Extremism On Screen: Nuremberg, Face of Evil and Steel Toes

This week’s blog is spotlighting the new release, Nuremberg, while taking a closer look at how film helps audiences dissect history and understand how certain historic events continue to affect our daily lives. Alongside Nuremberg, two powerful films from our library, Face of Evil and Steel Toes, also explore themes of extremism, propaganda, moral responsibility, and justice. These films examine the social and political conditions that help evil take root. 

The film Nuremberg, starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek, approaches the themes above using a psychological lens of a WWII psychiatrist tasked with evaluating Nazi leaders before the historic trials. As he attempts to understand the minds of those responsible for mass atrocities, he becomes increasingly fixated on the persona of Hermann Göring, a man whose charisma complicates the moral binaries one might prefer to draw. The film forces us to consider whether evil is a defect of the mind or an active choice justified by worldview, logic, or ambition. In seeking to understand Göring, the psychiatrist risks being drawn into the gravitational pull of the very ideology he is trying to assess. The unsettling truth is that ideology alone does not explain atrocity; people’s justifications do. 

The film, Face of Evil, centers on Reinhard Heydrich, widely considered the most dangerous man in Germany after Hitler himself. In 1942, the Allied plot to assassinate him devised in England and executed in Prague stood as one of the war’s boldest acts of resistance. But the film is not simply about strategy or assassination. It is about how someone like Heydrich came to be. He was not driven by chaos or fanaticism alone, but by organizational genius paired with moral vacancy. His story is a cautionary tale, reflecting how systems of power can elevate individuals whose greatest strengths become instruments of destruction when detached from conscience. Watching Heydrich’s efficiency is a reminder that the skilled, the disciplined, the ambitious, can be the most dangerous people when they have bad intentions. 

Lately, Steel Toes brings the conversation into the present. Danny Dunkleman, played by David Strathairn, is a Jewish liberal humanist assigned to defend a Neo-Nazi Skinhead charged with a racially motivated murder. The courtroom is only the frame; the true narrative unfolds in the conversations between the two men. In their fiery, tense exchanges, we see not only conflict, but recognition, two people forced to confront what shaped them, where their beliefs were learned, and how hatred becomes a foundation for identity. Is it possible to attempt to understand someone’s hatred without being consumed by the emotional cost of doing so?

These films reveal that extremism is not a thing of the past or a disease that belongs to others. It is a story that people choose to believe. Scapegoating brings a sense of certainty, and being part of hatred gives people a sense of belonging. In an era where misinformation spreads in seconds and ideological identity forms faster than personal understanding, these stories matter urgently. They remind us that the roots of violence are rarely sudden. They are cultivated, rationalized, and justified. 

Looking for even more ways to watch and enjoy excellent movies & TV series?!? Head on over to YouTube and subscribe to Grapevine Documentaries, Multicom Entertainment, and TheArchive. These channels are dedicated to aficionados and lovers of cinema. You’ll find rare, retro, and restored films and TV, ranging from indies and series to Oscar-winning docs, unearthed MOWs, a killer horror library, and MORE!  

TheArchive channel is dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft, and silver screen fun – streaming rare, retro, and restored films and classic TV. From indies and series to Oscar-winning documentaries, unearthed MOWs, and a killer horror library, TheArchive delivers forgotten, never-before-seen gems for free and many in 4K. Marilyn, Karloff, and Orson Welles stream alongside Reese, Keanu, and Samuel L. Jackson. Find true stories of Queen, Hendrix, and Sinatra, an LGBTQ library, MLK bios, and world history docs. TheArchive has the movies and shows you either saw, should’ve seen, or should be watching now!