Marcel Ophuls' riveting film details the heinous legacy of the Gestapo head dubbed "The Butcher of Lyon." Responsible for over 4,000 deaths in occupied France during World War II, Barbie would escape—with U.S. help—to South America in 1951, where he lived until a global manhunt led to his 1983 arrest and subsequent trial.
Direction
Ophüls' wandering, confrontational style — he chases liars across continents.
Editing
Jagged cuts between Barbie's victims and his defenders create moral whiplash.
Director
Marcel Ophüls
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The title references the Lyon hotel where Barbie tortured prisoners — it's still standing, still operating.
Ophüls' father directed 'The Sorrow and the Beautiful'; this is his son's angrier, more sprawling reply to inherited evil.
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