Jud Süß

At once a rousing melodrama and murderous antisemitic incitement, the movie draws loosely from historical events from the early eighteenth century, when Jud Süss Oppenheimer, financial advisor to the Duke of Württemberg, was subjected to a sensational trial and gruesome execution. The film depicts Süss as a figure of cynical cunning and malign will, a sexual predator sowing corruption everywhere; his promotion of Jewish emancipation brings Christian Württemberg to the brink of moral and social ruination. (official distributor synopsis)