the late 70's in Skokie, a suberb of Chicago I think. The village has a high Jewish population of whom a lot are holocaust survivors. The American Nazi party wants to stage a rally there and the film follows the political and legal wrangles that ensue.

Great acting from Mr Kaye (A Polish Jew himself I believe - though I could be wrong) and very thought provoking on the issue of the first amendment and freedom of speech in general.

A particulary chilling bit at the end when the Nazi leader makes us all realise he got what he wanted - Publicity for his cause. Well countered by Kayes speech though. I'll not spoil it ;-)

Anyone else seen it and care to comment?

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Aug 04 - 02:04 PM

I lived through it, don't need to see the movie of it.

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 25 Aug 04 - 02:21 PM

Dave, if this is the one, I saw it years ago on TV. You're right, Danny Kaye is great. I remember noticing each person's reaction...some stood and fought, some buried their heads in the sand, and some, like the teenagers, just wanted to go on a picnic with friends. It helped me understand my own family's reactions to difficult times. Some people, like me, want to talk, talk, talk...others are hurting just as much, but can't bring themselves to talk about things.

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 25 Aug 04 - 02:35 PM

Sounds like it Mary. The 'bury heads in sand' faction were the anti defamation legue who said the best response was to ignore them - which is when the holocaust survivors, lead by Kaye, realised that that is what they were told in pre-war Germany! The teenage bit you remember was his daughter wanting to get on with her own life - a good sub-plot in itself.

D.

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Dave Masterson
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 04:02 AM

I saw the film on TV years ago too – thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought Danny Kaye was superb – just goes to show that to be a good clown you also have to be a very good actor. Particularly poignant was his characters comment at the end of the movie, when told the Fascists had achieved their aim of publicity – "Yes, but we stopped them."

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 08:31 AM

Dave, (either Dave), was this the film where the characters talked directly into the camera, expressing their thoughts and feelings? What is this technique called? It's not really a soliliquy.

Subject: RE: BS: The film 'Skokie' - Anyone seen it?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 26 Aug 04 - 09:11 AM

They did right at the end, Mary. I thought it was a soliliquy but on refection it could be a monologue. A soliloquy should be, strictly speaking, as if the character is talking to himself whereas a monolgue is a long speech adressing the audience. I guess it kind of depends on the directors thoughts and the viewers interpretation!

I think in this case we were probably right with soliloquy.

Cheers

DtG