Stalag 17

Rating:
Summary: What time was it when Pearl Harbor was bombed...?
Review: This superb WWII drama stars William Holden as Sefton, a cynical self-promoter who trades with the Germans to eat, drink, and dress well, while his fellow POWs are suffering and hating him. An informer is at work in the barracks and the commandant knows who is escaping, and where the radio is. Sefton is the obvious suspect. After the guys take out their frustrations on him, be becomes determined to discover the real bad guy. (You'll be surprised who it is!)

There are some funny scenes and the POW camp sometimes seems like Boy Scout camp, but then the harsh realities of life and death in the camp are soberly shown. This is one film you can enjoy over and over, because of the outstanding acting and excellent script. You'll be cheering for the indominable spirit of the American GI!

Rating:
Summary: Great cinema, insulting reality
Review: Stalag 17 is a fun, easy-going movie which features a very competent director (the late Wilder), an excellent script and a cast of extremely charismatic characters. It centers around how a group of american prisoners of war try to escape from the camp they're imprisoned in, while trying to find out who amongst them is ratting them out to the enemy.
Under different cirumstances I would have given it an outstanding 5 stars.
However this movie is a complete joke and an insult to your intelligence in another way. It exemplifies the naivity of people who haven't been in a single war in their life, nor fallen in captivity. The movie shows the american POWs acting like a bunch of school-kids pulling pranks and upsetting the nazi chief of camp, which looks more like a loveable school principle than the dirtbag he really is, considering he is a nazi officer. Extremely offending is the way the movie tries to convince us how easy and carefree the lives of the prisoners were, who seem to dance, smoke, eat, and have a very fulfilling and happy life, while cracking jokes and having in general the time of their life. For a more accurate - albeit incomplete - view of history, try the book "Is this man?" by Primo Levi.
Sorry, but anyone with a little respect towards history would be too disturbed by this distortion of facts. It's equivalent to making a movie about how the terrorists who perpetrated the September 11th attacks were just a bunch of heroic freedom fighters. The only difference between the two in terms of distorting reality is that the latter is too painful and fresh in our memories and we can't be fooled. Don't let this movie fool you about the more distant past.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic!
Review: This is one of my favorite movies. It is funny and thrilling. I don't think it gets enough credit. Not only is it written and performed wonderfully, but I think that the director does such a great job of making the audience FEEL what it must have been like to be there in the camp; cold, wet, dark.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST WWII POW FILM for real life drama, now on DVD !!
Review: The Best WWII post-war Classic films dealing with the human factor were; "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), "Twelve O'Clock High" (1949) & "Stalag 17" (1953). These Black & White Classics dealt with the dark & forgotten side of war. The Best years - war battled veterans returning home, Twelve O'Clock - the terror of dying & Stalag - the captured, imprisoned POWs. Hollywood was at their best with these films and we are forever reminded of the sacrifices that the "Greatest Generation" made for us.

Summary: We are introduced to American POW airmen at a WWII German prison camp ("STALAG 17"). It is Christmas 1944 and the narrator Cookie (Gil Stratton) explains the specific situation happening at his Barracks #4. The latest problem is all escaping POW's are being killed so their is suspicion that there is a "Stoolie" amongst them. Sefton (William Holden - Oscar winning performance) is the lead suspect since he is the Barracks hustler and friend to all (including the Germans) for a price. The Security Officer Price (the young Peter Graves - outstanding) seems a little to perfect for Sefton. So the story has many turns but finding the spy is the primary focus.

This DVD is Black & White, Full Screen / Standard Format (before WideScreen). Excellent quality picture.

This the Best POW film dealing with the true "Black Comedy" of war. Note: Black Comedy / Dark Comedy was the nervous humor which came out in the most dismal time and the horrors of war.

This is a CLASSIC FILM to watch again & again. Shall we never forget !!!

Rating:
Summary: No esta tan mal
Review: Vi la peicula hace algunos años, antes de Full metal Jacket y pienso que Kubrick se inspiro en esta paar hacer a full metal jacket, siempre es dificl comentar sobre estos hechos, sobre todo por la carga historica pero tiene un extraño sentido del humor que raya en lo perverso.

Rating:
Summary: Well Crafted
Review: William Holden leads a terrific cast in this story about American P.O.Ws in a German Prison camp during World War II. A viewer can feel great sympathy and admiration for these men as they try to survive their ordeal. The insane inmate evokes the most sympathy, Holden's character, Sefton, the most admiration for his courage, brashness, adaptabilty, sceming, and ultimate success in discovering the spy in the barracks, Gil Stratton's sensitive, nervous Cookie for his light-hearted narration, Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss as Shapiro and Animal for their humor, and Neville Brand's Duke for his toughness and loyalty to his country despite the fact that trading with the Germans may have improved his quality of life in the camp.
Viewers get a sense of the men's lonliness during their captivity, especially during the dance sequence, when, as the men jitterbug with each other,Shapiro pretends to be Betty Grable to humor the dim-witted Animal, who is devastated over the star's recent marriage. When Shapiro reveals the obvious to Animal, the husky officer breaks down in tears as wistful, yearning strains of the song, "I Love You" play on. It is a pitiful scene that could symbolize the effect that isolation could have on anybody. In contrast, the Christmas scene seems to have given each of the men a ray of hope.
Peter Graves' Price is staid and unassuming as the villian. I'd have to agree with the reviewer who pointed out the similarity between this film and "Hogan's Heroes". Otto Preminger's performance as the barracks commander makes it so.
The ending made me feel devilishly triumphant as two of the inmates escape successfully. I can only admire the daring of such men, although inevitably I had to ask questions about their fate.
While this film appears slightly dated, it is, of course, closer to the time period in which the events took place, and highly recommendable as a study of the human condition in wartime.

Rating:
Summary: Multifaceted POW movie
Review: Very good movie, and one of the best old ones I've seen. Oddly enough the only reason I watched it was to pick up parallels with 'Did You See the Surise?' But anyway, William Holden was great and was a rather unlikely type of hero. The large cast and overall plotting was quite interesting, too. While it went rather slow for the first half, it really kicked in during the second. Great stuff there regarding the infiltrator inside Barrack 4 and so forth. The scene with this traitor is revealed is one of my all-time favorite scenes in any movie. The ending is also quite good, and ironic too. I love irony, I might add.

The large cast works very well, too. You get the Animal and Shapiro duo, which provides comic relief. (Although I personally thought Animal was a bit boorish and annoying, little Harry Shapiro was pretty funny.) Barracks Chief Hoffy and Security Chief Price are the two people in carge, although you also get the very emotional Duke, Blondie the tech expert, poor permanently shell-shocked Joey, and Cookie the narrator. Holden stars as Sefton, the cynical, pragmatic, and rejected Barracks 4 member. And one of these people is feeding information to the Germans. Information that gets two prisoners, Manfreedy and Johnson, killed in a failed escape attempt in the first scene. But I'm not saying any more than that, of course.

In any case, after watching this movie I had the 'jonny comes marching home again' them stuck in my head. Great use of that, too, especially in the afformentioned revelation scene. Highly reccomended.

Rating:
Summary: like Hogans Heroes, but better
Review: I hear that the makers of this movie sued over Hogan's Heroes for plagarism. I can see why. For those who have seen Hogan's Heroes, many similarities will stand out like a sore thumb. Stalag 17 has its own Sergeant Shultz and commandant. The difference in this movie is that these two characters are evil and calculating, especially the commandant, who towers over Hoffman, who's the head of the prisoners. They both also have their own rhythm sections when they enter the scene, which is a nice touch. Like Hogan's Heroes, much goofiness abounds, even amidst what would be a very serious situation. The prisoners make fun of Adolf Hitler, and during a volleyball game, a German guard hands one prisoner his gun and says "hold this" (sound familiar?). On top of the goofiness, however, is an amazingly suspenseful plot that keeps you wondering things about each character there, especially one in particular. The ending is incredibly like how some Hogan's Heroes episodes end, or should I say it the other way around?

Rating:
Summary: Watch and learn and watch some more.
Review: Hollowood today can use a star like Holden; relatable, easy on the eyes and a damn good actor. Holden had already established himself before this film was made with Born yesterday (a must buy). But this film was designed to show he was a great actor but it went way above that, it showed he was a master at his craft. The main tool of the film is Holden's voice the script is just slick enough and well timed by Holden to give his character a swarmy almost dis-likable feel. I say almost due to the fact that Holden's screen presence is so strong that you unconciously want Holden to be the hero. The hero is needed in this intricately weaved story of a group of men imprisoned in an enemy camp and the one man who betrays them for luxury favors. It's a take on human morals at its best and never for a minute does Wilder's direction of the supporting cast let you down. The christmas party scene is both heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. To own this film is to marvel at one of the most underrated war films of all time. When one of they American G.I.'s has "escaped" the german's wonder how. Since the film opens with two prisoners being caught and killed by the Germans. Even though their plan has been so well crafted. All the G.I.'s are dragged out and questioned of his where abouts. You will be too, since Wilder makes you not aware of where the prisoner has escaped too! Brilliant! The film is stark, bare and shoking on every level of the pains of being secluded from your country and your personel space.

Rating:
Summary: Wilder Makes a Shrewd Statement
Review: In regard to another reviewer's point of view on this film, I find the comments to be valid. How does one justify making a comedy out of such a subject as this film purports to? That is a good question. The idea of imprisonment under the Nazi German military does not seem a proposition that one would look forward to with any notion of endearment. This idea is not conveyed to the viewer in any strong sense in my opinion. However, one finds that Yankee ingenuity was certainly able to overcome Nazi efforts to infiltrate the American prison population that would have prevented successful escape. The film also demonstrates the universal concept of the mental and physical strength of the human individual to overcome the weak and inferior elements of society that have been overcome by mass hysteria. When you think about it, did the American prisoners of war treat William Holden any different than the Nazis treated certain segments of their own society? This is Holden's film. He stands for the right of the individual to persevere and conquer tyranny, bigotry and ignorance on his terms. That is what makes this a great film.