The Protocols of Zion is a 2005 documentary film by Jewish filmmaker Marc Levin about a resurgence of antisemitism in the United States in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Appearing on screen along with his subjects, Levin engages in a free-for-all dialogue with Arab Americans, Black nationalists, evangelists, White nationalists, Neo-Nazis, Kabbalist rabbis, Holocaust survivors, and Frank Weltner, the founder of the Jew Watch web site.
| Protocols of Zion | |
|---|---|
 Protocols of Zion movie poster | |
| Directed by | Marc Levin |
| Produced by | Steve Kalafer Marc Levin |
| Starring | Marc Levin and Alan Levin |
| Cinematography | Mark Benjamin |
| Edited by | Ken Eluto |
| Music by | John Zorn |
| Distributed by | HBO Films THINKFilm |
Release dates | January, 2005 (Sundance) October 21, 2005 (limited) |
Running time | 95 minutes |
| Language | English |
Levin's film draws its inspiration from an encounter he had in a New York taxi not long after 9/11, in which his driver, an Egyptian immigrant, made the claim that the Jews had been warned not to go to work at the World Trade Center on the day of the attack. He then said that "it's all written in the book," referring to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a 1903 book purporting to disclose the Jews' master plan to rule the world. Discredited as a hoax by The Times of London in 1921,[1][2] The Protocols provided a crucial influence on Hitler's world views, and had fuelled hatred, violence, and ultimately genocide attempts through the first half of the twentieth century.[3][4] Ads for the film show two stacks of books, visibly entitled Protocols of Zion, with smoke billowing out of the top portion of the left-hand stack. This looks much like actual pictures of the World Trade Center as the fire raged through it. The movie was made in 2005, four years after the WTC attack.
Reactions
The film received mixed reviews from American film critics. The most common negative criticism was that, though eliciting strong emotions, the film lacked focus. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 67% based on reviews from 58 critics. The site's consensus states "Levin takes viewers on a personal journey, laying bare the ugly and varied faces of anti-Semitism."[5] On Metacritic the film has a score of 60% based on reviews from 23 critics.[6]
The film had an extremely limited theatrical release (four theaters at its widest) and grossed $178,875 domestically.[7]
Film festivals
| Year | Film | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Sundance Film Festival | |
| 2005 | Berlin Film Festival | |
| 2005 | Chicago International Film Festival | Gold Hugo – Best Documentary (nominated) |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival | |
| 2006 | AJC Seattle Jewish Film Festival |
See also
- Antisemitism in the United States
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- New antisemitism
- Pierre-André Taguieff (interviewed in the film)
References
- ^ Charles Paul Freund (February 2000). "Forging Protocols". reason.com. Reason. Archived from the original on 24 October 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Bein, Alex (1990), The Jewish question: biography of a world problem, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, p. 339, ISBN 978-0-8386-3252-9
- ^ Hitler, Adolf. "XI: Nation and Race". Mein Kampf. Vol. I. pp. 307–08.
- ^ Hitler on the Protocols (in German and English), Tikun Olam: David Dickerson, 5 February 1996}}
- ^ "Protocols of Zion (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ "Protocols of Zion". Metacritic. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
- ^ "Protocols of Zion (2005)." Box Office Mojo. 14 March 2007.
External links
- The Protocols of Zion at IMDb
- Official Site at archive.org
- Protocols of Zion to air on Cinemax
- Review of Protocols of Zion movie, includes a list of appeared guests
- Protocols of Zion (2005) on Box Office Mojo