The Pawnbroker
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Movie Reviews of The Pawnbroker
Movie Review: A powerful disturbing movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a powerful, disturbing movie.One of its opening scenes show the idyllic life the main character Sol Nazerman, the Pawnbroker, lived before the Nazis murdered his family. There is a beautiful scene in slow-motion of children romping happily on a lawn, of great domestic happiness.
The shattered life of the survivor Nazerman begins to fall apart on the twenty- fifth anniversary of his wife's death. Rod Steiger plays the Pawnbroker and his performance is a most brilliant one. We see a character so disturbed so angry so locked in himself so unable to communicate with others or accept their affection. Steiger is absolutely convincing .
What I found a bit difficult was that the reactions he has to his suffering correspond with Anti- Semitic sentiments. So one old Anti- Semitic hate- teaching about Jews is that they will give up everything for money. Nazerman trusts in the film , only money , and as Pawnbroker is cruel to others. I too did not like the implication ( if generalized) about his replying to the horrible evil done to him by being unkind to others. That is, I am not bothered if it remains on the level of one character and one story. I am bothered how people might generalize from this.
This film is relentless and in a way merciless. But it is an exceptionally gripping and good one.
Movie Review: a work of art
Summary: 5 Stars
i have just finished watching this film and am still speechless.sydney lumet does it again,making a great work of art and one of the most important films of all-time.the always great, rod steiger,puts in perhaps the greatest performance of his career.it's the story of a holocaust survivor,sol(rod steiger) who,25 years earlier,has lost his wife and children to the nazis and now owns a pawnshop in harlem.he has never gotten over the tragedies that he has experienced and this leaves him hollow inside and all he believes in is money.he has a young co-worker,jesus,working for him and lives with a friend and his wifes sister.but to him they mean nothing.as usual,lumets direction is superb and the use of flashbacks are very effective.i noticed on this site that morgan freeman played an extra on the street in this film.i'll have to watch it again to see if i can recognize him,interesting. this film must have been shocking for it's time,not only dealing with the subject of a holocaust survivor but of the nudity as well.this is such a well done film and am sorry that i've waited this long to see it.the movie is disturbing yes,but so important that it should be seen by all those who love cinema and the open-minded alike.i don't know what else i can say but see this work of art.belongs on the top 100 list.Movie Review: simply haunting
Summary: 5 Stars
The Pawnbroker follows the story of Sol, A pawn store owner in a shady part of New York. To Sol nothing matters but the almighty dollor. The memory of warmth and kindness have long since abandoned him. At first you might find yourself disliking Sol for his rude and self centered nature untill his painful past is slowly revealed. The film flashbacks periodically, showing how Sol and his wife where captured and placed in a concentration camp during WWII.(One flashback that is particually painful is when Sol's wife is seperated from him and placed in the camp's joy division) Sol copes with these painful memories by killing his emotions. His past leaves him unforgiving and emotionally dead to the world. The beauty of "The Pawnbroker" is that it shows the devastating effects that the holocaust had on the lives of it's survivors. Many movies have dealt with the holocaust but none of them have showed such an intimate view of a man broken by it. One image I've kept from the Pawnbroker is of Sol looking painfully at the bar code tatooed on his forearm. A horrible reminder that no matter what, his past will always haunt him. A beautiful film that everyone should see at least once.Movie Review: Emotionally devastating
Summary: 5 Stars
Rod Steiger is a Harlem pawnbroker haunted by the memories of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. His entire family was lost in the camp, and he can't understand or accept the fact that somehow he's survived. He is the epitome of a walking dead man: he's become totally devoid of all feelings; his only response to people is by acting cruel and aggressive. He believes that money is all that matters in life; all emotions have completely evaporated from his life. Steiger's performance is powerful, and some of the symbolic representations (when he forces his palm through a desk/counter spike, for example) are potent. He spends a great deal of the movie almost in an emotional trance, staggering around his shop, the streets, and the subway, lost within himself - Steiger makes the pain very real. Director Sidney Lumet used fraction-of-a-second flashbacks back to the concentration camp images to excellent effect. Quincy Jones did the soundtrack.
Movie Review: Steiger Lost To Kid Shaleen?!
Summary: 5 Stars
Rod Steiger's performance as Sol Nazerman, Holocaust survivor who resurfaces as a haunted Harlem pawnbroker is one of the landmark performances in fim history. You just marvel at how consummate a character study "The Pawnbroker" is. Steiger's character begins the film as a man who has deliberately disconnected himself from humanity, disinterestingly offering a pittance for the prize possessions of the poor souls who enter his grated fortress. If not for a chain of events that trigger deliberately repressed memories Nazerman would be content to remain in his self-imposed shell just waiting to die. What is remarkable is that Steiger does not deliver a showy performance, the changes in his person are very subtle. Credit also to director Sidney Lumet for making what is a difficult film to watch utterly compelling. Great black and white cinematography, snappy editing, and a moody score by Quincy Jones add to a required cinematic experience.