Review: Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr.
Dateline: 3/5/00
Mr. Death is Errol Morris' newest documentary. In just under 100 minutes, Morris chronicles the life and career of the man who designed death machines for prisons and wrote the controversial article, "The Leuchter Report," used by neo-nazis and historical revisionists to disprove the Holocaust. Morris' film portrays Leuchter as scientist, humanitarian, madman, and pawn. Edited in a similar manner as Morris' last documentary, Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control, this film is as addictive as Leuchter's daily dose of forty plus cups of coffee and six packs of cigarettes.
Morris
is a filmmaker of some
notoriety. His mostly macabre subjects range from pet cemeteries (Gates
of Heaven), to Death Row (The Thin Blue Line.) For the most part,
Morris leaves his commentary in the editing and other post-production work;
the use of light and shadow, the music by Caleb Sampson, and allows his subjects
to speak for themselves in the interviews. Leuchter's detailed descriptions
of the pain and suffering his death machine designs prevent are disturbing,
yet necessary for understanding how this mousy man could one day be the subject
of controversy. Leuchter wants to be considered a serious scientist and engineer,
and it is this desire that leads to his fall. It is Leuchter's desire for respect
and admiration that ruins him, and Morris knows this.
Hubris: one of the oldest stories in the world.
