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The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies: A Critic's Ranking of the Very Best

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Author and film critic Kathryn Bernheimer presents her choice of the top 50 films with a Jewish or a partly-Jewish theme. Bernheimer provides a brief (3-5 page) chapter for each movie, one that combines both plot summary and analysis. She focuses on themes, acting, production, etc., and provides readers with a peek behind the scenes. The broad themes of these movies include the Nazi holocaust and its aftermath (Diary of Anne Frank, The Pawnbroker, Schindler's List), Jewish culture (Fiddler on the Roof, Yentl, The Jazz Singer), U.S. Anti-Semitism (Gentleman's Agreement, Homicide), and life in general (Annie Hall, Funny Girl, The Chosen). The author even included a film on Jewish gangsterism (Bugsy). Additionally, the author shows how current events affected films with Jewish themes. For example, the red scare of the late 1940's seemed to limit movies with Jewish themes. Readers may note that Bernheimer penned these pages in the late 1990's; before THE PIANIST and a couple other films arrived. Still, this is a concise and nicely informative book.