2016
Kino Lorber
2 h 5 m

2016
Kino Lorber
2 h 5 m

Summary The German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt caused an uproar in the 1960s by coining the subversive concept of the "Banality of Evil" when referring to the trial of Adolph Eichmann, which she covered for the New Yorker magazine. Her private life was no less controversial thanks to her early love affair with the renowned German philosophe...

Documentary

Directed By: Ada Ushpiz

Written By: Ada Ushpiz

2016
Kino Lorber
2 h 5 m

2016
Kino Lorber
2 h 5 m

Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt

Name: Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2016-04-06
Duration: 2 min 5 s
Rating: 66
Cast: Hannah Arendt, Jury Andruchowytsch, Aharon Appelfeld, Steven Asheim, Yehuda Bauer

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews

User Score Available after 4 ratings

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Where to Watch

Documentary

Directed By: Ada Ushpiz

Written By: Ada Ushpiz

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews

63% Positive
5 Reviews

38% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 8 Critic Reviews

63% Positive
5 Reviews

38% Mixed
3 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

New York Post

Apr 7, 2016

The film works to rescue Arendt and her phrase “the banality of evil” from years of cliché, and largely succeeds.

By Farran Smith Nehme FULL REVIEW

The New York Times

Apr 5, 2016

Ms. Ushpiz is determined to rescue her subject from the banality of biography. The details of Arendt’s childhood, education, romantic life and professional activity are not ignored, but they nearly always illuminate her ideas.

By A.O. Scott FULL REVIEW

Christian Science Monitor

Apr 29, 2016

A documentary about the alternately celebrated and reviled German-born philosopher who gave us the catchphrase “the banality of evil.”

By Peter Rainer FULL REVIEW

The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Jun 9, 2016

This solid intellectual biography painstakingly follows the development of Arendt’s thought as she was forced to flee her privileged surroundings in German academia, where she was Martin Heidegger’s student and lover, to France and then the United States.

By Kate Taylor FULL REVIEW

Village Voice

Apr 7, 2016

Insofar as Ushpiz succeeds in putting the most provocative, salient, and damning aspects of Arendt's work into a lucid context, she exposes the limits of her own approach.

By Michelle Orange FULL REVIEW

The Hollywood Reporter

Apr 7, 2016

Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt wrestles with its unwieldy subject with only sporadic success.

By Frank Scheck FULL REVIEW

Slant Magazine

Apr 4, 2016

It reduces its historical moment to a series of vignettes and voiceovers, each evincing a curiously tone-deaf sentimentality.

By Clayton Dillard FULL REVIEW

See All 8 Critic Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Fernsehbüro, Intuitive Pictures, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Release Date Apr 6, 2016

Duration 2 h 5 m

Genres

Documentary

Website http://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/vitaactivathespiritofhannaharendt

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Awards

Santa Barbara International Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Master of Art Film Festival

• 1 Win & 1 Nomination

Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Hannah Arendt

Self

Jury Andruchowytsch

Self

Aharon Appelfeld

Self

Steven Asheim

Self

Yehuda Bauer

Self

Richard Bernstein

Self

Leon Botstein

Self - President of Bard College

Edna Brocke

Self

Judith Butler

Self

Alison Darcy

Hannah Arendt

Adolf Eichmann

Self

Roger Errera

Self

Dror Etkes

Self

Emmanuel Faye

Self

Khaled Furani

Self

Hermann Göring

Self

Gertrude Heidegger

Self

Martin Heidegger

Self

Ramin Jahanbegloo

Self

Hans Jonas

Self

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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