Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

moonspinner55 Fictionalized account of the lives that were lost and those who survived after the German airship Hindenburg crashed in flames just prior to landing at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey on May 6, 1937, having just completed its first round trip between Europe and North America. Director Robert Wise delivers a handsome film here, yet humorless, methodical Wise was probably the wrong filmmaker to take on this melodrama. Despite his effective usage of actual newsreel footage that gives the picture its third-act punch, "The Hindenburg" is basically a disaster movie in the sky, recognized on its release as part of the disaster movie cycle popular in the 1970s. But these movies were popular because they were trashy, popcorn entertainments. Wise doesn't stoop to such vulgar lows; he wants his film to be prestigious, a masterpiece, but after spending two arduous hours with the various 'colorful' characters on the guest list, one isn't inclined to be emotionally involved in the who-lived-and-who-died wrap-up. Most of the actors are miscast, anyway, particularly Anne Bancroft as a German Countess (by way of the Bronx) and Joanna Moore as a pregnant Broadway show-person with a Dalmatian (the Hindenburg did have two dogs aboard, but their fates differ from the happy ending given this screen pooch). Charles Durning has a thankless role as the ship's captain, barking commands until the disaster arrives, when he suddenly becomes human and shouts "No!" George C. Scott is effective as a colonel assigned to board the airship as a security officer in response to a bomb threat and Roy Thinnes does a good job as the ship's photographer who may not be what he seems. The cinematography by Robert Surtees is indeed marvelous, but the picture just doesn't deliver the genre thrills or suspense you may be hoping for. Wise mounts the proceedings carefully but without any flair. The idle chit-chat up in the air seems monotonous and pointless, and the only thing to look forward to is the finale, a long time in coming. ** from ****

sddavis63 Everyone's familiar with the Hindenburg disaster. "Oh the humanity" (cried out by radio reporter Herbert Morrison as he reported on the crash live) has entered our vocabulary when horrible things happen (or when flightless turkeys are dropped from a helicopter, as in WKRP in Cincinnati.) In any event, no one really knows why the Hindenburg crashed. The most widely accepted hypothesis is an electrical spark caused by a buildup of static electricity. This movie goes in a different direction. It emphasizes the sabotage theory - a theory rejected by both German and American investigators, but nevertheless tailor made for conspiracy enthusiasts and movie making.The movie's pretty well done. It has a feel of authenticity to it. I know about the Hindenburg disaster, but I never really had a sense of what the Hindenburg was like for its passengers. The movie gives us a pretty good sense of what it would be like to be a passenger on such an airship. It's not as luxurious as an ocean liner, apparently, but it would have been a pretty exciting voyage. I liked the sets, and the bit of a picture we get of how the airship flew. That was all well done.There's a large cast of characters in this, headed by George C. Scott playing Col. Ritter, a Luftwaffe intelligence officer who's assigned as head of security for the ship. The sabotage angle is played up with that character, plus a Gestapo agent who's both helping him and watching him, in that delightful fashion Nazi Germany had. Both suspect sabotage; both are looking. As is normal with this kind of movie, there are all sorts of possible suspects on board the ship, and no particular reason to suspect one above any other. In that sense, the movie lost a bit of an opportunity to create more suspense by giving away the identity of the saboteur maybe half way through. Ritter turned out to be anti-Nazi enough to be willing to let the sabotage happen, as long as it didn't endanger the passengers. In the end, the real tension comes from the fact that the Hindenburg's landing at a Naval Air Station in New Jersey was delayed, meaning that the bomb would go off before the passengers disembarked, unless Ritter could stop it - which, of course, he couldn't.The movie has a good cast. Aside from Scott, there's Ann Bancroft and Burgess Meredith and Charles Durning among others. There's even a bit of humour thrown in as a pianist and acrobat on board put on a show for the passengers and crew that turns out to be a shot at the Nazis, poking fun at Hitler and the party with a song called "There's A Lot To Be Said For The Fuhrer." In the end, the portrayal of the fire and crash of the airship is extremely dramatic and well done."The Hindenburg" is an interesting movie. It's highly speculative, but if you're interested in the sabotage theory, this presents at least one plausible sabotage scenario to consider. (6/10)

AaronCapenBanner Robert Wise directed this all-star recreation of the events(both fact and fiction) that led to the sudden explosion of the German blimp the Hindenburg while it was about to land in America back in 1937. George C. Scott plays a German official assigned to investigate threats of sabotage that have been made against the famous Zeppelin. Others in the cast include Anne Bancroft, Roy Thinnes, Charles Durning, Richard Dysart, Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, and William Atherton. Some will live, some will die as the film uses the actual newsreel footage of the time, and integrates it into the film at the end.Though well acted and directed, this film is strangely ineffective, with an uninspired script that feels lifted from any number of similar disaster films from the decade.(Though there is one memorable scene involving a song about Hitler & the Nazis sung at a piano.) Not bad by any means, but a disappointment. The "In Search Of..." TV series did an episode on the subject that was much better IMO.

Lechuguilla Pre-WWII Nazi Germany looms heavily as the back-story in this film about the final voyage of that giant luxury airship known as the Hindenburg. As in "Titanic" and other disaster movies, viewer knowledge of what lurks ahead in the plot propels the drama, a kind of foreboding anticipation. What all these disaster films have in common too is the equity that befalls characters. Wealth, status, and fame provide no security against fate. In "The Hindenburg", all the family jewels of The Countess (Anne Bancroft) count for nothing.One difference here is that the actual disaster takes only a couple of minutes to unfold. That presents a plot problem for the writers, who thus improvise a somewhat fictional account of the various passengers, and their relationship to Nazi politics. Dialogue and subtext thus trend a tad political at times; further, some scenes reek of soap opera melodrama, all of which is meant to pass time, en route to the main event. I have no problem with a sabotage theme, given that the cause of the disaster could, at least in theory, have been sabotage, though electrostatic discharge combined with hydrogen gas seems more plausible.My main problem concerns character ambiguity. Who exactly are these people, and what are their motives? I think the script could have done a better job of identifying them. On the other hand, maybe their Nazi affiliation was made vague, deliberately."The Hindenburg" is a big-budget film, with attention to detail in production design and period piece costumes. The film seems quite faithful to true-life replication. A mostly color cinematography is credible, though the widescreen projection is too severe. B&W newsreel footage at the end adds authenticity, though I didn't much care for the use of freeze-frame.Casting is acceptable, except for the annoying William Atherton. I especially liked sturdy Charles Durning in the role of Captain Pruss. Overall acting is average.A lot of viewers seem to find the pre-disaster plot and dialogue boring. That's unfortunate, as there is no way to create a feature length film that prolongs a tragedy that encompasses only a couple of minutes. Some script issues aside, this is an elegant movie, one that will appeal especially to viewers with a sense of history and genuine human drama.