Customer Reviews

The Heroes of Telemark [Region 2]

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

 

 

Based on a true story. Norwegian resistance fighters sabotage the Nazi German effort to produce heavy water for German atomic research during World War Two. Breathtaking snowy Norwegian locations serve as a beautiful backdrop for the plot. Kirk Douglas superbly plays the role of a Norwegian physics professor who, though originally content to wait out the war, is soon pulled heart and soul into the struggle. Though somewhat toned down from the book of the same name (The Germans were much nastier in the printed version), the spirit of the conflict is accurately portrayed without the superhuman fiction that is found in other war movies of the 1960's. As a bit of trivia, Kirk Douglas accepted a starring role in this movie as a favor to Director Anthony Mann. Anthony Mann was the original director for SPARTACUS before he was replaced by Stanley Kubrick.

"Heroes of Telemark" is an enjoyable sixties Hollywood war movie. But view it for entertainment (and Kirk Douglas), not as a history lesson. For that - and indeed for a filmatically better movie! - try instead "La bataille de l'eau lourde" (Jean Dreville / Titus Vibe-Müller, 1947). It's more accurate, more dramatic, has better photography - and even have some of the original saboteurs playing themselves.

"The Heroes of Telemark" was based on three different accounts of what the Norwegian Underground had undertaken to sabotage the Nazi machine operating in occupied Norway during World War II. The heavy water plant operated by Norsk Hydro in Vemork just west of the town of Rjukan was taken over by the Nazis in hope that they would develop a hydrogen bomb. There had been an earlier film I've seen on VHS released in Norway called "Kampen om Tungtvannet" (the Struggle for the Heavy Water) (1947) with nearly all of the surviving saboteurs from both the "Swallow" and "Gunnerside" groups playing themselves. In reality, all of the saboteurs survived this particular operation. One or two had been killed in later campaigns, which also appeared in "The Heroes of Telemark". There was a scene where the Nazis were shipping the heavy water in railroad cars to be taken to Berlin and a portion of the trip would be transporting it aboard a passenger ferry across one of Norway's deepest lakes. Three of the saboteurs slipped unnoticed onto the ferryboat to set charges to blow it up once it reached the deepest part. In reality none of them remained aboard the ferry to play a game with children "race to the lifeboats" in order to save lives. These heroic men, though they had hoped to save lives of innocent men, women and children, were under orders from London that nothing could be done to save them and the plan had to be carried out even if it meant the loss of innocent lives. The saboteurs were long gone in the mountains before the ferry was sunk after the charges went off.

The movie was exciting to watch with stars like Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris playing the saboteurs, even if some of the portions were fictional mixed in with the real events that occurred. The actual operation to set the charges inside the heavy water plant took exactly four minutes with two of the men slipping inside the building and holding an elderly Norwegian guard at gunpoint until the charges were set. A third man came in through a window he broke and assisted with the charges. After the charges were set, the three men ran out of the room and ordered the guard to flee immediately. the saboteurs were long gone before the alarm was sounded after the charges went off. The Nazis were a little slow to react, especially monitoring the radio waves. They did locate the exact position of the small cabin where "Swallow" and "Gunnerside" transmitted messages to London. None of the Norwegians were present when the Nazis reached the abandoned cabin they later set ablaze.

The scene with the one captured saboteur who makes a daring escape from the bus was in fact based on one of the members of "Swallow", Claus Helberg, who was arrested by the Nazis and was being transported to the concentration camp "Grini" when he made his escape. He was shot at, but managed to escape from his captors unscathed.

Great movie, but based on three different accounts.

Although a certain amount of the movie is gratuitously taken up by Kirk Douglas' love life, the story is not only a true one but the filming was done at some of the exact same locations--to include the heavy water factory. Several books and articles have been written on the actual events which were the stuff of legend.

This is one of my favorite World War 2 movies, but if you want to see it on DVD today (April 2006) you will need a region-free player as it has yet to appear in the format here in Region 1.
Luckily, I have a region-free DVD player and the Region 2 DVD that includes a nice, informative documentary shot at the time of the movie's production that talks extensively about the historical basis for the script. It's a worthwhile purchase, but I am baffled by the lack of any such release for North American DVD collectors who do not have region-free players.
Though not exactly the most historical accurate of movies, this film (like the similarly Hollywood-ized BATTLE OF THE BULGE) is true to the heroic spirit of the participants. In fact, whereas this movie shows the resistance fighters arranging for the children on the ferry to wear lifejackets so they can be saved from drowning. In actual fact the Norwegian partisans were under orders from London not to attempt a rescue and were long gone by the time the ferry sank.
In reality the first attempt at attacking the Norsk Hydro plant, "Operation Freshman", a British glider commando raid, ended with one tow plane crashing, killing both the crew and commandos. And a second glider crashing, leading to the death of some in the accident with the rest executed by the Gestapo.
An attempt by the United States Army Air Force to destroy the Norsk Hydro plant from the air failed, the British then turned to the Norwegian section of SOE. Eight of these attacked the plant, did tremendous damage and escaped without loss.
The Germans then decided to move the heavy water and its production equipment to Germany. It was American born Knut Haukelid and an another Norwegian who planted the charges than sank the ferry Hydro and defeated the Germans' attempt to build an atom bomb.
The movie details the allied attempts to disrupt the production of heavy water in Norway (an element vital to the development of the atomic bomb) and therefore covers much the same ground as the also excellent 633 SQUADRON. But whereas that movie covers the efforts of the RAF to bomb the plants, this production details the efforts of the Norwegian resistance to first detonate explosive charges n the plant and then to sink a ferry carrying the heavy water back to Germany. As a result these movies have different strengths and challenges.
While 1964s 633 SQUADRON relies heavily on the difficulty of training for and executing an aerial bombing of a plant shielded by a mountain and guarded by heavy anti-aircraft defenses. The movie HEROES OF TELEMARK (from 1965) takes its suspense more from the human element. And as such, the two leads Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris turn in excellent performances. Douglas as the determined scientist who believes himself superior to the fighters because of his intelligence and Harris as the resistance leader who questions the rationale of the raids and the cost in human lives of the attacks.
Confronted with evidence that the Nazi's are producing heavy water for use in the development of an atomic bomb, Norwegian scientist Dr. Rolf Pedersen (Douglas) demands that he gain passage to England to confer with British scientists. After hijacking a Norwegian vessel for this purpose he returns with resistence leader Knut Straud (Harris) with a mandate approved by the exiled Norwegian royal family to destroy the plant. The first attempt at placing charges results in a mere delay, leading the resistance to consider the loss of civilian life from a ferry sinking versus a (at that time) largely theoretical super-weapon.
This movies true audience is the lover of Boys Own adventure movies. [...]

Columbia Pictures presents "HEROES OF TELEMARK" (1965 131 min/Color) -- Starring: Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Redgrave, David Weston & Sebastian Breaks

Directed by Anthony Mann

Norway has fallen under Nazi occupation, and under the order of the German military, a factory is producing "heavy water" - a key ingredient in the manufacture of atomic weapons. A leading figure in the Norwegian underground, Knut Straud (Richard Harris), joins forces with scientist Dr. Rolf Pederson (Kirk Douglas) and British intelligence agents to destroy the factory, hoping to keep the Atomic Bomb out of Axis hands. However, while originally Straud and Pederson are only supposed to infiltrate the factory as a reconnaissance force while awaiting British troops, the English army is forced to retreat from their plans, leaving the Norwegians to destroy the factory and scuttle a shipment of the "heavy water" all by themselves.

Great direction by Anthony Mann who gave us the James Stewart westerns from the 50's, Bend of the River, Naked Spur, The Far Country, and The Man from Laramie - gives this film his same full attention to detail and action.

Inspired by a true story, this is a fabulous big budget espionage and adventure tale

BIOS:
1. Anthony Mann [Emil Anton Bundesmann] [Director]
Date of Birth: 30 June 1906 - San Diego, California
Date of Death: 29 April 1967 - Berlin, Germany

2. Kirk Douglas [aka: Issur Danielovitch Demsky]
Date of Birth: 9 December 1916 - Amsterdam, New York
Date of Death: Unknown

3. Richard Harris
Date of Birth: 1 October 1930 - Limerick, Ireland
Date of Death: 25 October 2002 - Bloomsbury, London, England, UK

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 131 min on DVD/VHS ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (February 11, 1997)

"Heroes of Telemark" is loosely based on the World War II efforts by the Norwegian Resistance to prevent Nazi occupation forces from moving materials crucial to the development of an atomic bomb out of Norway.

The movie opens with the escape from Norway by sea of a group of resistance fighters (led by actor Richard Harris). Among the passengers is a professor from Oslo (played with characteristic me-first bravado by Kirk Douglas). The leading resistance fighter and the professor are persuaded to return to Norway to combat the Nazi procurement of heavy water, a by-product of a power plant in the Telemark region but vital to producing an atomic bomb.

The two men return to Norway, reconnoiter the facility, and plan and execute an attack in mid-winter. Their subsequent escape across the wilds of central Norway, closely pursued by the Nazis and their turncoat allies, is a dramatic highpoint of the movie.

The attack cripples the facility, but unfortunately, the Germans salvage stores of the heavy water and make plans to ship it out of Telemark by the same ferry used by the Norwegian civilian facility workers. The "heroes of Telemark" must plan one final mission, one that puts their fellow Norwegians gravely at risk.

The movie is notable for having been filmed on location in Norway, and for highlighting the exceptional risks run by the Norwegian resistance, and Norwegian civilians, in a country occupied by a large and ruthless Nazi force. It is recommended as an entertaining dramatization of a real life success in the war against the Nazis.

A decent action-adventure based very loosely on the sabotage of the Nazi heavy water program by Norwegian resistance. It is a little-known and therefore underappreciated corner of the war and so, for that reason, it is good we have this movie to remind us. It is only unfortunate that hollywood thinks too often it can improve on the drama of real life. It is generally better to tell the story closer to the truth than to try and improve it. Still, despite that disappointment, it is an entertaining film with an exciting story to keep you interested to the end. But you will want to read one of the several books available to get the real excitement of this story.

I really enjoyed finally getting this movie on DVD after a long search. Turns out I was not using the correct title in my search.
Good quality and glad to get subtitles also. I have read other reviews that were not as kind. However my wife and I enjoyed knowing some more truth about the Occupied parts of the world in the WWII days. I notice one thing same music backing on this movie as on The Inn of the Sixth Happiness about Gladys Allward, Missionary to China just before and during the Japanese attack there.

Set during WW II this is the story of how a few Norwegians risked everything to stop the Nazi acquisition of "heavy water" to build bombs. Their story is still re-told in Norway.