Monday, May 30, 2016

Movie mini review: Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime

The 2014 documentary "Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime" is now available for streaming on Netflix.  If you have access to it, I recommend it.

Before there was a "spotlight" team at the Boston Globe, there was the "insight team" at London's The Sunday Times.  This documentary tells the story of how Harold Evans, the editor of the Sunday Times pursued the story behind the injuries caused by the drug Thalidomide which was used to control morning sickness but which caused tens of thousands of children to be born with serious defects.

Under Evans' leadership, the Times pursued the story and fought restrictive laws that limited the publication of the facts behind the story.  The story is not only about products liability and the pursuit of justice for the injured victims but also about restrictions on freedom of the press. 

The Sunday Times' fight to win compensation for the victims took more than a decade, as Evans tenaciously pursued the drug companies through the English courts and beyond.

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