Customer Reviews

Gulag [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Luckily I have had this movie for quite a while. I watch it as often as I can. Michael Almon, an olympic athelete, is participating in the goodwill games in Moscow. He is conned into smuggling some secret doccuments to the west. He is then convicted as a spy and sentenced to a nation of Siberian prisons called the Gulag. By learning a magic trick there using a box and piece of paper, he learns how to escape this man made hell on Earth. After getting out, he and his companions must learn to face the tundra, the weather, and each other. This is a must-see movie. I wish they would re-release it. It shows just how much a man is capable of enduring when he has a dream he believes in.

I can't believe the reviewer from East Asia. Somehow he/she missed the point. The point was to depict what was going on in the Soviet Union at a time Soviet revisionists in the West were writing that the Soviet system was strong, viable, and was transforming into some sort of Euro-style socialist democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even the CIA missed the boat on what really was going on (read Walter Laquer's book on the fall of the Soviet Union). Without the character played by the American, there would have been no story. The movie was contrasting the spirit of American "can do" with Russian fatalism. I suspect the reviewer from East Asia has some affinity for either socialism or communism and this is his real objection to the moview. Great movie! (read the new Applebaum book on the Gulag system.....). Lavrentiy Larenchencko

Saw this movie years ago and am now lucky enough to have one on the way. I think the actors portrayed a realistic version of a potentially deadly situation. It takes awhile for them to realize that their country isn't coming to their rescue and they must do it themselves. One of my favorite David Keith movies!!! (a movie loving grandma!).

I think Gulag is a great movie one you can watch over and over. I taped it off HBo years ago and have misplaced the copies after all these years I have been looking for it. It is a movie worth watching. It keeps you guessing.

it has received some very good descriptive reviews already. i bought my copy at
Goodwill, it is not rated, yet, Gods name was defamed several times. the f-word i can handle.....but, i continued to watch the entire movie. It makes one stop and think before going to a foreign country. espcially one like russia or iran.

I won't write a synopsis or critique of the film here, as that has been done by people who both love and hate it. Suffice it to say I love this film and am glad any version of it is available in any format. If you get a hold of the 1985 VHS release by Prism Entertainment, it will have 11 minutes worth of scenes missing from the original film, notably the scene where Keith and Macdowell have a glove-sewing contest. Other than that it was very enjoyable.

To the point - when I saw this on TV, I bought it right away when the VHS became available. It's old now, useless, won't play without dragging because it's been played A LOT! This movie should be put on DVD without delay. A no brainer, Lorimar & HBO (yeah, I'm talkin' to you!). One of the best dramas of its time. If one should find it at a garage sale or used outlet venue, get it!

GULAG (1985)
directed by Roger Young
approx. 2 hours

An American athlete staying in the Soviet Union is thrown into a prison camp on frivolous charges. He befriends some Russian prisoners but is seperated from them and placed in a section of the camp for foreign prisoners. He attempts to devise an escape plan even though most of his peers say it is impossible.

This movie shows the effect that incarceration can have on someone- it can mold you into a dismal inanimate object or it will make you thirst for freedom. Many of the gulag prisoners wanted to be free but convinced themselves that it could never happen. The British prisoner (played by Malcolm McDowell) starts off by bullying the American prisoner and ridiculing his optimism, but later becomes a close friend. The escape plan and its insipration are interesting. It is true that the American character (played by David Keith from 'FIRESTARTER') is somewhat one-dimensional, however he does break down several times in the movie due to the overwhelming despair of his situation. The movie also has a few details about the tactics WITHIN the gulag, such as throwing a personal item away and waiting for the prisoner to retrieve it so that he could be charged with attempting to escape. In the end, this movie is a good look at a tragic phenomenon that affected so many.

Director Roger Young went on to do several bible-themed movies as well as TV movies based on current events such as Ruby Ridge and the Lacy Peterson ordeal.

The gulag is what happens when due process gets thrown out the window. Movies about the gulag are important for ANY country with a high incarceration rate. Remember, the real Gulag was much worse than this movie!

I remember when this movie was on HBO back in the mid 80's and I watched it each time it was on. I was lucky enough to get a VHS edition of this movie off eBay for pretty cheap a couple of years ago, but I was disappointed to see that on the VHS version of the movie, they totally eliminated the glove sewing contest that was the film - where Roddy McDowell and the Asian man were competing to see who could sew the most gloves! I remember that scene distinctly and it wasn't on the video!

I just hope IF it ever is released on DVD - they put ALL the scenes back in like it was originally shown on HBO.

This is a great movie for those who also enjoyed Midnight Express - another foreign prison movie!

I haven't seen the movie. However, my husband has mentioned it to me and said it's great. He's been calling around trying to find this movie. No one seems to have it. So, i'm on a mission to try and find it. I would appreciate it if someone can tell me where to purchase this movie i'd love to surprise him with it as a "Just Because" gift; or if someone would PLEASE make me a copy of it and let me know how much it's gonna cost. I'd really appreciate it.