Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Calum Hutton
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
nickdewhurst
This grim and claustrophobic series chronicles the lives of the allied prisoners in the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle designated Oflag IV-C during World War II. It describes events from the arrival of the first British prisoners after Dunkirk to join the existing Polish, French and Dutch prisoners, until the liberation of the castle by the Americans in 1945.It records many attempts to escape, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors. A grudging respect gradually develops between the two sides. Colditz is a Sonderlager (special camp), designed by the Nazis to hold high-risk and later Prominente (politically important prisoners).Lieutenant Colonel John Preston (Jack Hedley) is the Senior British Officer (SBO). He is the very embodiment of British stiff upper lip. He gets along well with the Commandant, whom he respects but is adept at manipulating.The Commandant (Bernard Hepton), known only by his forename Karl, is a moderate and honourable Oberst (Colonel), a Wehrmacht man, who adheres to the Geneva Convention to the best of his ability. He is anxious to be seen by the German authorities as running an orderly camp in order to prevent the SS and Gestapo from taking control. He relies on Colonel Preston to keep the British prisoners in check.Captain Pat Grant (Edward Hardwicke) a young, hot-headed RAF officer who frequently finds himself in solitary confinement, is the first British escape officer in Colditz. His post is later taken by Flight Lieutenant Simon Carter (David McCallum), so that Pat Grant can himself attempt escape.Hauptmann (Captain) Franz Ulmann (Hans Meyer) is the Security Officer at Colditz. His job is to prevent escapes. Like the Commandant, he is a Wehrmacht man who has no love for the SS. Because of his careful planning and sharp eyes and mind, he is able to avert many escape attempts as well as many attempts of the SS to take over the camp.Major Horst Mohn (Anthony Valentine) is a very highly connected Nazi Party member. He constantly finds himself in conflict with the Commandant, and is frustrated by what he perceives as the treating of prisoners with 'kid gloves'. The prisoners loathe him. Unfortunately for them, he is ruthlessly intelligent and occasionally pulls off a devastating coup.Almost all of the events depicted in the series have a basis in truth. While there is not a direct one-to-one relationship between the real and televised characters, most of the televised characters are loosely based on actual persons.A major goof is that throughout the series captured British fliers are shown wearing full dress uniform, which of course they would not have worn on flying operations.
GJValent
One reviewer mentions Colditz as being shown on History Channel. Oops, missed it. Anyway, I recall in the early 1970s(?), Robert Wagner discussing this series on the Tonight Show, and, others of the ilk. I'm guessing that he, and others, assumed this would be picked up by US television. It was the dawning of the age of the mini-series, and, other Brit produced shows had done well. Especially on PBS. Never happened, and, apparently no DVD release either. Will this go down in tele-history as one of the great series that never was ? Earlier flick The Colditz Story is great. One wonders what the producers did with more than two hours to fill.
Gary-1033
I watched this on T.V. as a Kid, IN PARTICULAR i liked the character played by Bernard Hepton as the commandant and can remember as if it was yesterday this unique part, right down to the frequent clearing of the throat and his general manner, i can never recall missing an episode and used to look forward to it being screened every week, needless to say i was very disappointed when the Series came to an end and would love to own the whole series, Anyone out there know if this was ever released on Video or D.V.D. and if so where it can be obtained OR WHEN IT MAY BE RE-SCREENED IN THE FUTURE ?Please let me know if any one notices it popping up on the History Channel again in the future, Gary@ichthus88.force9.co.uk, Thanks in advance Cheers - Gary
I.K
"Colditz" was shown here in Finland as a rerun in 1997-98. It was based on the books "Colditz and the Latter Days" by Pat Reid which tell the story of a group of Allied POWs who have been sent to the most heavily guarded prison camp in Germany.The series was so good that I did not miss a single show of it, I also bought the books on Colditz written by Reinhold Eggers (known as Ullmann in the series) and Pat Reid.The series show how the POWs had to live in Colditz, a few went insane some died while trying to escape and some made a succesful escape. The series is among the best when it comes to drama.
