Review of QB VII

Ground rules first. This masterpiece (won a half dozen Emmys) is not merely a lost miniseries from the 70s, but rather it is the first miniseries of its kind, the template from which all later efforts came. And what an effort it was! Adapted from an international bestseller about a non-Jewish physician who ends up getting special treatment in a concentration camp by "assisting" with medical procedures. When the camp is liberated, said doctor becomes prominent in England, and he (and his family) enjoy the benefits and respect that brings. Until his reputation -- what he may or may not have actually done in that camp -- is challenged in England by an upstart American who is convinced that atrocities were committed. OMG what a cast. Here we have, in a performance of astonishing depth, Anthony Hopkins long before he became knighted, long before Hannibal. And Ben Gazarra giving the performance of his life in counterpoint to the doctor that Hopkins was portraying, as the American upstart. The story engages from the start and just gets better. And better. And better. Today it seems clichéd to have the finale take place in a courtroom but as I said this was the FIRST miniseries, and such criticisms have no substance. I recently saw this beginning to end for the first time in over 30 years, and was again stunned by the quality and the nuances. Like many of the productions that I focus on here on IMDb, it is a one of kind, something so special that to compare it is to misunderstand it. See it.