Product Details

• Actors: Elisheva Susz, Ann Marie Pisker, Hanni Lux, Judith Deutsch, Greta Stanton
• Directors: Yaron Zilberman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Hebrew
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• 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: Kino Video
• DVD Release Date: December 6, 2005
• Run Time: 77 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BFH2D2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,833 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

WATERMARKS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, moving, well-made documentary film, March 2, 2006

By 

J. Doralt (Vienna, Austria) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Watermarks - The Jewish swimming champions who defied Hitler (DVD)

For those who have an interest in Jewish life in pre-World War II Vienna, this film is the best source for a glimpse into that world: a burgeoning world where Jews thrived and above all were happy, well-adjusted Viennese.

The women who tell their stories describe their childhoods and parents in early 20th century Vienna and participation in the great Jewish swim team, Hakoah - and the changes in Vienna that took place in the 1930s leading to their emigration to countries all over the world and the rude ending of their competitive swimming careers. The women's courage - and wit - come across beautifully. One sees the side of these women that is still Viennese (reciting Austrian verse by heart in a Mushav in Israel, singing along to songs by Leopoldi) while also seeing them in their homes of 50 years in the United States or Israel - where it becomes apparent that the women have since managed also to become American, Israeli, etc - whereever they ended up after the war. At the end of the film they return to Vienna to swim one more lap in the pool where they once competed.

You will cherish this film as a magnificently made documentary about an extraordinary group of women whose youth was spent in a place (thriving, burgeoning Jewish Vienna) that sadly no longer exists - but should never be forgotten.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Luminous Film about Jewish Athletes in Nazi Vienna, February 6, 2006

By 

Gerard D. Launay (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Watermarks - The Jewish swimming champions who defied Hitler (DVD)

This is a film about remarkable people. In Vienna in the 1930's,
a Jewish sportsclub HAKOAH organized athletes in several categories but the most impressive were the women swimmers. In fact, one of these Jewish athletes was the best female swimmer in Austria. Nevertheless, at great "personal cost" to her, she
refused to go to Hitler's Berlin Oympics in 1936 and all her
records were stricken and she was forbidden to compete. 65 years later, 7 of these swimmers (now in their 80's) are brought together and they swim together, once more, in a famous Vienna pool. The Boston Globe remarked (correctly) that the images of these women in the pool is beautiful and a little bit holy. They move like angels in water. Their stories are fascinating and
the people glow with intelligence, warmth, and goodness. My friend and I both had tears by the end of the film.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Once Were Waterbabies, November 9, 2006

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Watermarks - The Jewish swimming champions who defied Hitler (DVD)

"Watermarks" is a remarkable documentary, as remarkable as the women whose stories it tells. It harkens back to early 20th century Vienna, Austria, a time when the Jewish community was well-settled, prosperous, and largely assimilated, and tells the true story of Hakoah, a Jewish sports club, the largest membership sports club in the world. We mainly learn about the women's swim team: they are charming, intelligent, high-spirited, and as independent as the times allow them to be. These women were athletes, and in the old footage, you can see that they just loved to swim: there's even a lot of footage of their happily diving into the Danube River, which, at that time, must have been as unpleasant an open sewer as most of the world's other major urban rivers.

During the 1930's,three of these women were ranked the numbers 1-2-3- Austrian swimmers. They had to make a choice about participation in the 1936 Olympics, in Hitler's Germany, and chose not to attend. The Austrian Sports Board thereupon stripped them of their titles. Of course, there was worse to come, but these Viennese women were quite sophisticated enough to recognize that: they,and their families all got out of Austria in time. They follow their motto "Say yes to life," in exile, and prove every bit as remarkable as they were at home. Finally, as part of the making of this documentary, the remaining women who were able to travel reassemble in Vienna, and take one more swim in the great and beautiful sports hall of their youthful triumphs. There's sheer joy as they slip into the water again; and not a dry eye in the house.