Judgment at Nuremberg

"The event the world will never forget."

1961 3h 11m EN

🙌

8.0

BANGER

🔥

93%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

8.3

IMDB

★8.0TMDB · 996🍅93%Rotten Tomatoes●60Metacritic★8.3IMDB · 93,758

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.

“The event the world will never forget.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

MGM+ Amazon ChannelSubscription

PhiloSubscription

MGM Plus Roku Premium ChannelSubscription

Cast

Spencer Tracy
Dan Haywood
Richard Widmark
Tad Lawson
Maximilian Schell
Hans Rolfe
Burt Lancaster
Ernst Janning
Marlene Dietrich
Mrs. Bertholt
Judy Garland
Irene Hoffman Wallner
Montgomery Clift
Rudolph Petersen
William Shatner
Harrison Byers

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stanley Kramer
Writers: Abby Mann, Abby Mann
Languages: English, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

At 191 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stanley Kramer, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Ernest Gold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frederic Knudtson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stanley Kramer directs. Ernest Laszlo behind the camera. Ernest Gold scores. Frederic Knudtson cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1At 191 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
2Shot for just $3.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
465 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, German.
6Directed by Stanley Kramer, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ernest Gold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Frederic Knudtson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Spencer Tracy and Richard Widmark and Maximilian Schell carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The event the world will never forget.".
11IMDB entry: tt0055031 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 13 themes, including "right and justice", "nazi", "court case", "judge".
13Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Original score: Ernest Gold
Editing: Frederic Knudtson
Production design: Rudolph Sternad
Costume design: Jean Louis
Makeup / hair: Robert J. Schiffer
Sound: Jean L. Speak
Runtime: 191 min · 3h 11m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,000,000
Box office: $10,000,000
Return: 333% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 60/100
IMDB rating: 8.3/10 · 93,758 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 2 Oscars. 16 wins & 26 nominations total

Silver nugget for the best foreign film
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stanley Kramer

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-04-20
★ 8/10
Spencer Tracy is the presiding judge at the fictitious trial of some of the most evil Nazis to have survived the end of WWII. Chief amongst them is the formidable former jurist "Dr. Ernst Janning" (Burt Lancaster). Richard Widmark is tasked with leading the prosecution; Maximilian Schell as their defender. Make no mistake, this is no standard courtroom melodrama. The performances from all - especially a sensitive and measured Tracy who tries, despite every sense of humanity within himself pulling him otherwise - to remain as impartial and fair in the face of the evidence of brutality presented to him and his fellow judges. There are a couple of wonderful cameo performances from victims of the alleged abuses - notably Judy Garland and Monty Clift with Marlene Dietrich as the widow of a former Nazi general who seems to be in some sort of a daze of denial (we are never quite certain what she did/didn't know). The story challenges the very basis of an independent judiciary and the principles of blind obedience motivated by pure evil, zeal or fear. The use, only once, of actual British footage from a liberated concentration camp is heart-rending and sickening in equal measure. A real must see.
badelf2026-05-07
★ 9/10
Where were we when Hitler began shrieking his hate in the Reichstag? Where were we when our neighbors were being dragged out in the middle of the night to Dachau? Where were we when every village in Germany has a railroad terminal where cattle cars were filled with children being carried off to their extermination? Where were we when they cried out in the night to us?