This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.
... View MoreAt first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
... View MoreThrough painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
... View MoreBlistering performances.
... View More"The Colditz Story" is a good enough film on its own merits. John Mills does his usual as the determined and resourceful British army officer and the rest of the cast do their bit as well. Look out for familiar faces like Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael, Lionel Jefferies and Anton Diffring amongst others. It might have been a better idea if I had seen this film before the classic BBC TV series from the 1970s as the latter is a more detailed and thorough examination and depiction of life at the notorious prison camp. With a running time of just over an hour and a half, I felt this movie was slightly rushed in terms of plot development. Two hours at least would have been preferable. There is quite a tense and not to mention grim atmosphere as some of the P.O.Ws plan numerous escapes and with little success. This doesn't alter or dent the tenacity of the main characters as the viewer is always rooting for them to be successful. I expected the Nazis in "The Colditz Story" to be more ruthless and sadistic toward their prisoners but this isn't quite the case. The direction and dialogue are pretty good on the whole. I was rather disappointed that it wasn't revealed how the two allies managed to make good their escape as it would have always seed to the story. However, the reaction by the other prisoners and how the Nazis have been made to look a bit foolish following the successful escape, makes for priceless viewing! A solid film.
... View MoreTHE COLDITZ STORY takes artistic license with facts and the sequence of events, as noted in the foreword, but manages to hold interest when it concentrates on the fortunes of its chief escape officer, JOHN MILLS, and his various experiences with the prisoners and their national rivalries with each other.Aside from some stereotyped Nazi humor at the expense of stupid guards and the usual assortment of prisoners, the story maintains humor and suspense in equal measure as the men try to tunnel their way to freedom while under the scrutiny of their German captors. Characters are not deeply explored, but ERIC PORTMAN does a standout job as Colonel Richmond and JOHN MILLS is excellent as the real-life escape prisoner Pat Reid.BRYAN FORBES, IAN CARMICHAEL and LIONEL JEFFRIES are fine in support. Unfortunately, ANTON DIFFRING has little to do as officer Fischer nor does THEODORE BIKEL as one of the POWs.As escape films go, this POW film is taut with suspense toward the last escape try but a bit flabby in the telling for the most part. Other such films have managed to cover the same territory with more excitement and suspense.You might call it a low-key story based on true incidents given a rather routine treatment despite some fine performances.
... View MorePeople who watch The Colditz Story have probably seen The Great Escape as well and should bear in mind the fact that that camp where Steve McQueen, James Garner, and the rest was built to house all the big escape artists. Those really persistent offenders got incarcerated at the castle called Colditz. Those that is that didn't get summarily executed by the Gestapo as we well remember from The Great Escape.What an incredible waste of manpower, but those guards had to be lucky because they could be at the Russian front. In The Colditz Story there are more guards than prisoners. When you think about it, it would have been easier for the Nazis to let this bunch be exchanged.The protagonist of the story is later historian Pat Reid and he's played here by John Mills. Mills's character is the official British escape officer, there are French, Dutch, and Polish officers among those nationalities. Getting international cooperation here is about as easy as the alliance that defeated Nazi Germany with all the cracks and fraying in that endeavor. There are two other standout characters, the senior British officer Eric Portman and Scot's Guard Christopher Rhodes. Rhodes had an interesting career, he and Stanley Baker probably were up for a lot of the same parts in British cinema. He played some very rough characters on film, some outright villains. Here he's just an incorrigible prisoner who's very rebelliousness endangers the escape plans of many. His is the best performance in The Colditz Story.Made over 50 years ago, The Colditz Story holds up very well for today's audience. No flamboyant heroics like in The Great Escape, but some real situations in a story told simply and well.
... View MoreShot in stunning B&W Colditz is exactly what you'd want from a 1950s British war film - horrible conditions, very stiff upper lips, and lots of self-deprecation and self-deprecating humour.THe surprise is how well it is directed and the acting - all of which are classic for its genre. Now overshadowed by bigger productions like the fictional Guns Of Navarone, Colditz is actually probably one of the truest to its source material, and is a rewarding view.For this viewer it is notable because it is at times an uncomfortable watch - it really did try to understand what being in Colditz meant - and yet it is exciting, human, and full of wonderful moments.Highly recommended.
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