Fraulein Doktor (1969) User Reviews (29)

Pretty good but unknown WWI film with nice production design , adequate performance and breathtaking battles in trenches

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 14 January 2022]

During the First World War, female German spy Fraulein Doktor (Suzy Kendall) and her squadron of saboteurs are assigned by German Intelligence Col. Mathesius (Nigel Green) to risked plan : to kill Lord Kitchener , obtain the Allied defense plans , and to rob the new French mustard-gas formula from its inventor . Fräulein Doktor herself comes off as interesting and particularly sexy, and her exploits , impacting the fortunes of nations in the high stakes game of WWI espionage . Fraulein Doctor with smouldering allure has relationships with high-ranking military officers, aristocrats , people with influential positions in many countries and even a lesbian romance with a key role , Dr. Saforet (Capucine) . Now she must go behind the enemy lines and get the enemy plans , posing as a nurse but Col. Foreman (Kenneth More) goes afer her . As the German army plans to use the new French mustard-gas on the battlefield during the upcoming German offensive commanded by Ludendorff against the Allied armies and the British secret service attempt to avoid it . Espionage that began with a kiss !The deadliest game of espionage ... where betrayal began with a kiss. Espionage... that begins with a kiss fires the fuse of the poison gas war ! .

Notable warfare movie set in WWI, in which the German intelligence sends a team of saboteurs to Allied headquarters in Belgium to steal the secret Allied defense plans and a female spy to Scotland to kill Lord Kitchener and other dangerous assignments , it contains intrigue , suspense , thrills , emotion and excellent battle scenes . This is a thought-provoking and intelligent war drama perfectly acted by strong cast and masterfully written by great writers as Vittoriano Petrilli (story) , H. A. L. Craig (screenplay) , Stanley Mann (uncredited) , Duilio Coletti (uncredited) and director Albert Lattuada himself . Although the story is inspired on real events , in a Mata Hari-style character , it's mostly a historical fiction , though Fräulein Doktor is loosely based on the life of Elsbeth Schragmüller who died of miliary tuberculosis in 1940 . It depicts a brooding study about spy word and futility as well as insanity of war , making a shattering accusation against the criminal military means by using the lethal mustard gas against the defenceless soldiers in the terrible trenches . Main and support cast deliver stunning performances . As Suzi Kendall gives a nice acting as a German female spy , known as Fraulein Doktor, who is tasked with stealing the new mustard-gas formula from its French female inventor and other misssions . While the support cast is frankly good with plenty of British and Italian actors such as : Nigel Green , Alexander Knox , Capucine , James Booth , Silvia Monti , Mario Novelli and Giancarlo Giannini .

Here stands out the emotive and stirring soundtrack by the great Ennio Morricone , though the initial music on the credit titles is really bizarre , but subsequently goes on his usual style . As well as colorful and evocative cinematography by Luigi Kuveiller, shot on location in Yugoslavia, Hungary and Dino de Laurentiis studios , Rome , Italy . This Italian/Yugoslavian co-production was very well produced by Dino de Laurentiis and competently directed by Alberto Lattuada. This was an Italian neo-realist film director and fully qualified architect. Co-founded the first film library in Italy, prior to working as an assistant to Mario Soldati. As director in his own right became noted for visual style . His subjects were intense dramas , and some often satirical, and others comedies directed against socio-political hipocrisy . He was a prestigious writer and director, known for La Chicharra (1980) , Padre putativo (1974) , Guendalina (1957), Il delitto di Giovanni Episcopo (1947) , Luces de Variete , Ana , La steppa , Il delitto di Giovanni Episcopo , among others . Rating : 7/10. Better than average , Well worth watching .

Suzy Kendall yes... but Capucine too!

[luminous_luciano · 7/10 · 27 February 2004]

The gas attack scene is impressive without a doubt... and there is certainly here a chillingly accurate rendition of the horrors of war... The comparisons with later films such as Jacob's Ladder are fine as long as this one gets the nod as the superior one (no cheap letdown surprise in the end!).

But what makes this film stand out for me is that it breaks a barrier - an important one even for the ''sexy year'' of 1969...

For the first time ever to my knowledge we had two major female stars embrace in such a suggestive way it left nothing to the imagination and it was thus the first ''big'' sapphic display with two stars!

We would have to wait until the 80's for another such exhibition - Catherine Deneuve (the new Capucine?) and another Suzy (Susan Sarandon) in The Hunger.

Capucine was a major star - bigger than Suzy Kendall at the time. She had co-starred with William Holden, Peter Sellers and David Niven... To see her cast as this very sapphic Dr.Saforet was indeed... surprising.

Both actresses perhaps paid with their careers for their daring avant-gardedness here, in this most unique war film, or so it seems...

Can Only Echo Everyone Else: Where's the Video?

[Piper12 · 7/10 · 12 June 2006]

Like almost everyone else who has commented on this movie, I can only wonder why this has never appeared on video.

I recall seeing it at about age 12 on the "The Late Show," circa 1972. I too recall the poison gas attack and the weirdly garbed horses. (I don't recall the more horrific bits I've seen described here; they were likely cut out for the TV audience.) But the scenes I REALLY liked were the ones involving the death of Lord Kitchener aboard the HMS Hampshire, almost exactly 90 years ago. The scenes of the doomed cruiser approaching the minefield in the storm were really chilling, as I recall.

Don't recall the musical score, but the comments of the others now have me curious. Get this one out on video!

Make sure you tape this one!

[Zen Bones · 12 May 2000]

I am not ordinarily a fan of spy thrillers because the spies always seem to live in their own world oblivious to the realities of the rest of the world around them. But this film shows for the first time a spy who sees first hand the results of her work. There is blood on her hands literally as well as symbolically. It is interesting that the one time we see a spy coming face to face with the realities of their handiwork, it is a woman who is the spy.

Like others have mentioned, the battlefield scenes contain some of the most horrific scenes of war carnage ever shot. Not since Akira Kurosawa's "Kagemusha" has the futility and horror of battle been so profoundly depicted. No war was more futile and insane than the first world war, and the grisly images of melting skin and soldier's bodies spasming and writhing in agony are a perfect illustration of one of the biggest turning points in world history. War was no longer played according to rules or any standard of humanity. This is also poignantly shown in a scene when a German general reluctantly pins a medal on "Fraulein Doktor" because she'd killed Lord Kitchener and Kitchener had been a personal friend of his.

One has to put aside some of the 60s-style make-up and hairstyles, but most of the acting is very good and the whole movie will keep your attention all the way through to to the riveting climax. Id' rank this along with "Gallipoli", "Paths of Glory" and "King and Country" as one of the best WWI movies ever made. And to echo some of the other comments here.... I wish I had taped this!

A movie can not stand up on only two scene

[stefanozucchelli · 6/10 · 2 January 2022]

A spy movie set during the First World War. It didn't leave a strong impression on me aside for two scenes. The first is the one in which the spy pretends to be a waitress and in the air there is an erotic tension that can be cut with a knife, the second is the final scene in which the actress gives a great demonstration of her skill with an acting which genuinely surprised me.

Mixed Elements.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 21 December 2015]

Most people won't expect much of this film if they judge it by its opening credits -- psychedelic lettering, weird music, cheap and lurid colors. It looks like the beginning of a grindhouse movie or one of those Japanese entries in which human organs are flung around with abandon. It's not that bad though, even if it's dubbed. It's a World War I spy movie about a pulchritudinous agent.

The performances are solid and the script up to par. It begins with one of those phony military executions of the sort Tolstoy was subjected to. The priest blesses you, you're marched out, stood against a wall, offered a smoke and a blindfold, the firing squad lines up and addresses you -- and then the whole thing is called off.

This story is about a German spy, Suzy Kendall, a morphine addict who penetrates British intelligence in 1916. At Scapa Flow, her machinations lead to a channel being mined by a German submarine. The mines sink a cruiser with Lord Kitchener aboard, an incident based on a real historical event.

That initial fake execution, staged by Colonel Kenneth More, has convinced another spy, James Booth, that he'd better play cricket with the Brits, so he spills the beans about Kendall's appearance and activities. Kendall has done far more than simply assassinate Lord Kitchener. She's the one who gave the French poison gas formula to the Hun. Enough! The hunt for Kendall, dangerous spy and major doper, is on.

A flashback takes us to Paris, where Kendall is posing as a maid in the service of a French scientist, Capucine. Kendall is a very adroit spy. Perhaps suspecting something about the nature of Capucine's libido, she allows the scientist to catch her in the act of caressing herself. Capucine, not in the least put off, asks Kendall to relieve her of her hampering boots. Kendall then shyly fondles Capucine's shapely foot, which must have been easy to do. The seduction follows tout de suite but, lamentably, tragically, it's off screen.

Capucine demonstrates to Kendall how the gas works in a disturbing scene that has a dozen white rats apparently dying and then dogs spinning around as if impelled by an internal motor, before expiring in a spasm of shivers. I don't know if the animals went unharmed in the making of this movie. If not, they gave award-winning performances. Kendall makes off with the gas formula and returns to Germany, where she is decorated by a disapproving general.

Booth, now turned by the Brits, is allowed to escape and report to his superior in Berlin, played by a delightfully hammy Nigel Greene -- hammy even for him. Green informs Booth that Kendall, though once valuable, has now been spoiled by her morphine addiction and is no longer of any use. Booth is instructed to do what all villains are instructed to do about another villain who is "no longer of use". BUT -- Greene has been suspicious of Booth since his return, suspecting that he was turned. And the murder of Suzy Kendall is another fake. She's alive, even after Booth believes he's killed her. Now, being thought dead by the Brits, Kendall will no longer be looked for, so she can work more freely.

It gets complicated but ends up on the battlefield, with Kendall pretending to be a Spanish nurse. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of men die when the Germans use the mustard gas that Kendall supplied them with.

It's not often that some elements of the production are so poor that they draw attention to themselves, but in this case it has to be said that the sound stinks. The performers are all dubbed, even if by the same actors. The model work is astonishingly chintzy. The audio effects are so bad they're sometimes repellent, especially noticeably during a gas attack, when the sound track shrieks with some ungodly stritulation void of any sense. When the hooded German forces attack, the composer has imitated the dissonant strokes of Prokoviev's score for "Alexander Nevsky." A good deal of research has gone into wardrobe. The diverse French, German, British, and Belgian uniforms are convincing, but make up and grooming are echt-1968. The women have eyelashes like black window awnings and their hair styles were very fashionable in the age of pop.

It's a shame because the film shows evidence of a decent budget, the writing and direction are smooth enough, and the performances are all enjoyable. Except for Fräulein Doktor, whose expression hardly ever changes. Not that it needs to. She walks through the movie without ever manipulating her features, and her default expression is no expression at all. At the end, she is to break into hysterical tears because of guilt, but she's been knee-capped by the script, which has given no hint of any such emotion before. Fortunately, she's so comely that it's easy to miss her lack of passion. Her eyes -- her knowing, oblique, pale blue eyes -- bespeak heaven.

Better Than Average WW1 Film - Fraulein Doktor

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 19 March 2024]

I was a bit surprised by this film. I had expected less than stellar acting (with the exception of true professional Alexander Knox, who once played Woodrow Wilson). I was not disappointed there; the acting was pretty bad. But I was surprised by the excellent production values, and the cinematography, which was well above average. The battle sequences, at times, were spectacular; espeically the gas scenes.

The deviousness of the main character was interesting, and the persona of Fraulein Doltor was better than the acting out of her role. The scenes of daring intrusions into enemy territory were also above average. A WW1 film I can recommend.

Whatever happened to Suzy Kendall?

[ChWasser · 8/10 · 19 September 1999]

Like other people who commented on "Fräulein Doktor" I stumbled by chance upon this little gem on late-night TV without having heard of it before. The strange mixture of a pulp fiction story about a sexy but unscrupulous anti-heroine on the one hand and a realistic and well-researched portrayal of war in the trenches on the other hand had me hooked from the beginning.

To me this is one of the five best movies about WWI (the others are "All Quiet On The Western Front", "Paths Of Glory", "Gallipoli" and the post-war "La vie et rien d'autre"). And the scene with the poison gas attack is really chilling; the horses and men appear like riders of the apocalypse with their gas masks.

I only wish I had taped the film.

Episodic and uninvolving

[gridoon2024 · 5/10 · 27 November 2016]

"Fräulein Doktor" owes most of its fame to the fact that it's still difficult to find today; if you do find it and see it, however, you may end up wondering if it was worth the trouble. The film's structure is far too episodic and the title character is far too remote to command interest the way a central character should. Neither Suzy Kendall nor Nigel Green are convincing as Germans. There is a large-scale battle segment near the end with a huge amount of extras, but Alberto Lattuada's staging is clunky - you have to struggle to make out what's going on. There is one thrilling sequence where four men are attempting to board a speeding train from underneath (!), and Ennio Morricone works wonders with the music, as usual. ** out of 4.

Excellent, rarely seen WW1 spy thriller

[twoflower · 8/10 · 15 December 2001]

After watching the rather sloppy WW1 spy thriller, Madam Lili (1969)starring Julie Andrews on tv this afternoon, I suddenly thought I had seen a far superior WW1 spy thriller. All I could remember was that it was produced by Dino De Laurentis. It only took a short search on IMDB to find Fraulein Doktor. Once I recognised the title the memories came flooding back. It is, for its time, a reasonably well crafted story revolving around true events such as the death of Kitchener and the German offensives of 1918.It also has a female spy who is much more believable than Julie Andrews! As with other reviewers the first and strongest memory was of the well produced battle scenes and of men and horses in gas masks. If you have an interest in war films and particularly WW1 it is a film well worth seeing if you have the opportunity.

A chilling scene

[milesmob · 8/10 · 2 December 2004]

I saw this at the theater in the early 1970's. The most memorable and scary scene is when the German army attacks with yellow cross mustard gas for the first time. The Germans and their horses are covered from head to toe (or hoof) with eerie protective suits. The experienced British soldiers don gas masks (only) and once again await the clouds of gas and the German attackers. The gas clouds move ever closer, finally enveloping the British defenders. The Germans move forward slowly menacingly in their scary looking garb. Suddenly a scream from the defenders... This gas is like no other that they have experienced before....

Now you will know why I have remembered this scene for the last 30+ years and still shiver, I think that you will too!

A Most Memorable Film

[powell-8 · 10/10 · 19 July 2005]

There are movies, and there are films. Movies are more often than not merely cinematic "candy," whereas films are true works of art. Fraulein Doktor is certainly well-placed in the latter. As most viewers, I was highly impressed with the battle scenes, but the poignancy of the portrayal of the central character is what I consider to be the most sterling quality of the film. Having done everything possible to serve her country as a true daughter of Deutschland, all the while in the throes of morphine addiction, die Fraulein is treated very shabbily by the German high command despite all of her efforts. The scene in which the Doktor is being conveyed in the rear seat of a Mercedes Benz command auto, alone, desolate, and sobbing is perhaps one of the saddest yet truest depictions of a "spy's" lot in life. Only the emotional pain presented by Richard Burton in the Spy Who Came in from the Cold comes close. Fraulein Doktor is a far deeper film than one may realize upon a singular viewing. I only wish that its producers would see fit to release it on DVD so that those who have never experienced it can, and those who have seen it can again (perhaps again and again)enjoy this exceptional motion picture.

This film really chilled me

[zzapper-2 · 8/10 · 17 May 1999]

I saw this film by chance on the small box. It has a fantastic and chilling scene about poisonous gas. A lot about fanatical patriotism. A bit of eroticism. I can't believe it's still waiting for 5 votes!!

show it again Sam

[jonsered2 · 10/10 · 10 February 2004]

I havent seen that movie in 20 or more years but I remember the attack scene with the horses wearing gas-masks vividly, this scene ranks way up there with the best of them including the beach scene on Saving private Ryan, I recommend it strongly.

PLEASE get this on DVD and CD!

[kenn-johnson-1 · 8/10 · 7 August 2007]

It seems more than passing strange that such utter dreck as "Dukes of Hazzard" and "The Hills Have Eyes" (the new version) can find DVD distributors while older - and far superior works such as this film - are nowhere to be found. With all the on-going debate about the morality (or lack thereof) of warfare, and interest in espionage (consider the multiple Jack Ryan, Bourne, XXX, and "Mission: Impossible" productions, this would seem to be an obvious choice for release on DVD. True, it LOOKS like a 1968 motion picture because it IS a 1968 motion picture. But style consideration aside, this is still a production that actually has something valuable to say, and has plenty of plots twists to keep an audience entertained. If nothing else, will SOMEBODY please consider getting the soundtrack onto some kind of CD, whether it be a compilation with other Morricone music or as a stand-alone. I don't know if industry people bother to read what we fans have to say about their products, but if you are reading this and other comments, please take us seriously. We are paying for your lavish homes with our hard-earned dollars spent on tickets, DVDs and CDs - give us what we want! All that said, if you are reading this and have not seen this film, lobby for it's release so you may see what those of us who have seen it are talking about. You will not be disappointed.

Anyone know where I can get a copy of this film from?

[albany234 · 8/10 · 18 April 2009]

I remember seeing this film years ago on, I think, BBC2. I would very much like to view it again - does anyone know how I can obtain a copy? As I remember, it was an especially powerful movie, in particular the scene that stands out is of the horses wearing gas masks. Apart from that I really can't recall too much about the story - which is why I want to view it again! I have trawled the web but am unable to find a copy, which is unusual in my experience - perhaps there is no DVD or VHS of this film on the market. Would appreciate any help anyone can give me on this. Thanks very much in advance for your assistance. Best regards, [e-mail]

The Fräulein really is a gas!

[bygard · 8/10 · 23 March 2007]

Luckily, not knowing anything about this movie I was curious enough to tape it from TV. And then the tape ran out just five minutes before the ending!

But I'm glad I managed to get most of it because this is a really great spy movie. There are the usual toy submarines and a bit foggy plots, but also very chilling and even daring moments. Considering the production year 1969, the certain slight lesbian overtones must have raised a few eyebrows. Of course now it doesn't surprise anyone and those scenes in fact seem pretty beautifully done. And it's not just because of the two George's actresses.

The gas attack seems to hit every viewer very strongly, no wonder, And it certainly did hit me. Very effective. Also the viewpoints from the both sides of the opponents gives the whole story more deepness along the usual suspense and action. This is not just a heroic war tale of one victorious side, but shows what lies behind the victory in good and bad. Well, being a case of war, mostly bad.

For the fans of composer Ennio Morricone this is also a must. His work is always excellent, touching but never over the top. And I think I have to try to catch more movies with Suzy Kendall. Talk about Fräulein! Let's hope they get this on DVD soon, so I can have the entire movie in my collection and more people will become familiar with this very little known gem.

Fraulein Doktor should've long been on video

[zpzjones · 25 November 2007]

Two films of the 1960s I want to see in their entirety but as time goes by I don't think I ever will. Those films are Fraulein Doktor(1969) & Sands of the Kalahari(1965), both released by Paramount in the US. I have a reasonably good copy of Kalahari taped off of TV with the expected commercial cuts. But this is not the whole movie. I haven't seen nothing of Fraulein Doktor since I last saw it 25 to 30 years ago and as time goes by memory fades. I remember two scenes in Fraulein Doktor distinctly, the horseback poison gas scene & Suzy Kendall crying her eyes out in the back of a military vehicle after having committed once last deceit and afterward she wanted no more of espionage. Two memorable scenes. I agree with the other posters that the major studios will give a goofy modern joke of a film a wide video release but will completely ignore these gems. If I'm not mistaken neither Fraulein Doktor nor Sands of the Kalahari have had a home video release of any kind be it: Betamax, VHS, 8mm, Laserdisc or DVD. There!, ... five different formats from the last 30 years and these two movies cannot get a home video release of some sorts. There are other films from this era that also have never seen the light of the 'video' day. But time marches on, 40 years now, for the best print materials from films like FD & SotK. It would be a tragedy if we were to lose the best printing sources of these two films(at just 40 yrs) forever if they are not restored for present day audiences to enjoy. We're not talking about silent films, we're talking films that are as recent as 40 years ago. Another poster mentioned the Sicilian Clan(1968) which I saw for the first time a few weeks before 9/11/01. Excellent film and not on video yet either to my knowledge. But the other two films are wonderful and deserve to be on DVD.

Very exciting!

[RodrigAndrisan · 10/10 · 9 March 2019]

A lot of good actors, Suzy Kendall, Capucine, Nigel Green, Kenneth More, Alexander Knox, James Booth, Giannarlo Giannini. A very interesting subject. Very good director, Alberto Lattuada. In short, a movie worth seeing, I've seen it several times. It has a bit of everything: drama, war movie, action and suspense scenes, everything made credible and very dynamic.

Fräulein Doktor Pretty Good War Movie, Could Have Been A Lot Better

[gerrythree · 20 March 2007]

After seeing again Fräulein Doktor on NetFlix streaming video (before I cut that service, thanks to its notifying me two days ago of its massive pricing increase in September), I realize that this movie was nowhere near as good as I thought for years. So I am making a massive rewrite of my previous very positive review of this WWI spy movie. As others here at IMDb have commented, that brief scene of soldiers on horseback marching onto a gassed battlefield is very impressive, the group of seven or so horses wearing horse gas masks and protective body covers. The problem is the closing scenes in the final third of Fräulein Doktor on or near the battlefield wreck this movie.

In the end, the character of Fräulein Doktor is pushed of the stage by scenes of trench warfare, scenes of soldiers with the flesh on their hands being eaten away by poison gas and a subplot tossed in about German soldiers posing as French soldiers to break into military HQ to copy battle plans. While these goings on are happening, Suzy Kendall's Fräulein Doktor is busy running around in a nurse's uniform as part of a Spanish contingent of nurses on their way to the Western Front to treat wounded allied soldiers. Somehow the Doktor speaks Spanish perfectly, with no German accent.

Netflix's streaming video version of this movie seems to have included the full lesbian scene between Suzy Kendall and Capucine, a scene censored on TV airings of the movie. Capucine plays Dr. Saforet, who is developing a new poison gas. In the scene, Capucine kisses Kendall on the lips, hot stuff back then. The scene does serve a real purpose, to show how Fräulein Doktor gets her hands on the poison gas.

Another scene, not censored, shows Kenneth More, playing a British intelligence officer, telling a caught spy to either talk or the spy will play the Wall Game. The wall being opposite a firing squad, with little chance of the spy winning the game. That sort of cynical attitude played well across national borders in the Vietnam War era.

Fräulein Doktor is a demonstration of how, 40 years ago, the once great film industry in Western Europe could turn out movies that had broad appeal all over the world. In the late 60s, while the big Hollywood studios were on the ropes, Italy, France and England were turning out movies to fill the void left by Hollywood's decline. There were the James Bond pictures (Doctor No was a surprise hit in the USA, it was first released at the Century theater chain in NYC with a 99 cent afternoon admission price), the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns (with A Fistful of Dollars released by a distributor that never paid the Italian producers a dime) and French crime movies that usually went to art houses, with exceptions like The Sicilian Clan. And there were European co-productions like Doctor Zhivago and, of course, Fräulein Doktor. Fräulein Doktor was good enough that some viewers still remember the movie decades later, long after it was out of circulation.

Trouble is, my memories of Fräulein Doktor do not include the badly photographed battle scenes, the poorly done model work showing a warship in a storm, the terrible ending of this movie and the unnecessarily graphic scenes of soldiers' rotting flesh. Suzy Kendall, though, is just as beautiful as I remember her.

Great Movie! Hard to find but worth searching for.

[trashcan-22 · 10/10 · 3 July 2009]

This is an excellent but hard to find trippy World War I spy thriller in the inimitable 60's Italian style. From the psychedelic graphics of the introductory credits and the great score by Ennio Morricone to the lesbian love scene with Capucine and the elaborately produced apocalyptic no man's land battle scenes with poison gas and German cavalry in full gas proof 'storm trooper' gear, this is a movie that should not be missed. It is a film that captures the horrors and cruelty of war and the ruthlessness of the players on and off the battlefield. Apart from the battle scenes, some of the production and special effects are primitive, apparently because the bulk of the budget for this movie was saved for the battle scenes, but for lovers of 60's cinema it should not be an issue. I first saw this movie on television many years ago and had the foresight to tape it on VHS. I still have the tape and enjoy watching it again from time to time.

You will be fascinated!

[ask2 · 10/10 · 14 April 2000]

Excellent film. Suzy Kendall will hold your interest throughout. Has not been shown on American TV for a decade. One scene that has always stayed with me is the German cavalry gas attack. You will find others. Hope they soon put it on tape.

The movie with the most memorable war scene ever.

[ferret-18 · 24 July 1999]

When people ask "what's the most memorable movie scene for you", this is the movie I remember. The mounted German soldier, he and horse in gas masks, emerging from the clouds of poisonous gas. Chilling and unforgettable. The rest of the movie was fascinating and enjoyable, but that scene stays with me. I saw it late one night on the tv and have always wanted to see it again.

Well done... nearly

[carlo-sanguineti · 8/10 · 3 December 2013]

In my opinion to make a good war movie is quite difficult. As to write a good war novel. Lattuada, later (in)famous for other movie choices, did a lot of efforts to make a reasonable plausible WWI movie. If you don't know much about WWI you will find a little bit difficult to get some references. Anyway, HMS Hampshire looks as a real British Armoured Cruiser despite her behavior on rough seas is questionable. Trenches are well done, but there is a mixture of British and French soldiers, so the starting of 1918 offensive doesn't look as "Michael". Mustard gas, or what it is, is quite impressive. And German Uhlans and horses with masks and protections against the gas is something I remember since I was 14. The movie is not a masterpiece, but I do appreciate the efforts to make a realistic WWI movie.

One of the top WW1 movies, and noir..different.

[pfarnell · 8/10 · 11 June 2010]

One of the most noir of war movies, and perhaps from such an unlikely source,being one of the "airbus" of movie makers, the multinational European efforts such as Italy/Yugoslavia. Everyone talks about the famous and horrible noir devastating poison gas attack,one reviewer states that it is on the British troops, but actually I recall it is on the Belgian-held part of the line, small detail, whatever, the outcome would have looked the same. Also, the thing with the ambush of Lord Kitchener, although the HMS Hampton carrying Kitchener in real life struck a sea-mine, I thought the movie had him being torpedoed by a U-boat acting on information about his movements by the Fraulein...perhaps the sub actually laid sea-mines in his path in the movie, Im maybe unclear. If you like either noir or war movies, then you must see it to appreciate it.