This is the sixth in a series of articles where we’ll be covering the Top Films About Fugitives. Films About Fugitives also include Films About Manhunts, Films About People On the Run, Films About Escaped Convicts and Films About Nazi Fugitives & Nazi Hunters. This subgenre also includes Films About Outlaws but generally excludes Outlaws from the Wild West as those are included in a separate subgenre called Western Films About Outlaws.
This sixth article will cover the Top Films About Nazi Fugitives & Nazi Hunters and you can check out additional articles by decade below:
- Top Films About Fugitives You Haven’t Seen – 1970’s
- Top Films About Fugitives You Haven’t Seen – 1980’s
- Top Films About Fugitives You Haven’t Seen – 1990’s
- Top Films About Fugitives You Haven’t Seen – 2000’s & 2010’s
- Best Recent Films About Fugitives
- Top Films About Nazi Fugitives & Nazi Hunters
- Best Fugitive Films
In the 1970’s, as Conspiracy Thrillers dominated the decade, they also gave rise to Films About Nazi Fugitives, Nazi War Criminals and Nazi Hunters. Though the pursuit of justice against the Nazi regime had been covered in prior decades, these were typically in the form of legal dramas and documentaries covering the Nuremburg Trials. After the Nuremburg Trials, Simon Wiesenthal led the worldwide manhunt for Nazis who had fled Germany to countries such as Argentina.
After the much publicized and stunning capture of Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires in 1960, this event provided the foundation for future films about Nazi Fugitives laced with Conspiracy themes and Vigilante justice. The Odessa File (1974), Marathon Man (1976) and The Boys From Brazil (1978) were all popular 70’s films that combined themes of Nazi conspiracies with thrilling narratives. The House on Garibaldi Street (1979) took a more straightforward approach in the recreation of the capture, interrogation and extradition of Eichmann to Israel. And The Night Porter (1974) explored a Nazi fugitive and Holocaust survivor and the psychological bond between them decades later.
The 1980’s saw themes of Nazi Fugitive films shift to Historical Biopics. Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story (1986) was a TV biopic of Beate Klarsfeld and her husband who investigated and documented Nazi war criminals. Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989) saw Ben Kingsley as Wiesenthal and his life in a German concentration camp and eventual role as a Nazi hunter. And Music Box (1989) was a legal drama based on two historical events – writer Joe Eszterhas’ personal life when he discovered his father was part of the Hungarian Arrow Cross Party and the real life case of John Demjanjuk who was accused of being ‘Ivan the Terrible’ from the Treblinka extermination camp.
Descending Angel (1990) and Father (1990) continued the themes of Music Box (1989) with family members discovering the hidden identities of their fathers who are exposed as past Nazi collaborators. The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) was yet another version of the capture of Eichmann with Robert Duvall starring as the Nazi fugitive and war criminal. And Apt Pupil (1998) was another film exploring the psychological impact of the Nazi regime based on the Stephen King novella of the same name.
In the 2000’s, there was one Nazi Fugitive film that came to dominate the decade – Inglourious Basterds (2009). Just as Quentin Tarantino had dominated the Films About Fugitives subgenre in the 1990’s, he also created the best subgenre film of the 2000’s which featured Nazi hunters bent on vigilante justice. Other notable subgenre films of the decade included Michael Caine as a Nazi collaborator fugitive in The Statement (2003) and Thomas Krestchmann as Adolf Eichmann in Eichmann (2007) which focused on the post-capture interviews and confessions of the infamous Nazi war criminal.
The 2010’s saw the largest increase of subgenre films from any decade as various themes emerged. Films that layered fiction over historical Nazi events or figures included The Debt (2010), The German Doctor (2013), Never Look Away (2018) and The Collini Case (2019). Non-fiction films that were primarily Historical Biopics or based on Historical Events included Labyrinth of Lies (2014), The Eichmann Show (2015), The People vs. Fritz Bauer (2015) and Riphagen (2016). This decade also included classic, fiction-based films of the subgenre including Remember (2015) and The Good Liar (2019).
The 2020’s have only seen one notable subgenre film to date with The Replacement (2021).
Our complete list of Films About Fugitives features over 192+ films from 1971 – 2023. For now, you can find Films About Nazi Fugitives, Films About Nazi War Criminals and Films About Nazi Hunters in this collection. If you’re looking for general films about Nazis, you can likely find those in our War Films About World War II collection. Also, as we’re always adding more films to specific collections and creating articles based on them, subscribe to our newsletter for the latest film updates as we post them.
Films About Nazi Fugitives & Nazi Hunters that didn’t make our list: The Night Porter (1974), The House on Garibaldi Street (1979), Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story (1986), Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989), Descending Angel (1990), Father (1990), The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996), The Statement (2003), Eichmann (2007), The Debt (2007), The Debt (2010), Labyrinth of Lies (2014), Colonia (2015), Never Look Away (2018), The Collini Case (2019) and The Good Liar (2019).
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Here is our list of the Top Films About Nazi Fugitives & Nazi Hunters:
#10
The Replacement
Plot: Spain, 1982. Andrés Expósito, a young police inspector, accepts a posting in Denia, a small town on the Mediterranean coast, in the hope of leading a quieter life and that the natural environment will help improve the fragile health of his daughter; but once in his new post he becomes involved by chance in the investigation of the strange death of the inspector he has come to replace.
KBZ’s Take: This Spanish film focuses on the mystery surrounding a German compound in a small Spanish town versus more traditional themes and tropes of the Nazi Fugitive subgenre. That’s not to take away from the film as the mystery and suspense in this film are top notch. The film is much more about the investigators and societal impact of the Nazi fugitives on their small town. Highly recommended for fans and completists of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Na06UV
#9
Music Box
Plot: A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.
KBZ’s Take: Of the three similar films released in the late 80’s/early 90’s about family members being unmasked as Nazi criminals, Music Box is the best of the lot. While Max von Sydow in Father (1990) and George C. Scott in Descending Angel (1990) both give incredible performances as unmasked patriarchs, it’s the Oscar nominated performances by Jessica Lange as a daughter coming to grips with revelations of her father’s past atrocities that make this film worth seeing.
In addition to Lange’s performance, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest and Donald Moffat all round out a supporting cast that elevates this film to one of the better films of the subgenre. We would recommend checking them all out, but if you can only watch one, then go with Music Box.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3L3eaNs
Plot: In 1960, a team of Israeli secret agents is deployed to find Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi architect of the Holocaust, supposedly hidden in Argentina, and get him to Israel to be judged.
KBZ’s Take: Adolf Eichmann and his eventual capture and trial has become the most covered subject in the entire subgenre – by far. While multiple films have focused on different aspects of Eichmann, we went with Operation Finale as it’s the most engaging film about Eichmann’s capture.
As for the film, it has a thrilling capture sequence and tense confrontation between Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac) and Eichmann (Ben Kingsley). Mélanie Laurent and Peter Strauss are also excellent in supporting roles.
On a side note, Kingsley and Laurence Olivier are the only actors we can think of that have played both a Nazi fugitive and Nazi hunter. Kingsley played both Eichmann in this film and the leader behind the Nazi Hunter movement in Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989). Olivier played a Nazi hunter in The Boys From Brazil (1978) and an evil Nazi fugitive and war criminal in Marathon Man (1976).
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ArIFrk
#7
Apt Pupil
Plot: One day in 1984, Todd Bowden, a brilliant high school boy fascinated by the history of Nazism, stumbles across an old man whose appearance resembles that of Kurt Dussander, a wanted Nazi war criminal. A month later, Todd decides to knock on his door.
KBZ’s Take: Apt Pupil is worth watching mainly for Sir Ian McKellen as Kurt Dussander. His performance of the Nazi fugitive whose murderous ways are slowly drawn back out by Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro) is why McKellen is considered one of the best actors of his generation.
If you enjoy the film, we would also suggest reading the King novella it’s based on. There are many differences between the film and movie – especially with the violence and subsequent murders by Dussander and Bowden that are not mentioned or shown in the film. The film focuses much more on the psychological aspects of Dussander and Bowden while the book is much darker and explores the ensuing brutality of ‘teacher and student’.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3As8is0
Plot: After reading the diary of an elderly Jewish man who committed suicide, freelance journalist Peter Miller begins to investigate the alleged sighting of a former SS-Captain who commanded a concentration camp during World War II. Miller eventually finds himself involved with the powerful organization of former SS members called ODESSA as well as with the Israeli secret service. Miller probes deeper and eventually discovers a link between the SS-Captain, ODESSA and his own family.
KBZ’s Take: The Odessa File was one of the first of the 70’s ‘conspiracy’ films that focused on Nazis. It provided a template of sorts for future films of the decade that would feature Nazi networks and conspiracies to build weapons of war to cloning Adolf Hitler.
While the film has some exciting sequences, it drags in many parts with a somewhat confusing narrative. However, you’ll forgive the slower parts of the film once you get to the third act when Peter Miller (Jon Voight) goes undercover and confronts members of ODESSA. It has some of the best moments of the subgenre worth waiting for.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40uKmPz
Plot Having adopted a new identity, Nazi war criminal Joseph Mengele finds refuge in Patagonia. He befriends the family of a 12-year-old girl as they struggle to reopen an inherited hotel. Meanwhile, the Israeli secret service is closing in.
KBZ’s Take: Though Eichmann has been a popular subject of the subgenre, it’s a bit mystifying why Josef Mengele hasn’t been covered more. He’s arguably as evil (if not more) than Eichmann and earned the name the “Angel of Death” for his medical experiments at Auschwitz.
Previously, the most well-known portrayal of Mengele was by Gregory Peck in The Boys From Brazil (1978). Peck’s performance as Mengele was as brash as it was disturbing. However, Alex Brendemühl’s portrayal of Mengele in this film is on par if not better than Peck’s.
Brendemühl’s Mengele is much more subdued, and his monstrous nature isn’t initially apparent. He comes off as soft-spoken and quiet, and is almost a sympathetic character in the film until his true intentions for the 12-year-old Lilith (Florencia Bado) and her family become transparent. If you know the history of Mengele it makes Brendemühl’s portrayal of him that much more insidious.
The German Doctor isn’t a well-known film of the subgenre but it’s one of the best.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/43VX7Fz
#4
Remember
Plot: With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
KBZ’s Take: Remember is a film that the less you know about the film, the better. It’s also a film that starts off a bit slow but the second and third acts are some of the best in the subgenre.
Christopher Plummer gives one of his best performances of a storied career as the dementia-riddled Nazi hunter. It’s because of his performance that the film can pull off its somewhat incredible narrative. If it sounds like we’re dancing around the edges of the film’s plot, it’s because we are. We don’t want to ruin this film for anybody and will just reiterate that it’s not only one of the best films of the subgenre, but one of the best from the last 10 years. Watch. This. Film.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3LodxPV
Plot: Nazi hunter discovers a sinister plot to clone Hitler.
KBZ’s Take: Another popular film of the 1970’s that was our #1 on our Top Sci-fi Biotechnology Films You Haven’t Seen and #3 on our Top Films About Conspiracies You Haven’t Seen. We continue to highlight the film so younger film lovers and fans of the subgenre don’t miss out on it.
It’s a great film led by acting greats Laurence Olivier (Nazi Hunter), Gregory Peck (Nazi Fugitive) and James Mason (Nazi Handler). Steve Guttenberg even gives a great performance. While the film isn’t heavy on the scientific or technical details of cloning, it more than makes up for it as a thrilling and suspenseful film about an incredible Nazi conspiracy. It also raises ethical questions about cloning that we are still grappling with today.
Finally, while Laurence Olivier is often regarded as one of the greatest actors of all-time, all you need to do is watch his role in this film as the Nazi hunter vs. his role as the Nazi villain in Marathon Man (1976) to see how effortlessly he transitions between roles and why he’s one of the best. Highly recommended and must watch film of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Top Sci-fi Biotechnology Films You Haven’t Seen #1, Top Films About Conspiracies You Haven’t Seen #5
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3HIzk2K
Plot: In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as The Basterds are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine, soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
KBZ’s Take: We couldn’t have a list of Nazi hunters without including Quentin Tarantino’s classic film. The only thing holding this back from being #1 on our list is that it’s technically not a true Nazi hunter film (where the Nazis are fugitives after the war).
With that said, even in the alternate universe of the film, Tarantino crafts various narratives within the film that all lead to Nazi hunting in only ways Tarantino could dream of.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3AnEFYO
#1
Marathon Man
Plot: Graduate student is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother and the secretive Division.
KBZ’s Take: It doesn’t get any better than Marathon Man when coupling Nazi fugitives and conspiracies. Though it was a popular film in the 70’s with an all-star cast – Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Schieder & William Devane – it’s a film still relevant today that current generations shouldn’t miss.
The film has all the classic trademarks of the subgenre. Oliver as the Nazi fugitive returning to the U.S. after his brother is killed, Schieder as the secretive government agent tracking the fugitive, Hoffman as the agent’s brother who gets caught up in the conspiracy and Devane as another government agent who isn’t all that he seems.
It’s a thrilling film that has entire sequences of suspense from the initial traffic argument to the eventual ‘interrogation’ scene. It’s the interrogation scene between Olivier and Hoffman that the film is most remembered by which has given us one of the classic lines of dialogue in the history of film – “Is it safe?”
It’s easily the best film of this subgenre and a classic film from the 1970’s that no film lover should miss.
Additional Lists: Top Films About Conspiracies You Haven’t Seen #3
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3WKgoVK
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