466 - Nuremberg

466 - Nuremberg

From Eavesdropping at the Movies by Jose Arroyo and Michael Glass

November 28, 2025 · 42 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the film Nuremberg, focusing on its performances, screenplay, and thematic comparisons to other films about trials.

Russell Crowe shines in Nuremberg as Hermann Göring, who became the face of the Nazi Party following Hitler's suicide and the end of the war, as he's held in custody and probed by a psychiatrist as the titular trials approach. Indeed, while a mediocre film, its actors' performances are a pleasure - with the exception of Rami Malek, whose psychiatrist is twitchy, busy, and a failure. A shame that he's the protagonist, then. We discuss the film's structure and screenplay: José contends that Malek's character is not just badly played but an irrelevance, and the drama would be much better served by focusing on Michael Shannon's prosecutor; Mike criticises what he claims is a stupid person's idea of clever writing. And there's more to think about: how Nuremberg compares to Bridge of Spies, which similarly depicted a novel trial that had obvious implications beyond the courtroom, and Judgment at Nuremberg, the other major dramatisation of the trials; the film's tone, which is able to handle moments of humour but sometimes veers into the overly glib and kitsch; the present-day rise of fascism and the genocide in Gaza to which the film speaks; the use of real footage of Holocaust victims…

People in this episode

Hosts: José, Mike

Topics covered

  • Nuremberg
  • Hermann Göring
  • Russell Crowe
  • Rami Malek
  • Michael Shannon
  • film structure
  • screenplay
  • Bridge of Spies
  • Judgment at Nuremberg
  • fascism
  • genocide
  • Catholic Church
  • atomic bomb

Keywords

  • film review
  • actor performance
  • historical drama
  • Nazi Party
  • psychiatrist
  • courtroom drama

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Bridge of Spies, Judgment at Nuremberg

Places: Nuremberg, Gaza, Japan

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