IMDb RATING
7.0/10
445
YOUR RATING
A filmmaker explores the lives and deaths of her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed as spies in 1953.A filmmaker explores the lives and deaths of her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed as spies in 1953.A filmmaker explores the lives and deaths of her grandparents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed as spies in 1953.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Bob Considine
- Self - International News Service
- (archive footage)
J. Edgar Hoover
- Self
- (archive footage)
Joseph McCarthy
- Self - Senator
- (archive footage)
Richard Nixon
- Self - Vice President
- (archive footage)
David Greenglass
- Self - Ethel Rosenberg's brother
- (archive footage)
Emanuel Bloch
- Self - the Rosenbergs' attorney
- (archive footage)
Jenny Meeropol
- Self - granddaughter of the Rosenbergs
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaShortlisted for Best Documentary Feature for the 2003 Academy Awards.
- Quotes
Ivy Meeropol: I have to be honest with you, a lot of people don't really wants to talk to me... people are afraid.
- SoundtracksUn Bel Di
Madame Butterfly
performed by Oksana Krovytska
Featured review
A very amateurish and personal film that offers limited appeal and fails to make its subject more accessible
Ivy Meeropol is the granddaughter of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed as traitors for allegedly passing the secrets of the atomic bomb to America's enemy Russia. Decades after the event she decides to try and uncover the history around their execution and sets out to interview her relatives and others involved.
As a non-American and someone who was only born in the 1970's, I was not that familiar with the subject of the film but had a vague knowledge of what this was about or at least enough to come to the film to learn more. The problem is that the film doesn't actually help the causal viewer at all and seems to assume that everyone watching it will already know the whole story. In a way perhaps this is a fair approach because the film is roundly personal and amateur, made by Meeropol for herself more than anyone else. With this in mind then perhaps it is forgivable that the film has come off this way, because it does just what the small target audience needed; however to my mind this approach is a bit careless towards the audience Meeropol could easily have built the factual story and then expanded it to be a personal exploration.
The film doesn't do this though and really the history behind the Rosenberg's and the events in America at the time are hardly touched upon in favour of Meeropol trying to get to grips with her complex family tree and the relatives who scattered when the execution took place and the children were left with no family to take them in. The interest in this material will be limited and, without the film giving you any background, the casual viewer will feel as isolated as I did which is a problem whether Meeropol thinks it is or not.
Overall then a very personal film that has a limited audience as a result. For those very familiar with the Rosenberg and the wider family then this will be gripping and touching but without even knowing the basics then how was I suppose to care about the personal story behind (after) the execution? A very amateurish and personal film that offers limited appeal and fails to make its subject more accessible.
As a non-American and someone who was only born in the 1970's, I was not that familiar with the subject of the film but had a vague knowledge of what this was about or at least enough to come to the film to learn more. The problem is that the film doesn't actually help the causal viewer at all and seems to assume that everyone watching it will already know the whole story. In a way perhaps this is a fair approach because the film is roundly personal and amateur, made by Meeropol for herself more than anyone else. With this in mind then perhaps it is forgivable that the film has come off this way, because it does just what the small target audience needed; however to my mind this approach is a bit careless towards the audience Meeropol could easily have built the factual story and then expanded it to be a personal exploration.
The film doesn't do this though and really the history behind the Rosenberg's and the events in America at the time are hardly touched upon in favour of Meeropol trying to get to grips with her complex family tree and the relatives who scattered when the execution took place and the children were left with no family to take them in. The interest in this material will be limited and, without the film giving you any background, the casual viewer will feel as isolated as I did which is a problem whether Meeropol thinks it is or not.
Overall then a very personal film that has a limited audience as a result. For those very familiar with the Rosenberg and the wider family then this will be gripping and touching but without even knowing the basics then how was I suppose to care about the personal story behind (after) the execution? A very amateurish and personal film that offers limited appeal and fails to make its subject more accessible.
helpful•98
- bob the moo
- Mar 10, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Heir to an Execution
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 39 minutes
- Color
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Top Gap
By what name was Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story (2004) officially released in Canada in English?
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