Thought provoking, horrific, disturbing and real!. Director Alain Resnais’ 1955 landmark film shot 10 years after the liberation of the concentration camps. “Night and Fog” is a film that should be watched once in one’s lifetime.
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TITLE: Night and Fog – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #197
DURATION: 31 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Color and Black and White, Monoraul, In French with optional English subtitles, 1:33:1 aspect ratio
COMPANY: The Criterion Collection/Janus Films
RELEASED: 2003
Directed by Alain Resnais
Written by Jean Cayrol
Produced by Anatole Dauman, Samy Halfon, Philippe Lifchitz
Music by Hanns Eisler
Cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet, Sacha Vierny
Edited by Alain Resnais
Production Management: Edouard Muskza
Starring:
Narration by Michel Bouquet
Ten years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, filmmaker Alain Resnais documented the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz. One of the first cinematic reflections on the horrors of the Holocaust, Night and Fog (Nuit et brouillard) contrasts the stillness of the abandoned camps’ quiet, empty buildings with haunting wartime footage. With Night and Fog, Resnais investigates the cyclical nature of man’s violence toward man and presents the unsettling suggestion that such horrors could come again.
The 1955 film “Nuit et brouillard” (Night and Fog) is a historic French short film directed by Alain Resnais (“Last Year at Marienbad”, “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, Mon Oncle D’Amerique) and produced by Anatole Dauman (“Paris, Texas”, “Wings of Desire”, “The Tin Drum”, “Empire of Passion”).
The idea of the making of the film came from historians Henri Michel and Olga Wormser who wrote a book about eyewitness reports of deportation of Jews and with the liberation of France celebrating its 10th Anniversary, the idea caught the attention of producers Dauman, Samy Halfton and Philippe Lifchitz and led to Dauman contacting Resnais to direct the film.
Resnais who had experience working on documentaries, originally turned down the project until two survivors of the Holocaust became involved with the short film: poet and novelist Jean Cayrol who wrote the film and composer Hanns Eisler. The film would feature cinematography by Ghislain Cloquet and Sacha Vierny. And though uncredited, filmmaker Chris Marker also assisted his friend Jean Cayrol in writing the commentary, after Cayrol seeing the footage became to difficult for him to continue writing.
The short film was made a decade after the liberation of those held at the Nazi concentration camps and feature footage of Asuchwitz and Majdanek in 1955 but then show photos and video of what took place at the camps during the Holocaust. For Resnais, the short film was importance because he wanted to warn the world that the horror of the Holocaust can happen again with the Algerian war.
“Night and Fog” would feature footage of detainees and people in concentration camps that were filmed from French, Soviet and Polish newsreels and from other exhibits from other countries. For many people, the footage featured in “Night and Fog” will probably be footage that many people have never seen before.  Disturbing images of the horrors that took place at the concentration camps, on the trains and more.
The fact that the film was shot a decade after the liberation of the camps, “Night and Fog” is a landmark documentary that captures the horror in detail unlike any other documentary. The film is used in schools around the world and also given the thumbs up by French director Francois Truffaut who called the film as the greatest film ever made.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Night and Fog” is featured in color and black and white as the film goes from 1955 showing the concentration camps then and then showing footage of what it was like during the Holocaust. The film was featured in 1:33:1 and black bars will appear on the left and right of the image.
The Criterion Collection has provided a newer high-definition digital transfer which was created on a Spirit Datacine from the 35mm interpositive. Also, thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed from the MTI Digital Restoration System.
As for the audio, the French monoraul soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical positive and audio restoration tools were used the Criterion to remove clicks, pops, hiss and crackle.  The film is center channel driven but for those with modern receivers, can easily switch the audio via audio on all channels or stereo, to their own preference. Also, included is a selection for the the optional isolated music track.
Subtitles are in English.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Night and Fog” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Interview with Alain Resnais-Â (5:19) An excerpt from an audio interview with director Alain Resnais from “Les Etoiles du Cinema” (1994).
- Credit Profiles – Text credit profiles of director Alain Resnais, producer Anatole Dauman, writer Jean Cayrol, cinematographer Ghislain Cloquet, Assistant cinematographer Sacha Vierny, composer Hanns Eisler, historical consultants Olga Wormser and Henri Michel and assistant director Chris Marker.
- Essay Insert – A four panel essay which includes a writeup about “Night and Fog” by Phillip Lopate (essay and novelist), the “Origins and Controversy” by Peter Cowie (author of biographies of Ingmar Bergman and Francis Ford Coppola) and “About the Composer” writeup by Russell Lack, author of “Twenty-four Frames Under a Buried History of Film Music”
It’s 2009 and throughout my lifetime, I thought I’ve seen a lot of the footage and photography from the Holocaust, all I would have ever need too see of what took place at the concentration camps. I realized I was wrong. I have yet to see a short film by Alain Resnais in which friends have told me, if I think I have seen what took place and have not seen the short film, I would need to watch it.
I read reviews of “Night and Fog” and read of how this is one film that one must watch within their lifetime and this was many years ago. I felt that I have seen enough images that I wouldn’t need to see it again. But until recently, I realized that it was time to finally watch Alain Resnais landmark short film and decided to purchase “Night and Fog” and find out why this film is considered important viewing.
I knew coming in before hand, that the film would feature disturbing images and video and my feeling before I watched this film was possibly seeing a rehash of footage that we were shown in school, college and other films.  But after watching Resnais’ “Night and Fog”, I must say that I am beyond words of how I can describe of how I feel after watching this film. And now I agree with what many have said and have told me. This is is a film that must be watched!
The title of the short film, “Night and Fog” is about the many people who were forced away from their homes by Nazi Germany, crammed into the trains as they were brought to the concentration camps, late at night, during thick fog. Many of these people had no idea where they were going and what was going to happen to them. “Night and Fog” documents that time when many first arrived and then the horrific things that have took place inside those camps.
From images of people’s faces before they were massacred, people starved and left to die, images of mountains of hair shaved off people’s heads, skin from those who died or tortured and now were being used for artwork and soap. We see images of people being bulldozed, burned to death, people with their flesh rotting, heads that were removed from their bodies, torture chambers and more.  These graphic images and video are only in the final 10 minutes of the film but its those 10 minutes where we witness inhumanity. Humanity at its worse and you are just sickened to your stomach and haunted by these images because you are literally in disbelief that these terrible things were done and that it was documented.
Director Alain Resnais doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He created a short film in which he wanted the viewer to think, to see and feel. To be disgusted and shocked of what had taken place. But most importantly, to document a time in humanity that should not be repeated ever again but yet Resnais knows that humanity, as any indication from our history, these horrors will most likely happen again. And since the 1955 release of this film, we know that genocide and more horrific situations have happened in different parts of the world and continues today.
Resnais wants you to think especially when the question is raised, “who is responsible?”
“Night and Fog” is not an easy DVD to watch but I felt it was important for me to watch and can understand why it was so important for Criterion Collection to include it in their collection. For the most part, the remastering was well-done and the short film happens to be one of Criterion’s lower-priced titles that can be easily found online around $8-13.
Overall, I know the images and video depicted on this short film may be too sensitive and to horrific for certain viewers to watch. And possibly to difficult of a short film for one to own and rewatch. But as a historical short film of what took place during the Holocaust, I do recommend watching “Night and Fog” at least once in your lifetime.