I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I honestly think that this could have been done much better. The acting was bad in general. Some of the actors chose to portray no emotion, while others played it so over the top that they were unbelievable. The only parts that was really interesting were the interpersonal sections, which were still only about as good as a soap opera. The violence was very TV appropriate, meaning that it was low budget stuff that mostly occurred off screen. The angles were clearly meant to not show the actual violence. The worst they show were the whippings, where all people had their shirts still on, that way the makeup team wouldn't have to make scars. Still, the idea is important. I just wish a lot more time, effort, and production value had gone into this.

Much film has been done about the holocaust from virtually all angles, and this film fits right in amongst them. Now, I wouldn't say it is the best, not by a long-shot, but it has suspense and more-over and more importantly, a reality background which the film-makers kept close to, backed with closing pictures of the camp today and what happened with some of the survivors. That adds to the value of this film.However, the film is not as good as it could have been unfortunately. I found the acting being less than average at a few points but especially Rutger Hauer do a good job throughout the film. Then we have my pet peeve that everybody speaks English which removes some of the authenticity but its OK. The SFX was less passable, but again, OK. I found a couple of factual errors as well, but nothing that distracted the overall impression.Overall though, I would recommend this to watch as a complement to The Grey Zone. They both show uprisings in camps, but The Grey Zone do it much grittier. Simply put, this is a good movie.

At the end of this film, I cried. This is a very moving and powerfully told story, a film that never falters with a boring scene either during it's up-tempo sequences (action scenes/encounters between prisoners and captors) or its down-tempo sequences (the emotional and philosophical grounding of the story with prisoner interaction). It'll leave you cheering when the prisoners take their opportunity to action their revenge, yet at that same time leave you only too aware that in the big picture they're ultimately jousting with futility (most escapees were eventually recaptured & killed).In my book, the definitive Holocaust film, and as such should not go unseen by anyone. This film speaks as much to the human condition as it does to the details of the Nazi horrors.

Saw this in its original airing 20 years ago--a total stunner and tells a side of the Holocaust that has not gotten much attention. I still think it's a crime that there was no special Emmy given to the cast for best ensemble performance of that year. At least the Motion Picture Academy has wised up and given Alan Arkin an award that is in some part for his entire career. By the way, does anybody know what has happened to Joanna Pakula? She was highly impressive in this film, but I haven't seen much of her work since. Rutger Hauer seems to have had a fairly impressive resume as "action man" although he showed a genuine range of emotion here--maybe American producers/audiences were not quite ready for that combination.