The proliferation of cable television channels in the United States has dramatically increased the number of documentaries available for viewing. Just about any subject conceivable has been addressed, stocking the libraries of the History Channel, A&E, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, et al. Since this stuff is virtually free, you'd think it would be the death knell of theatrically released documentaries.
" Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr." was actually released to theaters, about thirty or so of them, and apparently did poorly. But it is an interesting movie, the biography of a self-taught execution device designer turned Holocaust denier. It's a little unsettling, not so much from Mr. Leuchter's career choices, but how Mr. Leuchter was so easily seduced to the white supremacy cause. And this important topic is not addressed in sufficient detail in the film. To much time is spent on the details of Mr. Leuchter?s personal life, family, career, and his studies that repudiated the existence of gas chambers. It misses the opportunity to explore why people will throw everything away to embrace causes such as white supremacy, when you would think they should know better. The movie is very well made and informative, but missed this golden opportunity.
" Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr." was actually released to theaters, about thirty or so of them, and apparently did poorly. But it is an interesting movie, the biography of a self-taught execution device designer turned Holocaust denier. It's a little unsettling, not so much from Mr. Leuchter's career choices, but how Mr. Leuchter was so easily seduced to the white supremacy cause. And this important topic is not addressed in sufficient detail in the film. To much time is spent on the details of Mr. Leuchter?s personal life, family, career, and his studies that repudiated the existence of gas chambers. It misses the opportunity to explore why people will throw everything away to embrace causes such as white supremacy, when you would think they should know better. The movie is very well made and informative, but missed this golden opportunity.