The Rape of Europa
Menemsha Films | Release Date: September 14, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
77
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
16
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Throughout the film its makers pose the question of whether saving a work of art is as important as saving a human life. The question is not answered, and perhaps ultimately unanswerable. Yet Europa movingly shows how for many, art and artifacts are living things. Read full review
100
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Filmmakers Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen, and Nicole Newhman do a superb job of telling this neglected story in vivid detail. Read full review
88
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
This gripping documentary sheds light on the frightening totality of Hitler's vision for a Germanic Europe, and the extent to which he and his Nazi thugs were no better than common thieves. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
With Joan Allen bringing a crisp intelligence to the sharp, unsentimental narration, it's both awful and fascinating to follow Hitler's warped growth from frustrated painter to self-appointed arbiter of Germanic art. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
The film is somewhat scattered in construction, but it's an eye-opener. Read full review
80
VarietyRonnie Scheib
This mesmerizing morality play, rich in rare archival footage and complete with heroic Allied saviors, merits a full-fledged arthouse run before reaching larger PBS and cable auds. Read full review
80
Village VoiceMichelle Orange
Impressive in scope if unremarkable in style, The Rape of Europa provides a chronology of World War II as it was experienced by "David," "Mona Lisa," and other artistic treasures the Nazis plundered. Read full review
80
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
All in all, an exciting and terrifying new perspective on an era you probably thought you understood. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyErnest Hardy
It’s a History Channel or PBS special that’s leaped the fence from the boob tube onto the big screen. And it’s riveting. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
A surprisingly vast and involving topic. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Fascinating facts and testimony. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleKenneth Baker
With impressive clarity and sweep, The Rape of Europa recounts the Nazi theft and destruction of European art and architecture. Read full review
75
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
A veteran who was in the Allied force trying to drive Germans out of a landmark Italian monastery asks, "What is more important, a great piece of art or a human life?" That it has taken more than 60 years to get this incredible story told answers the question. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
A startling documentary. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeMark Feeney
Here the result is often disjointed and frustrating. That 2,000 people lived in the cellars of the Hermitage during the siege of Leningrad is certainly remarkable but not altogether germane to the fate of art during the war. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
It’s absorbing. The world came perilously close to losing so many Rembrandts, so many Klimts. The cultural casualties, near and actual, may be dwarfed by the millions slaughtered in the same churn of history. But we are what we create, and when emblems of a civilization are reduced to pawns of wartime, there is no victor. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Unfortunately, most of the two-hour documentary is devoted to annotating what the Nazis stole for both their state and personal collections. The movie doesn't dramatize this crime -- it catalogs it. With deadening monotony. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Uninspired in style, and Joan Allen's narration is dry. Read full review
More From This Movie

77 Critic Reviews

7.6 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL