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Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters, Thelma Oliver, Jaime Sánchez ... see more see more... , Marketa Kimbrell , Baruch Lumet , Juano Hernandez , Linda Geiser , Nancy R. Pollock , John McCurry , Ed Morehouse , Eusebia Cosme , Warren Finnerty , Marianne Kanter , Charles Dierkop , Reni Santoni , Raymond St. Jacques , Jack Ader

Critically acclaimed Rod Steiger plays Sol Nazerman, a Jewish pawnbroker who survived imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp, even though his wife and family did not. The devastating experience and... read more read more... unrelenting memories inhibit Sol from emotional involvement with life. He has no faith in religion and less in mankind. Though he carries on an affair with a woman who was also a victim of the Nazi camps, it is without emotion and Sol grows increasingly bitter and callous, withdrawing still further from the world around him. As his small shop in Harlem is run with little care or attention, it becomes a convenient cover for a local racketeer. Finally, a caring social worker tries to appeal to his humanity, but Sol's emotional wounds may prove to be too great to overcome. Based on a book by Edward Lewis Wallant, The Pawnbroker features the skilled camera work of Boris Kaufman, who had previously worked with director Sidney Lumet on films such as 12 Angry Men (1957) and Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962). The score is composed by Quincy Jones, who would contribute to Lumet's 1978 musical, The Wiz. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

Flixster Users

86% liked it

2,040 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 2 hr.

Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Release Date: April 20, 1965

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DVD Release Date: December 16, 2003

Stats: 134 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (134)

  • kenstachnik
    April 25, 2011
    kenstachnik
    An amazingly acted & directed punch to the gut.

    Check out Ralph Rosenblum's great book for a look at the editing of this picture. It's called, When Shooting Stops.
  • mjgildea
    November 12, 2006
    mjgildea
    A movie equally depressing and amazing. Early Lumet is incredible.
  • simeondeutsch1
    August 16, 2010
    simeondeutsch1
    A dramatic, remarkable, worthy directorial successor to 12 Angry Men from Sidney Lumet and Rodney Steiger in one of the greatest performances of all time. 100/100
  • brycerumbles
    January 30, 2008
    brycerumbles
    Excellent character study of a Holocaust survivor's attempt to survive in post-war Brooklyn. Rod Steiger has never been better
  • JustDerek
    August 29, 2007
    JustDerek
    Very strong movie - almost a great one. It treats the Holocaust at the level of the individual psyche, presenting a survivor and asking how much of him actually survived. I can see why Steiger's performance was so ballyhooed, but his effective underplaying is marred by a handfu... read morel of moments of over-the-top angst. There is terrific acting from most of the supporting cast, particularly Geraldine Fitzgerald and Brock Peters. The only consistent problem I had with the movie was Quincy Jones's score, which intrudes distractingly in the melodramatic style common to television dramas of the era.
  • SansSouciBlogs1
    July 16, 2007
    SansSouciBlogs1
    I saw this years ago and it made a deep impression on me; a concentration camp survivor reun ites with his pain, over and over.
  • applecor
    March 25, 2007
    applecor
    A journey into the darkest heart of depression. Compelling performance by Rod Steiger. Doesn't take you over the edge like the book does though.
  • jon6322000
    February 2, 2007
    jon6322000
    Very well acted, clever direction concerning a very traumatic series of events that had been sublimated for many decades but not entirely successfully

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Critic Reviews

Dan Jardine
August 21, 2011
Dan Jardine, Cinemania

The film makes its point with narrative economy and emotional sophistication in a socially complex contemporary context. Full Review

John A. Nesbit
July 1, 2011
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

creates some haunting images and gives Rod Steiger a chance to blossom Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
April 28, 2011
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

An unpleasant, solemn and overwrought melodrama about an embittered Jewish Holocaust survivor still haunted by his stay in Auschwitz. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
June 30, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

One of the first Hollywood films to deal with the Holocaust, The Pawnbroker is thematically and stylistically innovative, borrowing some of its devices from the French New Wave, such as brief flashbac... Full Review

Dan Jardine
June 27, 2002
Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide

Dramatizes the psychological impact of the Nazi concentration camps, while drawing parallels to contemporary conditions of New York City ghetto life Full Review

May 20, 2008
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
December 27, 2004
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Chuck O'Leary
October 9, 2005
Chuck O'Leary, Fantastica Daily

No review available.

Philip Martin
April 28, 2005
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Christopher Null
April 3, 2005
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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    • Sol Nazerman: Next to the speed of light, which Einstein tells us is the only absolute in the universe, second only to that, I rank money.
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The Pawnbroker Trivia

  • Where did Morgan Freeman get his start?  Answer »
  • Who directed The Pawnbroker?  Answer »
  • The Pawnbroker starred Morgan Freeman in his debut role.  Answer »
  • He was nominated for an Academy award three times. One of the nominations was for PAWNBROKER in 1965. Who is this movie-star?   Answer »
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