Product Details

• Actors: Bernard Hepton, Angela Richards, Clifford Rose, Juliet Hammond, Ron Pember
• Writers: Gerard Glaister
• Format: PAL, Box set
• Language: English
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 12
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002XOZOM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,570 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Complete Secret Army [Region 2]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

[NON-U.S. FORMAT (PAL) Region 2 U.K. Import - This will not play on U.S./Canada DVD players or those from most other countries outside of Europe. You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] SYNOPSIS: This highly-acclaimed, BBC television programme about World War II and the growing numbers of Low Countries citizens who resisted the Germans, is a first rate program that initially premiered in 1977. As English planes were shot down in Belgium, many soldiers were aided back to safe countries such as Scandinavia and France or Spain. Secret Army features the 'lifeline' of good souls who would work together, such as a Belgian nurse (Lisa Colbert), the employees of a popular cafe, a farmer, a doctor and many other characters who have one thing in common but have many varied personal dramas that unfold.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Lovers of Good Drama, August 22, 2006

By 

steve b (Dudley England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Secret Army [Region 2] (DVD)

Secret Army was made in the nineteen seventies a time when the BBC made a number of series which without being high brow treated the public as intelligent and capable of following plots rather than having the attention span of a newt. Secret Army sits along side series like When the Boat Comes In, I claudius and Tinker Tailor as a memory of this goldern age.

The plot is set in World War Two and concerns a group of Belgians who help shotdown allied airmen escape from the Germans and get back to Britain. The group is led by Albert, played brillently by Bernard Hepton. Albert owns a Brussels restauraut paid for by British Intelligence and used by senior German Army and Gestapo officers. Albert is therefore able to keep an eye on the very people who are trying to catch him. In particular Major Brandt of the Luffwaffe Police and Stumbannfuhrer Kessler of the Gestapo, both of who use the restauraut on a regular basis.

Albert is a complex figure, he is for sure a brave man who risks torture and death to help the allied cause. He is also determined to come out of the war owning the restauraut and with as much as possible of the money given to him by the British still in his hands, although he does offer to share it with the other members of the escape line. He is also quiet capable of shooting allied airmen if they threaten the line.

As for the Germans, the Gestapo chief Kesseler, played with great skill by Clifford Rose, dispite being a fanatical Nazi is alo shown to have soft side, as in the second series he falls in love with a Belgian women. There are great performances not only from Hepton and Rose but from all the actors playing the major fiqures.

What is shown is that the line is at threat as much from Belgian and French collaborators as it is from the Germans.
They are also at risk from those Belgians who believe that Albert and his group are collaborators, as they are unaware of the restaurauts real purpose. In one episode the Belgian underground throw a hand grenade into the restaurant. The escapeline for reasons of security having nothing to do with other resistance groups.

In the third series the Communist resistance try to take over the line and Albert betrays themn to the Germans. The line between enemy and friend becoming more and more blurred. The line is also under threat from the allied airmen who quit often behave in a foolish or reckless manner.

Not that the series is without fault, everyone, German, Belgian, French, British and American speaks nothing but English and although the series revolves arround a restauraut, we never see the cook.

However if you like good acting with believable and tense plots then this series is for you.

You can also marvel at the courage of those people who did it for real.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best TV shows ever, November 26, 2008

By 

Winston "Iran Blogger/Activist" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Secret Army [Region 2] (DVD)

Having seen this show 3-4 times ((2 times in English and 2 times dubbed in Persian language)) I admit this is the best and the most favorite of TV shows ever. The story takes place in occupied Belgium during WW II where a group of Belgians try to extract downed allied (mainly British) airmen out of occupied territories and send them back to England. This show is extremely exciting. The acting is classic. The characters are well made and defined. Story is so thrilling it takes your breath away. After almost 30 yrs after this show is done, it is still superb and great. I never get tired of watching segments of it on youtube either. It's highly recommended if you love a WW II TV show.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TERRIFIC!!, November 14, 2011

By 

Keith Spofford "Jon" (Peabody, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Secret Army [Region 2] (DVD)

Couldn't stop watching it. Absolutely wonderful program. If you liked "Mission: Impossible" with a WW2 spin, you will love this program. The characters are very well written and superbly acted. You will love to hate Clifford Rose as Kessler, head of the Gestapo in Brussels.