Uprising

Even though they should have given it a limited theatrical run prior to its two-night bow on NBC to Oscar-qualify (yes, it's that good), Uprising is a superior film that deserves real movie treatment. It's easy to become cynical about Holocaust movies, since at least five seem to come out every year, but this tale of the 1943 resistance in Warsaw's ghetto features the requisite brutality and tragedy while also delivering action-movie suspense and welcome touches of humor (mostly provided by Cary Elwes as Nazi documentarian Fritz Hippler) and humanity (as an infiltrator in the Aryan sector, Leelee Sobieski is told no one will recognize her as a Jew if she can only manage to laugh). The cast is anchored by Hank Azaria, in uncharacteristic (but successful) action hero mode, and David Schwimmer, who takes a while to get used to with his goofy Polish accent, but ultimately grows on you. Featuring the usual TV censorship exemptions that only World War II movies get, and a structure that isn't conveniently tailored to commercial breaks, this is certainly director Jon Avnet's finest film to date, and a much better Holocaust film than that ponderous "masterpiece" Schindler's List.