Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. poster & wallpaper
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Fred A. Leuchter Jr., Ernest Zündel, David Irving, James Roth, Shelly Shapiro ... see more see more... , Suzanne Tabasky , Robert Jan Van Pelt

Throughout his work, documentary filmmaker Errol Morris has sought out characters lost in their own eccentric worlds, and he has managed to convey their sense of wonder with their passion, be it a top... read more read more...iary gardener arguing the merits of hand shears in Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997) or astrophysicist Stephen Hawking discussing the origin of the universe in A Brief History of Time (1992). In his most provocative work since The Thin Blue Line (1988), Morris details what happens when this interior dreamscape collides with the hard facts of history. As a young man accompanying his father to work at a state prison, Fred A. Leuchter, a bespectacled mouse of a man, learned how inefficient and inhumane most executions were, and he set out to design and build a better electric chair. Soon he began getting offers from state institutions throughout the country to redesign their electric chairs, along with gas chambers, gallows, and lethal injection machines. He quickly became a renowned expert in capital punishment. When the notorious Nazi sympathizer Ernest Zündel was arrested in Canada, he needed an expert witness to corroborate his assertion that the Holocaust was a hoax; and Leuchter soon found himself chiseling chunks from the gas chamber walls in Auschwitz -- on his honeymoon. His illegal samples showed no significant residue of cyanide, so he concluded that the Holocaust did not happen. He soon became a celebrity of the neo-Nazi set: he testified on behalf of Zündel, gave lectures around the world, and published the Holocaust revisionist tract Leuchter Report. Much to his surprise, his death-machine business began to flounder, his marriage collapsed, and he found himself pursued by Jewish organizations and creditors. This film was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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84% liked it

3,679 ratings

Critics

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39 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Errol Morris

Release Date: December 29, 1999

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DVD Release Date: June 6, 2000

Stats: 213 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (213)

  • flixsterman
    November 6, 2011
    flixsterman
    Interesting study of Fred Leuchter's underwhelming career, poor judgement and antisemitic reasoning.
  • gator681
    July 19, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic][color=red]"Mr. Death" is an Errol Morris documentary about Fred Leuchter. Mr. Leuchter is an engineer by trade who specialized in building and repairing capital punishment devices(gallows, gas chamber, lethal injection, electric chair, etc) for various stat... read morees. He is a proponent of the death penalty. What he is seeking to do is to create humane and safe executions.(A humane execution being an oxymoron if there ever was one...) I have to admit I learned quite a bit about executions in this documentary and that there is much more involved than just flipping a switch. [/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]The second part of the documentary shows off Leuchter's lack of ethical thinking to full effect. He went to Auschwitz on behalf of a Holocaust denier(I'm being polite when I use that term), so that he could find proof that there were no gas chambers there.(It is clearly historical fact that there were gas chambers there.) As testified by an expert on the Holocaust, Leuchter is ill-equipped for the task. [/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000]At best, Leuchter never considers what the ramifications his research will have. At worst, he is a full participant in the cause of Holocaust denial which is clearly wrong and hateful. Leuchter goes from something of an eccentric to being a monster in the viewer's eyes.[/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=#ff0000][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=black][/color][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][color=black]"Light Keeps Me Company" is a loving tribute to legendary cinematographer, Sven Nykvist, directed by his son, Carl-Gustav Nykvist. The documentary consists of interviews with many of his collaborators including Ingmar Bergman, Liv Ullman, Susan Sarandon, and Woody Allen, along with his fellow cinematographers. I thought this film filled in some of the blanks of his life including personal details.(Although, I would have felt better if they had not mentioned Nykvist's affair with Mia Farrow.) Nykvist retired due to a condition called aphasia which limits his communication skills. I would have liked to have gotten more of his input on the films he helped to make.[/color][/font]
  • cacutshaw
    February 8, 2008
    cacutshaw
    Amazing look at an outsider, and the choices he makes to be accepted, no matter by whom. Disturbing and sad, this is a truly great film about lonliness and what it drives people to do.
  • KLFilmmaker
    December 22, 2007
    KLFilmmaker
    Fascinating look into the life of a man who designed execution equipment. He also somehow gets convinced to help disprove gas chambers during the holocaust.
  • kit85
    October 15, 2006
    kit85
    There is footage of an elephant being electrocuted
  • YBother
    July 24, 2011
    YBother
    True to his style, Morris seems to remain objective in his approach to the subject of this documentary. It makes it all the more fascinating as the path his subject takes unfolds in front of the viewer. Not what you would expect.
  • pontxo
    September 12, 2010
    pontxo
    The very fascinating story of a controversial but no less of a fool, a cretin, and a cynic who forever will be identified and justly blamed for the denial of the Holocaust and so providing superficial and unscientific proof to the evident ignorance white-supremacists all over the... read more world.

    His Leucheter Report, a unsubstantiated piece, has given way for that risible argument most of us have heard that 6 million Jews did not die in concentration camps.

    It's a good documentary which can be also taken as a "kids, do your research properly or you'll get caught" example. No matter how legit a person may seem it's not always it.
  • domarad
    August 5, 2007
    domarad
    Amazing... how did someone like him become the center of a political fire storm? It's unbelieveable.
  • jazzmonk
    July 12, 2007
    jazzmonk
    Well made documentary that tells the viewer more than you may want to know about a very strange man. It's bizarre, it has plenty to say and it easily held my attention.
  • thedeadsea
    June 27, 2007
    thedeadsea
    A tragic story of a simple man whose life was ruined in an instant by one poor decision. I don't know how Morris continually finds intriguing subjects that no one else talks about.

View All Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. Reviews

Critic Reviews

Pablo Villaca
January 30, 2007
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

Morris, com sua habilidade narrativa habitual, conta a interessante mas incômoda história de um homem destruído pela própria ignorância.

Mark Robison
October 13, 2003
Mark Robison, Reno Gazette-Journal

Fascinating stuff.

James O'Ehley
September 24, 2003
James O'Ehley, Movie Gurus

Despite its morbid subject, this documentary is far funnier than one would expect. Full Review

Joshua Tanzer
April 16, 2003
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff

As Errol Morris shows us how this strange little man got into the execution business and Holocaust denial, we should ask ourselves: Did we create 'Mr. Death'? Is he us? Full Review

James Rocchi
November 7, 2002
James Rocchi, Netflix

Unsettling documentary is a gripping study of the banality of evil. Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
March 5, 2002
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

A bizarre documentary about the worship of technique and the dangers of self-delusion. Full Review

Tom Block
September 18, 2001
Tom Block, culturevulture.net

...probes at our moral and psychological blind spots, at the limited and self-reinforcing nature of our vision. Full Review

Ed Kelleher
January 1, 2000
Ed Kelleher, Film Journal International

The filmmaker deftly steers the viewer through its more disturbing sequences and even finds room for his patented irony. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

Errol Morris cements his reputation as the premier contemporary documentary filmmaker. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

This documentary offers one of the most pertinent looks at two highly charged emotional subjects: capital punishment and the Holocaust. Full Review

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