One of the most important works of world cinema
First screened at the New York Film Festival on the day the Yom Kippur War broke out, Why Israel traces, without propaganda or Manicheanism, but with empathy, depth, intelligence, humor, and humanity, the achievements and contradictions of the Israeli nation in the process of forging itself. The central question, which runs throughout the film, is that of normality and abnormality. Through a series of often hilarious scenes, Claude Lanzmann shows that, in the astonished and sometimes dazzled eyes of Jews in the diaspora, the normality of a "state like any other" is abnormality itself.
The first film by the director of Shoah , Why Israel (without a question mark), was considered, upon its release, to be the best film and the most comprehensive overview ever made about Israel. It enjoyed unanimous public and critical acclaim. Watching it again today, one understands that this extraordinary film has not aged a day and provides insights into a great many of the internal and external problems facing Israel today.
WHY ISRAEL by Claude Lanzmann
(1975 - Color - 195 min)
2-DVD Set
Original version with French subtitles
INCLUDED:
SERGE TOUBIANA AND CLAUDE LANZMANN TALK ABOUT WHY ISRAEL (43 min)
Excerpt from a meeting organised by the Shoah Memorial in September 2006, in which Serge Toubiana talks about the film and Claude Lanzmann humorously recounts its genesis.
---------------------------------------
2 DVDs • REMASTERED VERSION • PAL • MPEG-2 ENCODING
Original Dolby Digital 1.0 Version • French / English Subtitles
Format 1.33 Respected • Colors • Duration: 192 minutes
Available June 5, 2025
