Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.

Pros: You can actually witness the adage, "ignorance is bliss" at work.
Cons: Listening to a fool claim the Holocaust is a hoax, shocking footage.

"There is nothing more frightening than a labyrinth that has no center."
- G.K. Chesterton (as quoted by Borges in a review of Orson Wells’ Citizen Cane)


In Mr. Death: The Rise an Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr....

Pros: The slow evolution of the title character
Cons: Morris editorializes more than a documentarian should

Fred Leuchter is a fascinating man, for several reasons. Firstly, he's a Holocaust denier, and it takes a special kind of twit to make that particular leap in (il)logic. Secondly, he's an engineer by trade, and, after having lived with engineering ...

Pros: Nicely paced, very interesting and well-done
Cons: Sick character

Mr. Death is about an execution specialist. This guy's profession is going around the country devising humane methods of prisoner execution. He has redesigned electric chairs and developed a lethal injection system. He's even done work on gallows....

Pros: Compelling, disturbing documentary about a unique man.
Cons: Some un-needed cinematic flair is tacky but brief.

In Errol (Thin Blue Line, Fast Cheap and Out of Control and Gates of Heaven) Morris' latest gem of a documentary we meet a mousey carefully outspoken middle aged man by the name of Fred Leuchter Jr.. He explains with great pride about the work he does....

Pros: Fascinating, ultimately shocking study of a seemingly ordinary person.
Cons: None whatsoever

I saw this film a few years ago, but have never forgotten it. Fortunately, Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr. was indeed so remarkable, that much of it is so seared into my memory, it's as if I saw it yesterday. This is one of ...

Pros: Very intimate documentary, cinematography, excellent editing, bizarre and eerily humorous in parts
Cons: Uncomfortable subject matter

The opening subtitle "The Rise and Fall of Fred Leuchter" accompanied with the images of lightning around Leuchter's head that evoke images of Frankenstein foreshadow the basic premise of this bizarre documentary. Leuchter is an engineer who...

Pros: Dramatic telling of the central story that does not blunt the facts.
Cons: Too many reenactments, and not enough interviews with the principles.

The last time the death penalty was seriously debated in this country, in the mid-1970s, those who argued against it believed that its institution and practice would warp the national character. They also believed that official killing would inure the...

Pros: Startling, amazing documentary about Holocaust denial
Cons: none

Mr. Death is a strange cinematic occurrence, an anomaly of bizarre filmic proportions. Often, fiction films attempt to capture fact in a realistic and comprehensive fashion (there are exceptions, of course) and documentaries chronicle the...

Pros: Errol Morris is a master non-fiction film-maker and anything he does is superb.
Cons: The content is repugnant.

If you're really into the unusual and off-beat, this video is one of the most eccentric. Master documentarian Errol Morris objectively reveals Fred A. Leuchter, Jr., a self-styled engineer who specializes in designing improvements for electric...

Pros: Sometimes I felt uneasy. Other times I felt sad. I always felt riveted
Cons: You can learn to really hate this man.

Death most resembles a prophet who is without honor in his own land or a poet who is a stranger among his people.
Kahlil Gibran


Whoever thought Dr. Kavorkian was the only person who can help someone die needs to rent director...

Pros: Weird topic; weird segue; weird science; nothing like a good cup of joe
Cons: Coffee not served at the concession stand

I am scarcely happier than when viewing a well-crafted, quirky movie where there is zero probability of being amongst gum-flapping, popcorn-munching cretins ("Madge, let's go see that 'Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.' flick;...

Pros: Utter Quirkiness
Cons: NONE

Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. is the type of man that you would easily live your life without hearing of. He is a small, rather funny looking man, who's real claim-to-fame is that he perfected the designs of electric chairs, scaffolds, gas chambers, and lethal...

Pros: Cool shots of electricity. This is the kind of man that will undoubtedly make you feel better about yourself.
Cons: Sort of easy... Will not provide any deep personal revelations about your feelings on the subject matter

And SIX packs of cigarettes! That's what Fred Leuchter puts into his body EVERY DAY! One wonders how he finds the time to destroy national monuments in an attempt to disprove the Holocaust. In the tradition of his innocent-man-on-death-row "The Thin...

Pros: Style, intelligence, breaks new ground
Cons: may be too intense for some

Errol Morris has carved his niche with films about freaks and losers: the pet cemetery owners in “Gates of Heaven” (1978), the innocent man on death row in “The Thin Blue Line” (1988), palsied scientist Steven Hawking in “A Brief History of Time” (1992),...

Pros: good photography, well edited, intriguing story
Cons: seemed to be biased against Mr. Leuchter

A strange little movie about a strange little man, indeed. This documentary was done in a striking and engaging way, the photography a real visual accomplishment, and well put together.

It seems to me that this film was quite biased against...