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Rape of Europa, The
Menemsha Films


6.7

based on 18 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 4 votes
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Joan Allen

The Rape of Europa is an epic journey through seven countries that follows the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare, which threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For 12 long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on an unprecedented scale in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America, as well as across Europe, fought back. They did so in a miraculous campaign to rescue then return the millions of lost, hidden, and stolen treasures. (Menemsha)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
WRITTEN BY:	Lynn Nicholas (book) Nicole Newnham Bonni Cohen Richard Berge
DIRECTED BY:	Richard Berge Bonni Cohen Nicole Newnham
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: August 26, 2008 Theatrical: September 14, 2007
RUNNING TIME:	117 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Throughout the film its makers pose the question of whether saving a work of art is as important as saving a human life. The question is not answered, and perhaps ultimately unanswerable. Yet Europa movingly shows how for many, art and artifacts are living things.

100

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Filmmakers Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newhman do a superb job of telling this neglected story in vivid detail.

TV Guide Ken Fox

This gripping documentary sheds light on the frightening totality of Hitler's vision for a Germanic Europe, and the extent to which he and his Nazi thugs were no better than common thieves.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

With Joan Allen bringing a crisp intelligence to the sharp, unsentimental narration, it's both awful and fascinating to follow Hitler's warped growth from frustrated painter to self-appointed arbiter of Germanic art.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

The film is somewhat scattered in construction, but it's an eye-opener.

Variety Ronnie Scheib

This mesmerizing morality play, rich in rare archival footage and complete with heroic Allied saviors, merits a full-fledged arthouse run before reaching larger PBS and cable auds.

Village Voice Michelle Orange

Impressive in scope if unremarkable in style, The Rape of Europa provides a chronology of World War II as it was experienced by "David," "Mona Lisa," and other artistic treasures the Nazis plundered.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

All in all, an exciting and terrifying new perspective on an era you probably thought you understood.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

It’s a History Channel or PBS special that’s leaped the fence from the boob tube onto the big screen. And it’s riveting.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

A surprisingly vast and involving topic.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Fascinating facts and testimony.

San Francisco Chronicle Kenneth Baker

With impressive clarity and sweep, The Rape of Europa recounts the Nazi theft and destruction of European art and architecture.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A veteran who was in the Allied force trying to drive Germans out of a landmark Italian monastery asks, "What is more important, a great piece of art or a human life?" That it has taken more than 60 years to get this incredible story told answers the question.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

A startling documentary.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

It’s absorbing. The world came perilously close to losing so many Rembrandts, so many Klimts. The cultural casualties, near and actual, may be dwarfed by the millions slaughtered in the same churn of history. But we are what we create, and when emblems of a civilization are reduced to pawns of wartime, there is no victor.

Boston Globe Mark Feeney

Here the result is often disjointed and frustrating. That 2,000 people lived in the cellars of the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad is certainly remarkable but not altogether germane to the fate of art during the war.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Unfortunately, most of the two-hour documentary is devoted to annotating what the Nazis stole for both their state and personal collections. The movie doesn't dramatize this crime -- it catalogs it. With deadening monotony.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

Uninspired in style, and Joan Allen's narration is dry.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.7 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay W gave it a10:
Stunning documentary about the cultural pretenses that underlied Nazi ideology and war policy to the bitter end, and the Allies' conflicted views about the value of Europe's art treasures at a time of deadly conflict. This masterful blending of archival footage and interviews keeps you glued to your seat. Superb in all respects. See it on a big screen if you can!

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Rape of Europa, The Menemsha Films

Rape of Europa, The
Menemsha Films