To mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Denver Film Society is offering the rare and daunting opportunity to see Claude Lanzmann’s masterwork, “Shoah,” in its entiretyall 9 1/2 hours — on Sunday.
Before there was “Schindler’s List,” there was Lanz mann’s dogged chronicling of the Holocaust. Not once does he resort to archival images. Instead, the French resistance fighter-turned filmmaker spent 12 years interviewing survivors, participants and bystanders to make this epic and essential work about evil.
It has been nearly 25 years since I first saw “Shoah.” Night had fallen when I emerged from that theater; to this day, the scenes with Polish villagers whose homes were near a concentration camp remain indelible. Poor, uneducated, they are far too obliging as they offer their recollections.
Those interviews provide a dual (and humbling) lesson in the sins of being a bystander and the power of the camera to get people to perform for it. Denver FilmCenter/Colfax, 2510 E. Colfax. “First Era,” noon; 4 hours 33 minutes.”Second Era,” 5 p.m. 4 hours 52 minutes. Separate admissions; $15-$20 for either, $25-$35 double feature. 303-820-3456 or . Lisa Kennedy
