2021 Film The Survivor

Ben Foster stars as Harry Haft, a real-life survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he boxed fellow inmates to survive. Vicky Krieps, Billy Magnussen, Peter Sarsgaard, John Leguizamo, and Danny DeVito co-star. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021, and was released on HBO on April 27, 2022. The film received positive reviews from critics, particularly for Foster's lead performance. The film was Emmy nominated for Outstanding Television Movie.

The Survivor
Release poster
Directed by	Barry Levinson
Written by	Justine Juel Gillmer
Produced by	Aaron L. Gilbert Matti Leshem Barry Levinson Scott Pardo Jason Sosnoff
Starring	Ben Foster Vicky Krieps Billy Magnussen Peter Sarsgaard John Leguizamo Danny DeVito
Cinematography	George Steel
Edited by	Douglas Crise
Music by	Hans Zimmer
Production companies	Bron Studios New Mandate Films Creative Wealth Media Endeavor Content USC Shoah Foundation
Distributed by	HBO Films
Release dates	September 13, 2021 (2021-09-13) (TIFF) April 27, 2022 (2022-04-27) (United States)
Running time	129 minutes
Countries	Canada United States
Language	English

In November 2018, it was announced that Ben Foster had joined the cast of the film, along with Barry Levinson, who was supposed to direct the film from a screenplay by Justine Juel Gillmer, with Matti Leshem, Aaron L. Gilbert, Jason Sosnoff, Levinson and Scott Pardo producing under their New Mandate, Bron Studios and Creative Wealth Media banners, respectively. In March 2019, Billy Magnussen, Danny DeVito, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, Dar Zuzovsky and John Leguizamo joined the cast of the film. Hans Zimmer composed the film's score. The film was re-titled The Survivor from the working title, Harry Haft. Principal photography began in February 2019.

The Survivor had its world premiere at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2021. In October 2021, HBO Films acquired distribution rights to the film. The film debuted on HBO and HBO Max on April 27, 2022.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 67 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "Ben Foster's gripping work in the central role further elevates The Survivor's affectingly character-driven approach to its weighty themes." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades