Holocaust (TV miniseries)

Infobox Television Film
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name = Holocaust


caption =
format = Miniseries
runtime = 475 min.
director = Marvin J. Chomsky
producer = Robert Berger
writer = Gerald Green
music = Morton Gould
starring = Michael Moriarty
Meryl Streep
Rosemary Harris
Sam Wanamaker
David Warner
Tovah Feldshuh
Fritz Weaver
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = April 16, 1978
last_aired = April 19, 1978
website =
num_episodes =
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tv_com_id = |

"Holocaust" is an Emmy Award-winning television miniseries broadcast in four parts in 1978 on the NBC television network. Although the miniseries won several awards and received critical acclaim, it was criticized by some including noted Holocaust author and survivor Elie Wiesel who (according to the "New York Times") called it "untrue, offensive (and) cheap." [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/holocaust/holocaust.htm]

It tells the story of the Holocaust from the perspective of the Weiss family of German Jews, and from the point of view of a German family where the husband is a rising SS member, who gradually becomes a merciless, bloodthirsty war criminal. "Holocaust" highlighted numerous important events which occurred up to and during World War II, such as Kristallnacht, the creation of Jewish ghettos and later, the use of gas chambers. The series ultimately attempted to portray the atrocity of this genocide to viewers."Holocaust" was broadcast in four parts from April 16 to April 19. It was extremely popular, earning a 49% market share. It was also popular in Europe and had a major impact when it was broadcast in West Germany in January 1979.

The nine-and-a-half hour program starred Meryl Streep, James Woods and Michael Moriarty, as well as a large supporting cast. It was directed by Marvin J. Chomsky, a veteran of countless television specials including ABC's highly successful miniseries "Roots", which first aired a year earlier, in 1977. The teleplay was written by novelist-producer Gerald Green, who later adapted the script into a novel.

"Holocaust" won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series. It also won Emmys for stars Streep, Moriarty and Blanche Baker. Chomsky and Green also won Emmys. Morton Gould's music was nominated, but did not win. Gould's music score was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Album of Original Score for a Movie or Television Program. Co-stars David Warner, Sam Wanamaker, Tovah Feldshuh, Fritz Weaver and Rosemary Harris were all nominated for Emmys, and they too, did not win. However, Harris won a Golden Globe Award (for Best TV Actress - Drama) for her performance, as did Moriarty (for Best TV Actor - Drama).

The program was produced by Robert "Buzz" Berger, and was filmed on location in Austria and West Berlin.

The miniseries created controversy for supposedly trivializing the Holocaust. The television format meant the realism of the situation was muted, while the fact that NBC made a great deal of money from advertising, led to accusations that the tragedy was being commercialized. Its creators defended it by arguing that it was an important factor in developing and maintaining awareness of the Holocaust.

Cast

DVD Releases

The Holocaust TV miniseries was released as a Region 1 DVD by "Paramount" on May 27th, 2008.

See also

*List of Holocaust films

External links

*
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/H/htmlH/holocaust/holocaust.htm "Holocaust"] at The Museum of Broadcast Communications website