Nanking (2007)

96% of critics liked it
(48 reviews)
83% of users liked it
(4,732 ratings)

Filmmaker Bill Guttentag takes a closer look at the atrocities committed by the Japanese after Nanking fell to the Imperial Japanese Army in 1937 with this documentary that was inspired by Iris Chang's novel The Rape of Nanking. Compiled from over 700 hours of footage including news-reel footage,… More Filmmaker Bill Guttentag takes a closer look at the atrocities committed by the Japanese after Nanking fell to the Imperial Japanese Army in 1937 with this documentary that was inspired by Iris Chang's novel The Rape of Nanking. Compiled from over 700 hours of footage including news-reel footage, interviews with survivors and soldiers, and staged readings, Nanking was financed in large by millionaire Ted Leonsis, who had read Chang's obituary and subsequently been prompted to read the author's best-selling account of the massacre. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Written By: Elisabeth Bentley, Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman
Genres: Documentary

In Theaters: Dec 12, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Apr 29, 2008
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com
The lesson here is not simply to vilify the Japanese soldiers of that era, but to make sure that we never forget who we are and what our country stands for today.
Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
Sheds light on particular wartime atrocities largely neglected in the collective memory.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Nanking is grim but ultimately uplifting, a reminder that even in dangerous times, brave individuals can hold the line against barbarism.
Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News
Anyone who sees Nanking should know going in what a brutal story it is, but no one should miss it because of a restrictive rating.
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express
This painful documentary ends on a hopeful note, although with a clear view of the cloud over human nature.
Ian Buckwalter, DCist
A noble effort, but a flawed delivery. The film would benefit from more time spent with the real survivors, and less with actors tasked with "playing" the Western saviors.
S. James Wegg, JWR
Living through a screening of ... the 1937/8 Japanese invasion, devastation and occupation of Nanking creates a fervent wish to have nothing o do with our membership cards in the homo sapiens species.
Brian Gibson, Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)
A stunning documentary, a must-see-and-bear-it cinematic testimonial to yet another mass war crime, lest we forget.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
A deft and dramatic melding of talking-head documentary, historic photos and film footage and readings by a cast of actors, the film is a devastating depiction of man's inhumanity to man. It is also about how some of us are brave enough to say 'No.'
Tricia Olszewski, Let's Not Listen
Nanking bombards you with words and images of acts too barbaric to fully absorb.

Read all 10 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Dillon L

Straightforward and to the point, this documentary on the seldom heard Nanking atrocities is as intelligent as it is well made.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Nanking" is a devastating documentary about the 1937 occupation and rape of Nanking(it is estimated there were 20,000 rapes in the first month) by the Japanese army.(I had heard this event mentioned on occasion but never seen it documented with this… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Nanking" is a devastating documentary about the 1937 occupation and rape of Nanking(it is estimated there were 20,000 rapes in the first month) by the Japanese army.(I had heard this event mentioned on occasion but never seen it documented with this level of detail.) A group of Westerners stayed past the evacuations on a mission of mercy, setting up a safety zone in an attempt to save as many civilians as they can.(They saved as many as 250,000 people.) Among their number, were a group of Americans and one Nazi businessman, John Rabe.(On the one hand, Rabe being a part of this courageous humanitarian mission is beyond irony. But his petitiioning his government for help does present new evidence into the debate of what the German people knew and when did they know it.) Of particular concern were former Chinese troops who were being summarily executed and of course any women.[/font] [font=Century Gothic]Along with archival and newswreel footage, interviews with Chinese survivors and Japanese soldiers involved in the atrocities, the movie has actors including Woody Harrelson, Mariel Hemingway, Jurgen Prochnow, Chris Mulkey, Rosalind Chao, Stephen Dorff, and Mark Valley read testimony from the observers straight to the camera.(They felt that if their testimony could be heard by the outside world, then pressure could be applied to stop the atrocities, especially by the Japanese public but it does not seem likely since they were stirred into a militaristic and patriotic fervor by their dictatorial government.) It does take a little while to get used to this technique but it is as effective as everything else in this superb antiwar film. [/font]
William G

Talking-head format robs actions both harrowing and heroic of their full impact.

Cast

            Hugo Armstrong as Rev. John Magee

            Rosalind Chao as Chang Yu Zheng

            Stephen Dorff as Lewis Smythe

            John Getz as George Fitch

            Mariel Hemingway as Minnie Vautrin

            Michelle Krusiec as Yang Shu Ling

            Chris Mulkey as Mills MacCallum

            Jürgen Prochnow as John Rabe

            Sonny Saito as Sakai Hiroshi

            Graham Sibley as Bates

            Robert Wu as Chinese Soldier

            Mark Valley as Stage Manager

            Woody Harrelson as Bob Wilson

            Cao Zhi Kun
            
            Chang Zhi Qiang
            
            Ding Yong Qing
            
            Jiang Gen Fu
            
            Ding Guo Yong
            
            Li Gao Shan
            
            Li Su Fen
            
            Luo Zhong Yang
            
            Ni Cui Ping
            
            Xia Shu Qin
            
            Wang Wen Yu
            
            Wu Zheng Xi
            
            Zhang Xiu Hong
            
            Zhou Ji Mu
            
See full cast