Product Details

• Actors: Joan Allen
• Directors: Roberta Grossman
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: DOCURAMA
• DVD Release Date: April 13, 2010
• Run Time: 85 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00366E1AU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,309 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

In 1944, 22-year-old Hannah Senesh parachuted into Nazi-occupied Europe with a small group of Jewish volunteers from Palestine. Theirs was the only military rescue mission for Jews that occurred in World War II.

Narrated by Academy Award® winner Joan Allen, the multi-award-winning BLESSED IS THE MATCH follows the remarkable journey of this young Hungarian poet and diarist, paratrooper and resistance fighter. Told through Hannah s letters, diaries, and poems, her mother s memoirs, and the recollections of those who knew and loved her (including two of her fellow parachutists), the film traces her life from her childhood in Budapest to her time in British-controlled Palestine where she was drawn by the Kibbutz Movement that sought to build an independent Jewish state to her daring mission to rescue Jews in her native Hungary.

Both devastating and inspiring, BLESSED IS THE MATCH offers an intimate portrait of a singularly talented, courageous and complex girl who believed that one person could be a flame that burns brightly in even the darkest hours.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking, April 15, 2010

By 

N. R. Johnson (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (DVD)

I was fairly well acquainted with the story of Hannah Senesz and her bravery, but this movie captured it better than I possibly could have imagined. Tears were streaming down my face as the ending credits rolled. The photographs, photography and other images portayed this heroines life in an amazing and captivating way. I highly recommend this film for any type of Holocaust Studies or Women's Studies venue. Extremely well done and a wonderful tribute to a well deserving and often unsung hero.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Overdue Tribute To A Remarkable Human Being, June 3, 2010

By 

Dallam_94 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (DVD)

This is a fine documentary about one of the most outstanding personalities of the 20th Century, Hannah Senesh. Through the efforts of director Roberta Grossman and producer Marta Kauffman, viewers of "Blessed Is the Match" are offered a rare and long overdue glimpse into the life and experiences of the famed Hungarian-Jewish heroine of World War II. A mix of period footage, never-before seen family photographs and artful reenactments enhance Senesh's story, related here by Historians, Sir Martin Gilbert and Judith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz; Senesh's nephews, Eitan and David; two of her parachutist colleagues (Reuven Dafni and Surika Bravermann), and several other witnesses from her past, including former schoolmates; members of her Kibbutz, and even fellow inmates who spent time with her in prison before her execution death in 1944.

Hannah Senesh is one of those exceptional human beings - brilliant and brave - who had so much to give to the world, but whose life was extinguished far too soon. Although she was only 23 years-old when she died, Senesh left behind a wealth of writings that reveal a dynamic, keenly intelligent, sensitive and solidly moral character. These documents include letters, a personal diary and a treasure-trove of beautiful and inspiring poetry that has been widely-read and admired throughout the world for decades. Her image has long been shrouded in myth, but the real-life Hannah Senesh was far more intriguing and complex, and her experiences far more compelling, than any myth could hope to portray. The film, "Blessed Is the Match", imparts this very well and serves as a modern memorial to a remarkable young woman who was not only a gifted writer, but also a devoted daughter and sister, a courageous heroine and a truly great soul whose untimely death was a loss to us all.

I also recommend: Hannah Senesh: Her Life and Diary, the First Complete Edition

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Holocaust Biographies I Have Ever Seen, July 22, 2010

By 

Gerard D. Launay (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (DVD)

A woman, an idealist, a resistance fighter...a cross between Anne Frank and Sophie Scholl...an inspiration to Jews and to others in peril. You must see this film. "Blessed is the Match" is the title of one of Hannah Senesh's last poems. She handed the scrap of paper with the poetry to a member paratrooper in case she did not finish her mission. Like the match itself, SHE is the spark that fires the world from a darkness of misery into a light of goodness and courage.

By way of comparison, another biography of her life can be seen in the VHS "Hanna's War".

Imagine being safe in Palestine, away from the Holocaust, yet deciding to parachute back to the maelstrom to help other Jews. No group of persons...other than the Jews of Palestine...attempted such a rescue. Only 30 Jews had the courage, including 3 women. and one of the three was Hannah Senesh. Even though she did not succeed in her defined military mission, she continued the mission, nonetheless in prison. Here, through her friendship and courage, she offered other imprisoned Jews hope that others might come after her to rescue them from Fascist death. What is the meaning of hope? Hannah Senesh provides an answer - her indomitable spirit is the answer.

I had tears by the end of the film...but some of the salt of my weeping was also the sense of joy in the goodness that still resides in humanity. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."- M. Mead.