Reviews

I accidentally came across this gem of a movie on about October 18th 2000. I was fresh back from a month long trip to Germany and was still suffering from jet-lag. I awoke early and turned on the TV - switching channels when I came across this movie - already about half over.

What struck me about this movie as I started to watch it was, the beautiful scenery where it was shot on location. The scene I happened to remember first seeing was one in which Brooks was shown breaking into a closed for the war, hotel of some kind. In this hotel were various paintings and posters having to do with WWII. At first I thought it was some kind of neo-nazi flick and was about to turn the station when I recognized the building that Brooks was in.

I was floored when I recognized it as one I had stayed in during my trip to Germany. My interest was piqued and I was hooked to the film. Brooks was relaxing on a bed when he heard a noise from outside and saw a Kubelwagon approaching the building in which he was hiding in. Brooks observed 2 or so German soldiers walk up to the building realizing that something was not as it should be.

Fast-thinking on Brooks part as he faked being drunk on wine as the German soldiers made their way to where he was. Brooks wound up escaping the custody of these soldiers by tricking them into going into the wine celler and he locked them into it. Brooks managed to grab a key to the German's vehicle and drove away as the escaped soldiers fired at him.

Brooks is seen driving out of sight around a small hill and quickly became the unwitting target of Packy and his little group of followers. (Later on when I did get the chance to watch the film in its entirety, it answered all the questions I had from watching the last half) It turns out that Brooks was trying his best to stay away from Packy and his bunch.

Anyway, Brooks finds and gets Lucy (the Elephant) and wants to leave but, Lucy gets away and Brooks wants to go get her as Packy and his bunch try to set up an ambush on an approaching German convoy.

There are various interactions between Brooks, Packy and Colonel von Holler throughout the movie. The movie in my opinion was well made with a good to great cast as well as filmed in several locations in which I had just come back from visiting. There is no slow boring moments in this film and your attention is always held.

Nuff said on this except that I hope and pray that this movie will eventually be released on DVD.

I'm not one to watch really any film that seems to have romance in it set during war. However, the first time I watched this movie, I was really amazed at how well it was done as well as the most excellent cast for a movie and the realism that it showed. Also, I do not care for films with much romancing in it however, I liked this film and how the romance between a German Soldier and some Fraulein; was shown.

Young German soldier returns to a devastated hometown on leave from the Eastern Front. First he tries to locate his family after discovering their home was destroyed on some bombing raid. Whilst looking for family, he runs into an old professor of his as well as his daughter. During his time on leave, he falls in love with this girl and they eventually get married. Also, the professor had been arrested for some reason and was shucked away to some interrogation center - which really was a Concentration Camp. Sometime later in the movie, this soldier discovers the professors fate.

During his leave, this soldier befriends and teams up with another soldier--who is also looking for a loved one. Don DeFore excellently plays that soldier. Also in the film in memorable roles include: Keenan Wynn as a rich German Corporal, Jock Mahoney as Steinbrenner, a "crack" machine-gunner who is in Gavin's (Graebers) platoon, as well as a very young Dana "Jim" Hutton, as a young German soldier in Graebers platoon.

I do not want to spoil what happens at the end of this movie but will say that Graeber gets sent back to his platoon somewhere on the Eastern Front.

This movie is so good that it really deserves to be released on DVD. It is in color and the sound is excellent.

Prisoner of War is one of my most favorite Ronald Reagan film. This movie also deserves the title of: "Classic" because it is just that, a classic.

Reagan is on a mission to infiltrate a POW camp by being behind enemy lines and once so, shortly manages to slip into line with a column of American prisoners being force-marched to a Chinese ran pow camp. The prisoners are starved and beaten and severely mistreated all the way to the camp. The camp is actually worse than the march was and could easily be called a: "Hell Camp." This hell camp is actually under the tender loving care of the Russians.

Reagan, once inside the pow camp, has to find a way to send messages to his commanding officer, on the conditions inside the pow camp. Reagan does so by joining a VERY small group of American pows who appear to turn traitor. They are of course, hated by all the other pows at that camp and soon they make radio broadcasts telling about ""how well they are being treated"" and ind doing so, that is how Reagan manages to use such a cunning code, that the Chinese and Russians never knew that he was doing so.

All the while, the camp guards try to break the morale of all the American pows by starvation, torture etc. Steve Forest portrays an Americam pow who's will just cannot be broken; no matter what the Russians do to him.

This movie is a bit of a flag-waver but, that is essential as part of this movie. This is another one of those great movies that is rarely shown and really deserves to be shown as much as movies like: The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen.

This movie also needs to be released on DVD so that we all can enjoy viewing it.

The Password is Courage is another one of those "prisoner of war escape movies" but is not ""Just"" a typical pow escape movie. This movie in particular is one of my all-time favorite movies of this type. Dirk Bogarde portrays a real-life personality in the name of Sergeant Major Coward. I think that Bogardes acting in this film was most excellent and is one reason why this film must be remembered and brought back into mainstream movie watching.

This film though is a serious film, also has many comical moments in it as well. One moment I really liked was when the Allied POWs managed to sabotage two German trains by switching their delivery signs around as well as sabotaging parts on the trains to make sure the trains wrecked. Another comical moment is when their camp was almost burnt down to the ground when they made sure a careless German Unteroffizier, who had a routine when he smoked his pipe, that the allied prisoners quickly caught onto and set up an elaborate plan. The plan was that they switched the sand in the Fire-buckets with Petrol--un-beknownst by the German guards.

On a particular windy day, the German NCO was careless a usual, by throwing his match into a pile of wood--which immediately started a fire. The POWs then threw the contents of the buckets onto the fire--making it rapidly spread. In short, they almost completed in burning down that camp.

This movie was so well made that it really needs to be released in DVD so that we all can enjoy watching it over and over again.

Dunkirk is one of the best war movies I have ever seen. It was nice to see Sir John Mills in one of his best if not-THE best roles he ever was in. The makers of this fine film did a most excellent job in portraying as accurately as possible; the terrible events that made up Dunkirk.

The cast was excellent and I am of the opinion that Leonard Maltin (a film critic) really does not know what he is talking about--especially when it comes to this fantastic classic movie. The cast was also superb.

This movie centers around the events that made up Dunkirk and was very accurately portrayed. It was because of this film that one learns that Mr. Lightholler (of Titanic fame) risked his own neck and boat in order to make that trip across the English Channel and to help out in the evacuation of British and French Soldiers; off Dunkirk Beach.

Somebody PLEASE release this film on DVD. I have not had the pleasure of seeing this film in many years and would sure love to see it again.