a convenient way to make a man into a monster without having to spend much time convincing us of it." Foremost was his frustration that little attempt was made to understand Mike Laszlo, and that "the old man, who should be the central character if this movie took itself seriously, is only a pawn." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone was even more critical of the film, doubting it existed for any purpose other than to get Jessica Lange an Oscar nomination, bluntly stating "real-life tragedy has been used to hype cheap melodrama. It's more than offensive; it's vile." Caryn James of The New York Times applauded Jessica Lange's performance, but had to admit that "Ms. Lange comes as close to inventing a character out of thin air as any screen actor can. Nothing in Joe Eszterhas's overblown script or in Costa-Gavras's simplistic direction begins to support it. In the end, not even Ms. Lange's profuse energy and intelligence can redeem the film's unremitting shallowness and mediocrity." James felt that Music Box "finally tells us nothing about wronged innocence or monstrous evil." Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel was complimentary of the film; according to the New York Times he "found it very moving...a welcome addition to the cinematic literature of the Holocaust." Wiesel stated that "The television series 'Holocaust' was kitsch; this is not. This is a good work of art, a good work of sensitizing viewers." On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 76% from 21 reviews. Awards and nominations Golden Bear winner at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival Academy Award for Best Actress – Jessica Lange (nominee) Golden Globe for Best Actress – Jessica Lange (nominee) Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Lukas Haas (nominee) See also List of Holocaust films Laszlo Csatary References External links 1989 films 1990 films Carolco Pictures films Films shot in Chicago Films set in Chicago Films set in Hungary Films shot in Budapest Hungarian-American history Hungarian-language films Films directed by Costa Gavras Golden Bear winners Films about Nazi fugitives The Holocaust in Hungary American courtroom films Films with screenplays by Joe Eszterhas Films produced by Irwin Winkler Films scored by Philippe Sarde 1990s English-language films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films 1990s American films