Rating: 
Summary: Good attempt to dramatize the Hindenburg disaster...
Review: "Hindenburg" is a pretty good film that unfortunately falls a bit flat. The concept, sets, effects, and the cast are all excellent, but there just seems to be some element missing. The cast is populated with famous faces from yesterday, a standard practice in all 70's disaster movies. Here we have the incomparable Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, Charles Durning, Richard A. Dysart, Robert Clary (late from "Hogan's Heroes" at this point), future Star Trek actor Rene Auberjonois, and Roy Thinnes. And of course, we have Anne Bancroft and George C. Scott. Scott and Thinnes really do their best, too (look at their confrontation scene when Thinnes' character mentions Scott's dead son!). Still, the cast just seems to be shuffling through this one, with little or no true tension generated, other than an emergency repair by some crewmen who must venture out onto the hull of the ship (an act that was accomplished, but never happened on Hindenburg's last trip). The end result is somewhat sparse, even strangely emotionless for the most part. Despite the overall blandness in tone, the film is compelling to watch anyway (thanks in large part to the cast and the effects). Knowing as we do what will eventually happen at Lakehurst, one cannot help but marvel at the ironic line the Hindenburg's Captain Proust utters several times throughout the course of film. In regards to the United States' bad luck with dirigibles he remarks, "It's no wonder they lose all their airships." The ending of the film seems to mystify some viewers today, but it is, in reality, an incredibly artistic, stylish (and daring), choice on the part of director Robert Wise and the producers. Capturing the action in black and white, with actual newsreel footage of the disaster added, and freezing images in place, Wise makes a stunning montage of the disaster and of the cast members as they flee the impending peril. Even though the end result is only partially effective, the montage makes an artistic statement nevertheless, the kind that Hollywood avoids today. With noisy garbage like "XXX" and "Ace Ventura" littering our cineplexes, it's nice to know that at one time in the recent past, there was room in Hollywood for some creative and bold artistry in films! Would that it could become fashionable again! An interesting side note here is the night time launch of the Hindenburg. The ship is lit with searchlights that create odd, circular patches of light on the airship's hull. Five years later, Wise directed the critically panned "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". In that film, the Starship Enterprise is lit in a similar fashion, with spotlights on the ship's various insignia that create pools of light from odd angles.
Rating: 
Summary: George C. Scott is at it again
Review: A film based on the Hindenburg disaster with all the possiblities portrayed for its destruction included. Contains actual footage of the Hindenburg disaster. Brilliant acting by George C. Scott & Anne Bancroft.
Rating:
Summary: Disaster in the Sky
Review: A good movie, it won an award for best special effects, historically correct too. The part I did not like was the ending. We ALL know that the Hindenburg burst into flames while landing on lakehurst N.J., the problem in the movie is that when it explodes it takes way to long for the Great Symbol of Nazi Power to come down (it only took 34 seconds for the ship to come down in real like). George C. Scott and Bancraft (The Graduate and Ants) work well together, I hope they make a remake to this classic.
Rating: 
Summary: The DVD transfer
Review: Amazon.com often asks reviewers to talk about the DVD, itself, rather than about story-line or acting. Ok. I have had experience in the studio system supervising the transfer of films to tape. Some studios have established a good reputation for their quality transfers, while others simply "dump" product on the market, a practice well known in the VHS format. Universal (THE HINDENBURG) is one of the "guality" studios. That's why I was surprised, and deeply disappointed in this DVD. The opening title sequence is a lovely shot of the Hindenburg flying through the clouds. The film element is loaded with huge scratches and much negative dirt; hardly a "quality" picture element. Throughout, the picture is often grainy, and negative scratches abound. The soundtrack is also very thin, presenting a tin-like quality; again, hardly the rich soundtracks that Universal is known for. I belong to NETFLIX and use the service to preview those films I might want to own later. Unfortunately, due to the poor quality of the transfer, this is one DVD I will pass on owning.
Rating:
Summary: The DVD transfer
Review: Amazon.com often asks reviewers to talk about the DVD, itself, rather than about story-line or acting. Ok. I have had experience in the studio system supervising the transfer of films to tape. Some studios have established a good reputation for their quality transfers, while others simply "dump" product on the market, a practice well known in the VHS format. Universal (THE HINDENBURG) is one of the "guality" studios. That's why I was surprised, and deeply disappointed in this DVD. The opening title sequence is a lovely shot of the Hindenburg flying through the clouds. The film element is loaded with huge scratches and much negative dirt; hardly a "quality" picture element. Throughout, the picture is often grainy, and negative scratches abound. The soundtrack is also very thin, presenting a tin-like quality; again, hardly the rich soundtracks that Universal is known for. I belong to NETFLIX and use the service to preview those films I might want to own later. Unfortunately, due to the poor quality of the transfer, this is one DVD I will pass on owning.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent disaster movie, NOT a disastrous movie!
Review: Critics simply didnt favour this film, main points of contention being the soap-opera style acting, variable special effects, and an overdrawn and therefore anticlimactic conclusion. Certainly there is some truth in the first of these criticisms, and its puzzling why Robert Wise allowed or even encouraged it. Yet I do not feel the film sinks as a result, notably due to George C. Scotts rock solid (as usual) performance. There are a handful of actors who carry a film, or seem incapable of giving a below- par performance, Mr. Scott falls into both these categories. This is not to say he is the only reason for watching, far from it. The music score is impressive, the Oscar-winning special effects fine and probably deserving of this acolade, and the tragic finale harrowing, moving, and therefore very effective. Not a classic, but severely underrated, this film only just fails to hit my Top Twenty all-time favourite movies.
Rating:
Summary: Fine film
Review: Despite the negative reviews you may read above (especially by self absorbed, elitist movie reviewers such as The New York Times' wrinkled, lame film critic whose initials were P.K.), this remains a very intriguing fictional film of the days leading up to the Hindenburg disaster. Robert Wise shows his deft ability in a measured pacing building up to the moments of disaster. The casting of "Hindenburg" is superb (George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft are top notch), the historical details are excellent, and the script is very well written. Visually, it ranks among the best made of early aviation. No other film has yet to bring alive the era of the great passenger airships with such incredible detail. The film does not sacrifice story for SFX as current films seem to do. This production is worth adding to a private classic film library.
Rating:
Summary: Poor DVD quality, dull film with occasional moments
Review: First things first: The picture quality on this DVD is horrendous. Although presented in widescreen, the film print is swimming in scratches and dust. The image is often grainy and ugly, with poor contrast, especially during scenes taking place at night. I really expected better from a major DVD releaser like Universal. Anyone who remembers seeing this in a theater back in 1975 will feel very disappointed with this disc. As for the film itself, it is another entry in the mid-70s disaster film sweepstakes, although it tries to present itself as more a "whodunit" or espionage mystery; imagine "Murder on the Orient Express" if the trail derailed massively at the finale. George C. Scott, gruff as usual, plays the German Colonel working to determine who onboard the legendary Zeppelin crossing the Atlantic might have a reason for sabotaging the ship. There are plenty of suspects, most of them famous or semi-famous actors (Anne Bancroft, Burgess Meredith, Rene Aberjonois, Charles Durning, William Atherton). Who has the best reason for wanting the Hindenburg to go boom? This is a fanciful version of the events leading up to the disaster -- the actual reasons for the event have never been determined -- and I have to credit director Robert Wise for maintaining reasonable suspense in a story whose ending is well-known (the DVD cover itself shows you what happens). But, sadly, "The Hindenburg" is mostly hot air: dull, artificial, and a lot of talk going nowhere, and too typical of the formerly great director Wise ("The Day the Earth Stood Still," "The Haunting," "The Sound of Music") in the later phase of his career. Many great characters actors onboard get nothing to do. Burgess Meredith is especially criminally underused. Scott and Bancroft have very little chemistry in their vague relationship, and TV actor Roy Thinnes as the Gestapo agent is laughably bad. The only interesting scene before the big finale is an exciting sequence involving the repair of a damaged fin. David Shire's excellent score really excels here. But otherwise the film is just killing time until the long-anticipated climax. And the climax is an incredible let-down, using a special effects cheat that will infuriate a lot of viewers. The effects in the film are excellent up to this point (marred, unfortunately, by the rotten DVD quality), but for the main event, the film cops out on us in a big way, relying on archival footage instead of new effects. A few of the character stories are never wrapped up either, leaving the viewer with an enormously unsatisfied feeling. "The Hindenburg" really should only be seen by history nuts and disaster film completists, and they'll be unhappy with poor DVD quality. The casual viewer will be better off with "The Towering Inferno" or "The Poseidon Adventure." (Geez, I just recommended an Irwin Allen film over a Robert Wise film!)
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Story, Unlikely Plot
Review: George C. Scott turns in a good performance in this story about the dirigible that blew up in Lakehurst, New Jersey. The film indicates that the Hindenburg was the victim of sabotage, but I find that view unconvincing. The dirigible's balloon was filled with highly flammable hydrogen. It was raining that day, and there was electricity and lightning in the air. It does not take a rocket scientist to conclude that the airship was a disaster waiting to happen. One thing is certain: had the bag been filled with helium, there would have no explosion.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully photographed and very well directed!
Review: I haven't seen the widescreen version of this film yet, but I still love the movie. I had heard of this film, but didn't think anything of it until I saw the end of it on cable one morning. I remember that I was always fond of those old zeppelins, so I decided to rent the movie. Amazing special effects by veteran special effects maker Albert Whitlock that won on of the films two Oscars, beautiful Oscar nominated photography by veteran cinematographer Robert L. Surtees, a beautiful and memorable score by David Shire, and brilliant directing by Citizen Kane editor, Oscar winning director Robert Wise. I hope to have this DVD version of this wonderful film, so that I can see its real splendor.
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