The Colditz Story (1955) watch online HD

Shot in stunning B&W Colditz is exactly what you'd want from a 1950s British war film - horrible conditions, very stiff upper lips, and lots of self-deprecation and self-deprecating humour.

THe surprise is how well it is directed and the acting - all of which are classic for its genre. Now overshadowed by bigger productions like the fictional Guns Of Navarone, Colditz is actually probably one of the truest to its source material, and is a rewarding view.

For this viewer it is notable because it is at times an uncomfortable watch - it really did try to understand what being in Colditz meant - and yet it is exciting, human, and full of wonderful moments.

Highly recommended.

Allied prisoners - that normal prison of war camps can't hold - are sent to a mountain stronghold that they are told is "escape proof."

Colditz Castle (in Germany) remains one of the most daunting and visited memorials of World War II. Looking a little like Count Dracula's castle from the outside the very sight of it must have made many a heart sink - especially those that didn't know if they were going to their deaths. Even when they found out that they weren't they still had to be vetted to see if they were not stool pigeons!

This was originally a book and in the fullness of time it would be turned in to this film, a TV series (and a very good one at that) and even a hit board game. The film has to scrap a great deal of the (excellently written) book and can only represent a few of the many plot lines. In truth the prisoners ran out of escape ideas near the end and had only one left - to build a glider to escape from the roof. The war ended before it was tested!

Anything with John Mills in is usually pretty good (ok - Who's That Girl, with Madonna falls short) and this is no exception. The prisoners realise that escape committee's are needed so escape attempts - between various nationalities - wouldn't cross one another. Everything here is based on a real incident, although some of the facts around it are fictionalised.

A good memorial to a tough place and some tough people that were prepared to risk machine guns and attack dogs to get over-the-wall to continue the war. While this type of movie always has many dramatic plus points built in, it is - still - one the top hundred British movies ever made and one of my top two hundred (made anywhere) films. There isn't a second of boredom in the whole movie.

The Colditz Story was one of a number of movies the British made during the Fifties which relived the victories and bravery of their armed services during WWII. Often these movies starred John Mills. The Colditz Story is based on fact. Colditz Castle in Germany was used to imprison the most incorrigible prisoners-of-war, those who persistently made escape attempts. British, French, Polish and Dutch officers were sent there. Unfortunately for the Germans, they wound up trying to keep inside men dedicated to escaping, and who had skills they now could share. The result was that more prisoners of war escaped from Colditz than from any other prisoner of war camp in either the First or Second World Wars.

The movie is based on the memoirs of Pat Reid (John Mills), who served as an escape officer at Colditz and then was one of the first to break out and make it back to England. While the movie is a bit dated, it also is a dramatic and efficient telling of escape attempts, ruses played against the German captors and, of course, of the unfailing courage and good spirits of the British officers. Take the film for what it is, a demonstration for British audiences of the pluck and courage of their military during a horrendously threatening war which they won, and you won't be disappointed.

If you're fond of old British movies, you'll recognize, among others, Eric Portman, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes and Ian Carmichael.

Most P.O.W.s had a fairly pragmatic attitude to their fate.They settled down,got on with life as best they could and sat the war out.Opportunities for successful escapes were very limited,punishments harsh,and chances of reaching home via a neutral country extremely slim. With a bit of judicious bribery life could be relatively tolerable and most of the German guards were all for a quiet life. But to some the very idea of imprisonment was an affront.They became obsessed with the idea of escape,making attempt after attempt.Colditz castle was opened up to hold officers from all over occupied Europe and the U.K.with such a history. "The Colditz Story" was adapted from a book by Major Pat Reid ( it says "novel" in the titles)about his time in the camp. He is played by Mr John Mills as a man almost exploding with frustration. He clashes with the Senior British Officer ( a first - class performance by Mr Eric Portman)in a most insubordinate and untypical manner over a planned escape attempt in the key scene of the movie where Mr Mills learns what burdens are borne along with high military rank. Mr Richard Wattis and Mr Ian Carmichael do a splendid turn as "Flanagan and Allen" at the concert party put on to cover the major escape attempt - the chorus warbling "I belong to Colditz" bringing a more modern interpretation to the term Camp Entertainment. Fun is poked at the Brits total inability to speak any other language than their own,the Poles,French and Dutch all being multi - lingual. Some of the behaviour of our chaps is rather public schoolboyish,but these were officers in the 1940s and quite conceivably many of their number had been at Winchester,Salisbury,Charterhouse or Rugby a few short years before and therefore hadn't had the chance to grow up. The scene at the end when Mr Portman quietly calms them down and averts a riot on "appell" is very well done. It was a very popular film in its day when it was still thought that winning the war would be the end of the obscenity of genocide,bullying megalomaniac dictators and death from the sky - and the start of a brand new age of decency,justice, liberty and prosperity for all.The fact that that didn't happen is the worst betrayal of the Allied soldiers who gave their lives.

This was bundled with 'Ice Cold in Alex', 'The Dam Busters' and one other British war movie. Of the four, I found this the least satisfying, probably due to the brilliance of the other three. There's a TV mini series on Colditz which is far more enjoyable, probably due to its attention to detail. The movie lacks those details, of course, as it's relatively short. Nevertheless, it's still good but John Mills rather underplays his character, unlike his outstanding performance in, for example, 'Ice Cold in Alex'.

It's all a little unreal, really, considering Colditz was reserved for the most troublesome of allied prisoners. You just won't believe that some of the characters shown created trouble for their captors in this version.

However, as mentioned, it's still good to watch and better than the majority of movies with a similar theme churned out after 1960.

This film is named after an actual German prison camp designated for incorrigible prisoners of war--those who had already attempted escapes from other camps. And, not surprisingly, the multinational inmates spend most of their time plotting to escape. And, by the end of the film, some actually make it. In fact, the statistics on actual escapes is pretty impressive. What surprised me about all this is that the Germans were actually VERY forbearing and didn't just shoot the prisoners because of this--and the difference between these camps and the death camps is striking.

It's odd. Although "The Colditz Story" is based on a true account of prisoners escaping from this German prison camp--yet I never was bowled over by the film. I must admit that normally my biggest complaint about historical films is their inaccuracy--and this one sticks pretty close to the facts--yet I didn't really love the movie. I am not saying it's bad--the acting is very good. But I just didn't get into this film as much as some of the fictional WWII British films like "In Which We Serve" or "The Life of Colonel Blimp". It is still well worth seeing.

I don't think The Colditz Story is the best of the PoW films, but it is still a very well done film all the same. I don't think the film is flawless, I think it could have been longer to give more depth to the characters(though there is evidence of that) and the film could have focused a bit more on the psychology of imprisonment like the TV series did.

Any faults aside, what I did love about The Colditz Story was the action. The Colditz Story has a carefully-constructed story about the daring escapes of the prisoners, and the action that forms this story is very well played, with a perfect balance of being tense in some scenes and music-hall jolly in others. The dialogue is thoughtful and quite literate, while Guy Hamilton who went on to greater projects since(primarily Goldfinger, my personal favourite of the Bond films) does a solid job directing.

The Colditz Story is beautifully shot and has the suitably foreboding German prison of the title to add to any authenticity, and there is a stirring and evocative music score too and the pacing ensures that there is very rare a dull moment. The acting is very strong, John Mills is perfectly cast, and Eric Portman also gives a performance worth of note. Ian Carmichael, Bryan Forbes and Lionel Jeffries successfully portray their heroic prison inmate characters too.

All in all, a very well-done film that despite any small imperfections deserves to be better known. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This movie tells the story of Colditz Castle, the German POW camp (Oflag IV-C) for Allied officers who were escapees from other prisons during WW II. The Germans established Colditz as a maximum-security prison in 1939. It was supposed to be escape-proof. The guards outnumbered the prisoners. "The Colditz Story" is based on a book by British author Patrick Reid. He was one of 56 escapees who scored "home runs." They made it all the way back to their countries or Allied lines. The film condenses much of the book, and some of the characters are composites. But, all the events depicted in the film are true.

The town and castle by the same name are located about 25 miles southeast of Leipzig in eastern Germany. The prison was just 40 miles from the Czech border and about 100 miles from Poland. The prison was opened in 1939 to hold Polish prisoners. By 1940, it was converted into the Allied officers prison. Other POWs soon arrived from England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Belgium and France. Late in the war, inmates were primarily British, and a handful of Americans arrived near the very end.

Colditz was otherwise unusual for a German POW camp. It adhered strictly to the Geneva Convention in the treatment of prisoners. These were all officers who enjoyed comforts and privileges that no other prison camp afforded. The higher ranking officers actually had enlisted orderlies. This film barely touches on that. A later movie, "The Great Escape" told a greatly fictionalized story about the real escape from another POW camp, Stalag Luft III. That prison was run by the Luftwaffe (German air force) mostly for captured Allied pilots. It included a number who had escaped before. The conditions there were much inferior to those at Colditz. The first major film on German POW camp escapes, "Stalag 17" was made in 1953. It most accurately shows the conditions of the bulk of German POW camps and treatment of prisoners.

The Colditz story is so interesting because of the concentration of escape-minded officers from so many countries. Those men were the epitome of the Allied prisoner code for attempting to escape. They tied down more German forces to maintain the prison, and then to hunt down escapees. These were all units and men that were kept from the German front lines.

From its beginning until the liberation of Colditz by the U.S. Army in April 1945, POWs attempted about 320 escapes. That's about 60 per year. Of those, 130 made it out of the prison. And, an incredible 56 total were 'home runs." The French had the most successful escapes – 22. The Dutch had 15, the British 14 and the Poles had 5 prisoners who made it all the way to Allied lines. Colditz holds the record for most successful POW escapes in both world wars.

John Mills plays Reid, the author and the only character from the book whose real name is used in the film. The rest of the cast are amalgams of other prisoners. The first British home run was Lt. Airey Neave in January 1942. The movie shows Reid as the first British escapee, but he wasn't. He served as the British escape officer and helped with many other escape attempts, including that of Neave and Dutch Lt. Tony Lewtegn. Christopher Rhodes plays Mac McGill in the film, a friend of Reid's. His character resembles Capt. Michael Sinclair who was the master of all escape artists. The Germans called the red-headed Brit the Red Fox and distributed his picture across Germany. Sinclair escaped nine times, including two times from Colditz. He was the only POW at Colditz who was killed trying to escape. The film shows how it happened when Mac climbs a fence and heads toward the forest.

One other famous prisoner of Colditz isn't covered in the movie, and didn't succeed in an escape. But, Douglas Bader tried to escape and was there when the Americans liberated Colditz. Bader was a top British ace, with 23 scores. He was captured on Aug. 9, 1941, after a mid-air collision over France. He parachuted to the ground and his captors were amazed to see that Bader had no legs. Both of his artificial legs had been destroyed in his collision. After several attempts to escape from other locations, Bader was finally sent to Colditz.

Besides Mills and Rhodes, several; other actors gave excellent performances in this film. Most notable among these was Eric Portman as Col. Richmond. Denis Shaw was a very good German Capt. Priem. And, Lionel Jeffries and Bryan Forbes have very good roles as Harry Tyler and Jimmy Winslow, respectively. This is a highly entertaining film. More than one reviewer found the humor too much or out of place. But, I think it fit well and was very believable. After all, humor is a balm for difficulties in life and trying times. Especially in the situation the POWs had in Colditz Castle, I suspect that the humor was very much like what the film shows. I highly recommend this film, and note that it's suitable for the whole family. Something rare, I think, for a wartime film.

Viewers may also be interested to know that the first British Home Run from Colditz later served in Parliament. Airey Neave was an early friend, adviser and supporter of Margaret Thatcher. He was killed in a car bombing on March 30, 1979. A few weeks later, Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of Great Britain.

THE COLDITZ STORY takes artistic license with facts and the sequence of events, as noted in the foreword, but manages to hold interest when it concentrates on the fortunes of its chief escape officer, JOHN MILLS, and his various experiences with the prisoners and their national rivalries with each other.

Aside from some stereotyped Nazi humor at the expense of stupid guards and the usual assortment of prisoners, the story maintains humor and suspense in equal measure as the men try to tunnel their way to freedom while under the scrutiny of their German captors. Characters are not deeply explored, but ERIC PORTMAN does a standout job as Colonel Richmond and JOHN MILLS is excellent as the real-life escape prisoner Pat Reid.

BRYAN FORBES, IAN CARMICHAEL and LIONEL JEFFRIES are fine in support. Unfortunately, ANTON DIFFRING has little to do as officer Fischer nor does THEODORE BIKEL as one of the POWs.

As escape films go, this POW film is taut with suspense toward the last escape try but a bit flabby in the telling for the most part. Other such films have managed to cover the same territory with more excitement and suspense.

You might call it a low-key story based on true incidents given a rather routine treatment despite some fine performances.

Sir John Mills plays a POW who attempts to lead an escape crew out of the notorious high security German POW camp during WWII but the penultimate attempt is almost thwarted from within after the plan's conceiver (Rhodes) is dissuaded from participating by the British Colonel (Portman) due to his bulky frame. When Rhodes makes an opportunistic and futile attempt to escape, Mills feels compelled to stand down, but is persuaded by Portman to carry on regardless.

Timid account bares similarities with "The Great Escape" made almost a decade later, most notably Rhodes vis-a-vis John Leyton's character. The tunnelling method used for the final escape attempt is also an obvious source of comparison but the daring and audacity in Colditz is more pronounced (during a vaudeville theatre show put on by the prisoners to distract the guards). Distinguished cast includes future comedians Ian Carmichael and Lionel Jeffries, as well as Bryan Forbes and Richard Wattis. Frederick Valk, who plays the German commandant has a few "Hogan's Heroes" moments with Portman and his corpulent watchman (Heller, who made a career of playing this type) which contributes to the film's sometimes casual tone, lacking tension and suspense.

Satisfying conclusion and some well timed humour (the "my wife went to the West Indies of her own accord" gag still rates a chuckle) hit the high notes needed, and consequently, Colditz rates as a watchable if somewhat formula war-time prison escape fare.

People who watch The Colditz Story have probably seen The Great Escape as well and should bear in mind the fact that that camp where Steve McQueen, James Garner, and the rest was built to house all the big escape artists. Those really persistent offenders got incarcerated at the castle called Colditz. Those that is that didn't get summarily executed by the Gestapo as we well remember from The Great Escape.

What an incredible waste of manpower, but those guards had to be lucky because they could be at the Russian front. In The Colditz Story there are more guards than prisoners. When you think about it, it would have been easier for the Nazis to let this bunch be exchanged.

The protagonist of the story is later historian Pat Reid and he's played here by John Mills. Mills's character is the official British escape officer, there are French, Dutch, and Polish officers among those nationalities. Getting international cooperation here is about as easy as the alliance that defeated Nazi Germany with all the cracks and fraying in that endeavor.

There are two other standout characters, the senior British officer Eric Portman and Scot's Guard Christopher Rhodes. Rhodes had an interesting career, he and Stanley Baker probably were up for a lot of the same parts in British cinema. He played some very rough characters on film, some outright villains. Here he's just an incorrigible prisoner who's very rebelliousness endangers the escape plans of many. His is the best performance in The Colditz Story.

Made over 50 years ago, The Colditz Story holds up very well for today's audience. No flamboyant heroics like in The Great Escape, but some real situations in a story told simply and well.

Before The Great Escape, there was this Pow (Prisoner of War) escape film based on true events, from director Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, Live and Let Die). The story sees many soldiers from Britain, France, Poland and other countries involved in World War II placed into Colditz castle, used by Nazis to hold the "bad boys", those who regularly attempted escape from other camps. There are more guards outnumbering the prisoners, and some were political with very strict monitoring. Anyway, the story sees Pat Reid (Sir John Mills) creating all sorts of escape routes and plans, including a tunnel, under the theatre stage, jumping over the fence, and dressing as Nazis, and these are what keep you interested. Also starring Eric Portman as Colonel Richmond, Christopher Rhodes as 'Mac' McGill, Lionel Jeffries as Harry Tyler,Frederick Valk as Kommandant, Bryan Forbes as Jimmy Winslow, Ian Carmichael as Robin Cartwright, Anton Diffring as Fischer and Ludwik Lawinski as Franz Josef. It was nominated the BAFTAs for Best British Film and Best Film from any Source. Sir John Mills was number 38 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, and the film was number 94 on The 100 Greatest War Films. Very good!

Eric Portman, the actor portraying Colonel Richmond gives a performance worthy of note. His commanding voice and presence bring you into the film and compel you to believe this is real.

If you ask anyone in Britain to name a German prisoner-of-war camp from World War II, the answer (unless it is "don't know") will almost certainly be Colditz; few, if any, other camps have achieved anything like the same level of fame. Much of the reason for this lies with this film, the book by Pat Reid that it was based on and the 1970s television series "Colditz". The camp, officially known as Oflag IV-C, was regarded by the Germans as a "Sonderlager", or "special camp"; it was also referred to by them as a "Straflager", or "punishment camp". Situated in a mediaeval castle in the heart of the Third Reich, it was used to house prisoners- British, Polish, French, Dutch and Belgian- who were regarded as particularly anti-German or who had escaped from other camps before being recaptured. The Germans were determined to house such men in an especially secure, escape-proof camp where the inmates would always be outnumbered by their guards. The prisoners, naturally, were equally determined to prove the enemy wrong about the camp being escape-proof.

The opening credits state that the film is based upon "the novel by Pat Reid", which is incorrect because Reid's book is not a novel but an autobiographical memoir. The film is, however, a good example of how to adapt a work of non-fiction for the screen by rewriting it as though it were a novel. All the incidents shown in the film are described either in Reid's memoir or in his later book, "The Latter Days at Colditz", which describes life in the camp after the author's successful escape to Switzerland in October 1942. In the film, however, the chronological order in which those incidents occur is radically different to their order in real life.

The reason this is done is to give the film a traditional narrative structure akin to that of a work of fiction. The prisoners arrive at the camp and almost immediately set about making their plans to escape. The various national groups therefore set up their own "escape committees" to vet all escape plans and to weed out those judged to have no chance of success. Each nationality appoints its own escape officer to ensure closer co-operation. It is discovered that an informer (a Polish officer) is supplying information to the Germans. Even after the man is removed from the camp, however, the Germans are successful in foiling all escape attempts. Morale among the prisoners drops, and in desperation a British officer named McGill makes a foolhardy escape attempt which results in his death. Eventually, however, Reid and another officer, Jimmy Winslow succeed in making their "home run", and morale soars. The film ends with the British prisoners and their allies cheering their success.

In reality one British prisoner (named Mike Sinclair rather than McGill- all names other than Reid's have been changed) was indeed shot dead while trying to escape, but this did not happen until 1944, two years after Reid's escape. Contrary to what is shown in the film, Reid and his companion (actually a Canadian called Hank Wardle) were not the first British officers to make a successful "home run"; that was the future Conservative MP Airey Neave who walked out disguised as a Nazi officer. (Neave's achievement is acknowledged in the closing credits). By rearranging the sequence of events in this way the film achieves a greater impact. McGill's death marks the film's emotional low point, which is quickly followed by its high point- the successful escape which, as Reid is the central character, is credited to him.

The various personalities are well developed; Reid is practical, Wilmslow gloomy and fatalistic, McGill brave but hot-headed. The senior British officer, Colonel Richmond, is initially dismissed by the other officers as "wet", but reveals himself to be a calm and sensible leader. On the German side the Kommandant is portrayed by Frederick Valk as a typically stiff-necked Prussian Junker, complete with shaven head, monocle and barking voice- very different to the decent, humane officer played by Bernard Hepton in the television version. (According to Reid's account, Valk's interpretation was much closer to the real Kommandant. Valk, ironically, was a German Jew who had fled Hitler's Reich and specialised in playing Nazi officer types). Another German officer, Priem, is a fat, jovial man who takes a malicious pleasure in foiling escape attempts.

Reid is played by John Mills, who appeared in several fact-based war films, including "Above Us the Waves", also from 1955, and "I Was Monty's Double". Bryan Forbes, who plays Wilmslow, was later to become famous as a director and made his own prisoner-of-war film, "King Rat".

Reid's book may be about men in captivity, but there is nothing depressing about it. It is, indeed, notable for a light-hearted tone and he makes it clear that many of the inmates responded to their situation with a good deal of wit and humour. Despite occasional tragic moments such as McGill's death, a lot of this comes over in the film. Like the book on which it is based, "The Colditz Story" is often amusing and often exciting, and although its stiff-upper-lip tone can seem a bit old-fashioned today it remains rewarding viewing. 7/10

While the film is well made with excellent scenery, the film is full of some of the usual POW sterotypes.

Despite this, the film is worth watching for Eric Portman's performance and some of the dialogue. The initial rivalry between the various nationalities is well portrayed, with several 'funny' moments.

No reflection on the men involved in these historical incidents but this is a pretty routine story of a jolly group of Polish, British, French, and Dutch prisoners of war assigned to Colditz prison because they've so persistently tried to escape in the past.

It belongs to a genre that includes "One Who Got Away" and virtually limitless others, the best known of which is probably "The Great Escape." It has most of the characteristics of the genre. There is the bluff but fundamentally decent German in command. There is the stern, handsome Unteroffizier, Anton Differing, always reliable in his limited range. There is the spy among the prisoners (cf., "Stalag 17"). The scrounging of goods. The fat, bumbling German in charge. The stage play that distracts the cadre. The comic scene in which one tunnel collapses upon another. There's not much blood and no sadism. The characters are stereotypes, but not like those of the early war years.

There is no problem with either the direction or the performances. All are up to professional par. It's the script. It's disjointed and vague, as much character-driven as plot-driven. There's a certain carelessness evident in the writing. When the Polish tunnel collapses into the British tunnel, there is no preparation for the scene. Of course the sudden intrusion of the Polish tunneler must come as a surprise in order to have any comic impact, and it does. But why are the British tunneling immediately underneath the Polish tunnel? Why did they choose the route they did? What is the secret under the boards of the stage? We never find out.

It's not dull and not uninteresting but it seems to go nowhere. The most engaging scenes are adventitious -- the Guardsmen doing some close order drill, for instance. Not uninteresting but not inventive enough to attract much attention.

A really great film which shows the British fighting spirit at their best,the humour is first rate without losing the drama.well acted ,a remake is long over due.John Mills is superb as the escape officer and one must mention Lionel Jefferies and Ian Carmichael make their parts effective.Watch and enjoy

I hate to rain on the parade of the people here who think this film is so great, but I had to force myself to watch it until the end. It obviously comes from a time in British history when the attitude was "Good show, British boys. You stuck it out in the German POW camps and kept the Jerries busy with your escape attempts, and we're proud of you chaps." That kind of gung-ho, congratulatory feeling is everywhere in the movie. Unfortunately, it turns the story into something bordering on the farcical. The Germans are portrayed as hapless dupes, toothless blusterers, not quite comical but easily fooled and quite incapable of backing up their threats. They may begin by saying that any attempt at escape will be met with death, but none of that seems to ever happen, and when an escape attempt is broken up or an escapee is returned, nobody seems the worse for wear. When two German shepherd dogs jump on an escapee emerging from a tunnel, they don't bite. It's all a game for the prisoners, without any real danger, pretty much on the level of schoolboy pranks. Life in Colditz is cheery, without any privations that we can see. It looks like a better place to be than in training camp back in Britain, where discipline was tough and your day was gruelling.

The prisoners seem to have a very free hand in the castle, moving about almost at will. How did they manage to cut through all those steel bars that they removed so easily from a window? How did they put together several dozen German uniforms, good enough to fool the sentries the escapees walked past? How did they speak such accent-free German that no one noticed? The film claims that everything portrayed is factual, but that claim is difficult to believe.

There is no narrative. The story, such as it is, consists of one escape attempt after another, none of them particularly inventive. Nothing joins them together into a cohesive plot.

I suppose we're expected to forgive crass nationalism in war movies. The Americans always save the day in American films, the British show superior character in British films. For me, this kind of thing spoils a movie. The Colditz story has it in spades. Brits always respond to Germans with a cheekiness that I think in real life would have earned them a rifle butt to the head. And they make arrogant, contemptuous comments about other prisoners, French, Polish, or Belgian. That dissolved most of the sympathy I might have felt for them. Yet, when the credits roll at the end, we see that these others were in fact more successful than the British in their escapes.

I didn't like this movie at all.

Guy Hamilton directs and co-adapts the screenplay with Ivan Foxwell from the P.R. Reid novel of the same name. A story based on actual facts, it stars John Mills, Lionel Jeffries, Bryan Forbes, Anton Diffring, Richard Wattis, Ian Carmichael and Eric Portman. Music is by Francis Chagrin and cinematography by Gordon Dines.

The story essentially follows the repeated escape attempts by allied prisoners held at Colditz Castle. It shows the hard luck stories, the bonds that are formed between the men, the regime and day to day life they lived by, and of course it builds to the historical finale.

It's structured with great balance by the makers, who manage to wring out a number of tense sequences whilst also ensuring that humour shines brightly. It gives the pic the requisite feel of stiff upper lippery, imbuing the characters with justifiable heroism in the face of being a POW, which all told plays as inspirational stuff.

Acted with aplomb by a notable cast, this delightful pic harks back to a a grand time of British film making, while simultaneously doffing its cap towards the real life allied soldiers who wound up in war prison establishments. 8/10

All these prisoner of war movies during the '50s and '60s seem to have one thing in common. Men playing gymnastics in the yard, as the weather is always cooperative and everyone is jumping over each other.

This picture is no exception. Shot in black and white, it takes place in 1940 in Germany. This is a prisoner of war camp where the inmates are constantly reminded that any attempt to escape is verboten, the German word for forbidden, and will be met with being shot. What else is new?

Despite this threat, there is one escape attempt after another. For a part of the film, I actually thought that I was viewing "Hogan's Heroes" again. There was the heavy commandant and the boisterous leader among the Germans.

You would think that such a film would be exciting but the exact opposite is true here.

THE COLDITZ STORY was an important film for me to watch because I had no real idea what Colditz was before watching, and yet the subject matter remains popular in the movies, on TV, and even in board games. It turns out that Colditz was a German castle utilised during WW2 to act as a prisoner of war camp for high-ranking British, French, and Dutch prisoners.

This is a stark black and white POW film with much to recommend, although at the same time it's not the best of the genre. That's because THE COLDITZ STORY simply doesn't elicit as much tension as the truly great films of the genre, and even a lower budgeted and simpler story like ALBERT, R.N. did better. That's because THE COLDITZ STORY explores many different escape attempts from the castle rather than building up to a single big one, so it feels a bit episodic by comparison.

The film looks good and benefits from brisk direction and the like. The cast is exemplary, although the characters are less sympathetic than they ought to be; put this down to the script. John Mills and Lionel Jeffries are a good double act and Eric Portman adds sensitivity and dignified gravitas to his part of the old-timer. Others like Bryan Forbes, Richard Wattis, and Anton Diffring play more clichéd parts but are still fun to watch, bringing to life characters who would otherwise be dullish with other actors in the roles.

From today's perspective, the film; The Colditz Story is like that of a reality TV show competition premised on escape methods. The man with the most original escape plan gets the prize, which is that of his freedom from the Colidiz Castle.

As such this film seems shallow on the surface. With no depth to the plot the characters are not as convincing, which serves to undermine excellent acting from the likes of Eric Portman and Sir John Mills.

However, what the film articulates well is the relaxed attitude of the Nazi guards, and their almost convivial attitude to their British POW foes. Of course the relaxed attitude of the Nazi guards could be in part to do with the self belief they were allotted via the consumption of Nazi propaganda. In this respect 'propaganda' serves as a dangerous weapon of 'self destruction'.

In sum this is a film worth watching, but not the best POW film made hitherto.

Once a medieval castle and latterly a sanitorium, Schloss Colditz (a.k.a. Oflag IV-C, near Leipzig) was for much of WWII used to incarcerate the most troublesome Allied POWs, who had already made serial escape attempts from other POW camps. Effectively the prison became a hotbed of the most dedicated and imaginative would-be escapees.

This film attempts -in a scant 90 minutes- to give a flavour of life in the prison over several years (up to mid-1943, when the Polish, French and Dutch prisoners were transferred elsewhere), as well as documenting several of the many escape attempts. This isn't a documentary per se; as is usual in such films, the names (apart from Pat Reid, who himself made a 'home run' in 1942) are all changed, and there is some 'amalgamation' of people and situations, but all the events depicted in the film (and plenty more besides) really happened.

The story is fascinating in its own right; the film is well directed, superbly acted, and very crisply shot in B&W. One is likely to see (on British or French TV) a nicely restored 'Studiocanal' print in 16:9 format. I can't imagine that the film would have looked or sounded any better when it was first released, it really is excellent.

Colditz castle is most often portrayed from one side, apparently isolated, forbiddingly looming from a precipitous crag over a river. Indeed it is like this; however when I visited, I found that on the other two sides, the ground slopes more gently away from the castle and in fact the buildings of the local town come right up alongside. Nonetheless it must have been a terrible place to be imprisoned; from many of the prisoner's cells (which do overlook the cliffs and river), there is a clear view of the surrounding rural countryside, with all the sights and smells of freedom, tantalisingly just beyond one's reach.

One can scarce imagine the situation; several hundred men, fighting men, full of the energy of youth, cooped up for years with little else to think of other than escape; it must have been like a pressure cooker. There were between 100 and 200 documented escape attempts from Colditz, of which between 30 and 36 (depending on how you count them) were successful. Such matters are fascinating; it is well worth getting one of the several books or even just reading the Wikipedia pages.

The Wehrmacht documented every escape attempt in some detail; the idea was that such information would be circulated to other POW camps so that they might be aware of the escape methods that might be used. However this now provides a valuable historical record; if caught, the official photographer would take photographs of disguised prisoners, usually alongside the actual person they were impersonating. The list of disguises is almost endless; as well as 'Franz-Josef' as in the film, almost every regular visitor to the castle was at some stage impersonated; this included nuns, little old ladies, plumbers, you name it.

War is a brutal and unforgiving business; nonetheless conditions at Oflag IV-C were not as brutal as in many other camps, with perhaps (considering the circumstances) an uncommon degree of respect on all sides. Only one POW lost his life in an escape attempt, and (according to some sources) he was unlucky. Having been warned he was shot at, however the bullet that killed him apparently ricocheted from his elbow into his heart.

After the war Colditz was in Eastern Germany and the castle was never fully utilised during this time. This has had the effect of preserving parts of the castle almost unchanged from WWII. The castle itself (which is well-represented in the film) was something of a rabbit warren; there were many places to hide things and people; on several occasions prisoners 'escaped' for days (or months) by simply hiding elsewhere within the castle, so that when they did make a break, they would not be hunted down in the same way, or just to annoy the Germans. Near the end of the war the prisoners had five working wireless sets within the walls; they were so well hidden that one of them was only discovered about fifteen years ago!

Today there is a museum in the castle and you can even take a guided tour. The museum contains many of the artefacts that the prisoners made (which are remarkable, and to which the film does scant justice) as well as a model of the famous glider that was constructed but never used. If you have an interest in such things I can highly recommend a visit.

Some may criticise this film for lack of character development and characterisations (on both sides) that are now considered clichés. Well how do you compress several years into 90 minutes....? Also, I don't think they were clichés in quite the same way when the film was made.

Some folk will suggest that the 1970s TV series is a better representation than a 90-minute film could ever be. It is a good TV series for sure but it plays fast and loose with historical facts in a way that the makers of this film would not (and indeed did not) tolerate.

So it is ten out of ten from me!

They escape! Well, there wouldn't be a film if they didn't, I suppose. Apparently Colditz, the supposedly inescapable POW camp, suffered about 340 escape attempts, which sounds like something out of Monty Python and probably inspired Michael Palin and Terry Jones' Ripping Yarns episode Escape from Stalag Luft 112b.

John Mills plays Major P.R. Reid, who was one of the first POWs to successfully escape, and this film is based on his book that details the numerous attempts to do a runner. The story actually has some tragic moments but is played for humour as much as drama - the "Appell" scene where the Germans routinely offer special privileges to anyone who will work for the Reich economy has a hilarious gag when a French Officer volunteers. I won't spoil it. Actually the French staged the most successful number of escapes, us Brits managing 14.

When I was a kid I played Escape From Coldtiz an awful lot - great fun, and I'm getting the republished board game for x-mas this year again! It's nice to be reminded occasionally of the astonishing bravery shown by the POWS in this remarkable story. And yep, it's a British film with Nazis so Anton Diffring is in it! He must have spent half his career in similar roles! Ironically Diffring was an ardent anti Nazi during war, something which took some bravery. Very good film, then. Lips very much stiff-upper!

The Colditz Story, as one might expect, tells the tale of arguable the most 'famous' prisoner of war camps during the Second World War and those who tried to escape from it. Naturally, being a British film, it focuses on us 'good ol' Tommies,' but never does it make out that WWII is only a British affair, as it always includes the Dutch, French and Polish.

If you're looking for either a prison movie, or a Second World War movie, you can't get much better than this. It's near perfect for what it is, combining the drudgery of life in a P.O.W. camp, with the highs, lows and bravery of those trying to get out, not to mention some 'gallows' humour in there to lighten the mood when it's needed.

However, its only flaw - sadly - is how well it will be received in this day and age. Although I can see anyone interested in the history of the time period and conflict enjoying it, I can't see it picking up many new followers in today's youth.

If you're looking for some nostalgia and classic film-making, The Colditz Story is for you. If you're looking for 3D cinema, the latest computer generated special effects as directed by Michael Bay, you might just want to skip to whichever Spiderman reboot is taking place this week.