The Pawnbroker

Synopsis

An emotionally deadened, cynical Jewish Holocaust survivor operates a gritty pawnshop in East Harlem, viewing the impoverished junkies and thieves who bring him goods with total misanthropy, until the approaching 25th anniversary of his family's extermination in Auschwitz triggers subliminal, rapid flash-cuts of Nazi camp trauma that breach his emotional numbness, culminating in his hand impaled on a receipt spindle in an agonizing, soundless scream. Sidney Lumet and Boris Kaufman's Oscar-nominated and Berlin Silver Bear-winning landmark starring Rod Steiger with Quincy Jones' jazz score.