I was more impressed by Vanessa Redgrave's performance than any female performance , in any medium. As a musician prisoner in a Nazi death camp, she exceeded any of her other brilliant performances. Aside from Vanessa, the movie should not be missed and hopefully released again.

Auschwitz was not a fun place. But this film is too graphic, too long and too much of a downer. It starts well with brutally grim and realistic scenes. But at almost three hours it's just too lengthy. Although the first half is compelling (if depressing), it gets a little silly and loses its credibility in the second half. I can't be specific without creating spoilers. Let's just say all the characters ---the good guys (gals?) and the bad guys both become somewhat ridiculous. The story, apparently based on reality, is about a group of female inmate musicians who form an orchestra for the pleasure of the camp officials including an unconvincing Josef Mengele. But their performances are dreadful. Never has Beethoven's fifth symphony been played so badly nor Puccini's Madama Butterfly sung so hopelessly. And in bad English at that. They might have taken a little cinematic license and given us enjoyable musical performances. From a production viewpoint, occasional interludes of great music, well played, would have provided brief relief from the unrelenting horror of this endless film.

Truly harrowing experience that broke the mold of 'holocaust films'. The train trip in the beginning in which bored crowded 'passengers expecting to be resettled' suddenly start dying, the toilet bucket tips over, the line between civilization and barbarism is crossed.... unforgettable! The 'tone' of sustained and unrelenting danger is beautifully conveyed throughout the film. Vanessa Redgrave is truly magnificent with that beautiful face and eyes of hers but I would have to pick Shirley Knight for her terrifying Mandel as the unforgettable role. She is one of the most fascinating characters ever and from the scene where where she 'adopts' a little Polish boy till her final collapse she scorched up the screen.

Jane Alexander's 'plainness' and stillness are used as a 'screen' on which to register tiny flickers of emotion, anger, fear - a very controlled and bravura performance that frankly, I don't think Vanessa Redgrave would be capable of - or at least it would not suit her. The ending where her world of rock hard determination finally collapses into delusion is heartbreaking.

It is worth remembering that Vanessa Redgrave's support of the 'Palestinians' extended far beyond the 'peace process' and endorsed terror, violence and absurd anti-Semitic lies in the guise of anti-Zionism. I find her politics offensive but have never 'boycotted' any actress or filmmaker.