The Holocaust remembered in DVD release

The Holocaust has provided compelling, thought-provoking fodder for movies ever since "The Diary of Anne Frank" opened the door in the 1950s, making a previously thought-to-be-taboo subject acceptible for motion-picture drama.

The "Anne Frank" movie was released in 1959, after the book had become a best-seller and the play had become a Broadway smash. And since then, there have been myriad films on the subject — both true and fictional — including "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), "Sophie's Choice" (1985), the documentary "Shoah" (1985), "Schindler's List" (1993), and last year's Oscar-honored "The Pianist" (2002), and many others.

Television has also successfully tackled the subject with "Holocaust" (1978), "War and Remembrance" (1988), etc.

"Sophie's Choice," "Shoah," "The Pianist" and "War and Remembrance" have all been on DVD for awhile, but for some reason the others have been gathering dust on studio shelves. "Judgment at Nuremberg," Stanley Kramer's excellent film of the Nuremberg trials with an all-star cast (Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, etc.) and "Holocaust" (Meryl Streep, James Woods) don't seem to be close yet!

Now, "The Diary of Anne Frank," a documentary about Anne Frank and Steven Spielberg's incomparable "Schindler's List" have all come out on DVD within weeks of each other.

— "The Diary of Anne Frank" (Fox, 1959, PG, b/w, $14.98). The fine George Stevens theatrical film version (later remade twice for television) is in black and white (the director's choice) and shot in widescreen (not his choice, although it didn't hinder his capturing a sense of claustrophobia).

The true story is well-known — the Jewish Frank family left Germany when Hitler came into power, fleeing to the safety of Holland. But, eventually, Hitler's forces moved into the Netherlands, forcing the Franks to go into hiding.

The family of four took up residence — along with another family of three and an older gentleman — in an attic, where they managed to survive for two years before being discovered. Meanwhile, young Anne kept a diary that chronicled their good and bad times together, and when her father had it published after the war, the book put a face to the Holocaust, humanizing the horror and allowing people to come to terms with it.