ChanBot
i must have seen a different film!!
Glimmerubro
It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
davidcarniglia
Great acting from Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, a fascinating, if overly complex plot, and fine attention to detail make Night of the Generals a compelling film. O'Toole gives arguably the best take ever on a Nazi nut-case character.I agree with those who feel that the romance and Hitler assassination subplots weigh the movie down. The corporal's character has the necessary purpose of incriminating O'Toole's General Tanz, not to mention highlighting Tanz's borderline comically obsessive behaviors; but the girlfriend just gobbles up minutes without adding much interest. Also, as interesting as the assassination plot/attempt is, it also ends up adding extra characters and scenes irrelevant to the main murder mystery. At first it seems that General Tanz is too obvious a suspect; he's an habitual sadist. Torching whole blocks of Warsaw as an "exercise" while promising the local children candy is just the kind of Santa Claus-from-hell persona that spells out sociopath. The other two generals, depicted as more or less 'good Germans,' are not nearly so interesting as Tanz. It might've been a better mystery if either Donald Pleasance's or Charles Gray's character had been the murderer. Surely, O'Toole's Tanz could fill a whole toolshed with his personality disorders. Of course he's a murderer; killing the three women was just a side-show for him.What was an interesting match-up was Omar Sharif and Philippe Noiret; their characters understood each other. In a way, their shared interest in solving the murder(s) shows, ironically, that there's more going on than the war, more important things that involve the civilized world of the rule of law.The frame story set in contemporary (1965) times gives a bit more perspective, and actually complements the main plot. Except for Tanz, civilization has returned. It's strange that he survives twenty years imprisonment as a war criminal, but can't deal with his capture as an ordinary murderer. Perhaps he's more afraid of losing status than losing his life.There's a lot going on here; Night of the Generals is worth repeat viewings. Despite the piggy-backing of plots, great performances give us a memorable movie.
Leofwine_draca
THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS is a deep and complex murder mystery masquerading as a World War 2 flick. The entire cast is populated by Nazi characters, nearly all of whom are played by western actors or in the most incongruous example, Omar Sharif (!) who is nonetheless completely convincing as the dedicated major on the trail of a man with a penchant for brutally killing prostitutes.This film was a flop on release and it's hard to see why. Sure, it's slightly overlong, but despite the languid pacing this is a gripping story that never flags. The sense of authenticity is second to none. I loved the whole war milieu backdrop of the story, in which casual violence and brutality plays out while Sharif spends his time investigating a seemingly insignificant crime just for the honour of it.The plot to assassinate Hitler also plays a big part in the proceedings and it does seem irrelevant for a time until the genius twist towards the end in which it all makes sense and everything comes together. This is also a film with excellent characterisation which really brings out the flaws and distinctions in the main cast members. Aside from Sharif we get exemplary turns from Charles Gray, Donald Pleasence, and Peter O'Toole as the three primary suspects, and a youthful Tom Courtenay doing very well in a difficult role. I loved how the film gets into the psychology of the murderer in a way similar to that in PEEPING TOM or PSYCHO and the actor playing him is icily convincing, his scenes gripping. The film ends on a particularly high note and as a whole is a fantastic, unfairly maligned bit of entertainment.
edumacated
this film transcends the usual agenda of the usual film financiers.it is a metaphor to show that there was murder beyond the murder we have all been trained to see.there were almost 27 million soviets slaughtered in what they call the "great patriotic war", that is their war with the Germans.but who talks about that.and that is the point of the film. there are crimes committed far beyond those we have been spoon fed to digest. there is a multitude of German resistance we have not been allowed to absorb, because the group that controls the media needs a total villain deserving no mercy in order to maximize the sympathy and guilt we are all programmed to feel.if you feel repulsion at this review, then you and i are both victims of this propaganda.
Spikeopath
The Night of the Generals is directed by Anatole Litvak and written by Paul Dehn, Joseph Kessel & Gore Vidal, based on the novel of the same name written by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Charles Gray, Joanna Pettet & Philippe Noiret. Maurice Jarre scores the music and Henri Decae photographs it. Distributed by Columbia Pictures it's a Technicolor and Panavision production, with the primary location for the shoot being Warsaw, Poland. Plot centres around the hunt for a serial killer of prostitutes during the second World War, with the evidence pointing to it being a General in the German army. Nazi officer Major Grau (Sharif) is the man taxed with flushing out the madman.Is it comedy, drama or an in depth character study of Nazi evility? Perhaps all three? Either way, The Night of the Generals is an acquired taste and a film that's hard to recommend with any great confidence. With a big budget and an international cast of numbers, the makers intended to take the bite of Kirst's novel and blend it with grandiose characterisations: I mean the Hitler assassination plot is in the mix somewhere. What follows, dragged out over a far too long 150 minutes, is a film dotted with moments of class, punctured by moments of borderline camp comedy. Some of the dialogue is very precious, but again at times some discussions beggar belief. It's such a shame that a production with much going for it, such as the sets, location, photography, source material and cast, ultimately runs out as a collage of good intentions & bad ideas. Still, it is fun to watch, which in a film containing savagery and deprivation, probably gives you the best idea of how to approach the film.O'Toole is an absolute riot, playing it insane and pompously dandy, his performance alone is worth getting the numb backside for. But was it meant to be played that way? Rumours suggest that O'Toole was mortified about the behaviour of producer Sam Spiegel, particularly towards Litvak. So Pete, bless him, decided to totally have fun with the role, and he did, and in the process raises laughs aplenty. Sharif, Pleasence and Gray (woo hoo, Blofeld's R Us) manage to keep straight faces long enough to earn their money, while Technicolor beauty comes in the form of Pettet & Véronique Vendell. There's even some cameos to look out for, notably Christopher Plummer as Rommel. The rest either come and go without great impact, or in the case of Courtenay, just look star struck around O'Toole.If come the end you remember the nastiness within or a great action sequence? (whoosh those flamethrowers), then the film has in part done its job. If, however, you still find yourself giggling at O'Toole's hysterics? Then it most likely has not? Lest of course that was the intention.......5/10
