Night and Fog (French: Nuit et brouillard) is a 1955 French documentary film directed by Alain Resnais. The film was widely acclaimed for its powerful portrayal of the horrors of the Holocaust and its innovative techniques in constructing a documentary narrative.
The film uses a mixture of archival footage, contemporary shots of the camps, and haunting still photos to depict the terror that took place in the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The film includes interviews with survivors and uses first-person accounts of individuals who experienced the atrocities firsthand. The title of the film reflects the sinister "night and fog" policy adopted by the Nazis, in which people were abducted and sent to concentration camps without a trace left behind.
Resnais also created a startling contrast between the peaceful present-day scenes of the empty camps with its lush greenery and chirping birds, and the disturbing footage of the camps' brutality. The use of both color and black and white, as well as the haunting soundtrack, helped to create a powerful and disturbing image of the Holocaust that has remained with viewers long after watching the film.
Night and Fog has been widely recognized as one of the greatest documentaries ever made, with its lasting impact being the powerful imagery that it creates, and the way in which it has helped future generations understand the horrors of the Holocaust.