Protocols of Zion (2005)

Director:

Marc Levin

Release Date:

23 November 2005 (France)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Some lies never die.

Plot:

A documentary about the rise of anti-Semitism in the USA after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Plot Keywords:

Libel | Anti Semitism | Book | Neo Nazi | Religion

Cast

Alan Levin	...	Himself
Marc Levin	...	Himself

Directed by
Marc Levin

Produced by
Nancy Abraham	....	supervising producer
Jeff Herr	....	executive producer
Steve Kalafer	....	producer
Marc Levin	....	producer
Sheila Nevins	....	executive producer
Daphne Pinkerson	....	supervising producer
Daniel Praid	....	associate producer
Danielle Schleif	....	associate producer
Michael Skolnik	....	field producer
Jennifer Tuft	....	co-producer

Original Music by
John Zorn

Cinematography by
Mark Benjamin

Film Editing by
Ken Eluto

Sound Department
Alan Barker	....	additional sound mixer
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist
David Corcoran	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Ben Fine	....	animation director (as Benjamin Fine)
Keith Yurevitz	....	digital imaging

Camera and Electrical Department
Jon Fine	....	cinematographer: second unit
Michael Schiller	....	camera operator: second unit

Other crew
Sean William Cunningham	....	transcriber
Emily Gann	....	production coordinator
Sarah Hodd	....	production coordinator
Daniela Kon	....	researcher
Michael J. Linowes	....	legal counsel
Shane Moran	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• HBO/Cinemax Documentary

Distributors

• HBO Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Pretty Pictures (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2005) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Cinetic Media  sales

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some disturbing content and brief nudity.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:M

Company:

HBO/Cinemax Documentary

Trivia:

One of the subjects from Trembling Before G-d (2001), another American documentary concerning contemporary Jewish issues, can be seen briefly in the anti-war protest.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marc Levin is walking up a gravel road with a white supremacist leader, the shots from behind show them passing several parked cars as they are engaged in conversation. Shots of them from the front, however, do not include these cars. In addition, the shots from behind show the two persons approaching the same cars several times.

Movie Connections:

Features The Passion of the Christ (2004)

A promising, yet disappointing film

This documentary has a promising start: a report on the current day use of the discredited anti-Semitic fraud, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." Levin is at his best when he's covering how this silly false text is still being cited by anti-Semitic political activists, white supremacists, and the like. Actually, he could have spent even more time describing the theories regarding the document's source and history.

Unfortunately, he loses focus. After giving his main topic too abbreviated a treatment, he takes a scattershot approach which is ultimately a superficial analysis of 20th and 21st century anti-Semitism and the politics of Israel. Covering the issues of anti-Semitism and Roman Catholicism (and more pointedly, anti-Semiticism in the "Passion of the Christ") for example, could have been its own documentary. Instead, it is just a misplaced digression in this movie. Next, a presentation of anti-Semitism among Arab-Americans and Palestian-Americans, their motives and their views, takes up about 30 minutes of film.

In reality, each of these major themes: the current role of the Protocols in anti-Semitics politics, the tension between the Christian church and Judaism dating back to the Crucifixion, and the Arab-Israali conflict could take up its own proper treatment via documentary. Levin does each a disservice by trying to cover all in one modest film.