X
  • 2007
  • R
  • THINKFilm
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2007
  • R
  • THINKFilm
  • 1 h 30 m

Summary Nanking is a powerful reminder of the heartbreaking toll that war takes on the innocent, and a testament to the courage and conviction of a few individuals determined to act in the face of evil. The film tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China in the early days of World War II and focuses on the efforts of a small grou...

Directed By: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman

Written By: Elisabeth Bentley, Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman

  • 2007
  • R
  • THINKFilm
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2007
  • R
  • THINKFilm
  • 1 h 30 m

Nanking

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
76
User Score Mixed or Average Based on 10 User Ratings
5.8
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary Nanking is a powerful reminder of the heartbreaking toll that war takes on the innocent, and a testament to the courage and conviction of a few individuals determined to act in the face of evil. The film tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China in the early days of World War II and focuses on the efforts of a small grou...

Directed By: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman

Written By: Elisabeth Bentley, Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
76
89% Positive
17 Reviews
11% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 19 Critic Reviews
76
89% Positive
17 Reviews
11% Mixed
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
I have rarely, if ever, seen a documentary reconstruction of a historical event that is so rich in firsthand (and well-preserved) photographic material.
By Richard Schickel FULL REVIEW
88
What Guttentag and Sturman gain in dramatic immediacy, however, they lose when it comes to historical context, and the chance to offer insight into why such things occur in the first place -- and continue to happen today -- is lost.
By Ken Fox FULL REVIEW
80
Nanking both calls attention to a horrifying set of war crimes that remains little known in the West and crafts an impossible-but-true hymn to the power of the individual conscience.
By Andrew O'Hehir FULL REVIEW
75
Whatever the numbers, testimony cited in Nanking portrays the episode as a horrifying chapter in man’s renowned inhumanity to man.
FULL REVIEW
75
Everyone knows about the Holocaust, but few today have heard about what was infamous as the Rape of Nanking, when 200,000 residents of what was then China's capital were massacred by invading Japanese troops.
By Lou Lumenick FULL REVIEW
67
Nanking, a carefully nonpunitive documentary of remembrance, is emotionally draining, as it should be, but it's also overstructured, as it needn't be; the actors are intrusive in a story that isn't theirs.
By Lisa Schwarzbaum FULL REVIEW
60
Individually these elements are powerful, but they fail to mesh or collide with one another in any satisfying way, and the movie's score only exacerbates the problem.
By Jonathan Rosenbaum FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 10 User Ratings
5.8
60% Positive
6 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
30% Negative
3 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Mixed or Average Based on 10 User Ratings
5.8
60% Positive
6 Ratings
10% Mixed
1 Rating
30% Negative
3 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company HBO Documentary Films, Purple Mountain Productions
Release Date Dec 12, 2007
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline Even in the darkest of times there is light
Website http://nankingthefilm.com/
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Awards

News & Documentary Emmy Awards
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
Peabody Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations

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