Sick Product of a Sick System

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

For some reason only known to Universal Studios this film is only available in bootleg form. I think I Googled it and found a source from which I purchased a DVD. As most of the film is shot (Russell Metty) in semi-darkness the quality is not what it should or could be (in fact, at one point some of the film appears to have been copied from a film screening through a mesh).I'm not sure why the film is impossible to locate as it's a pretty good film (maybe better than that) and the teaming of Charlton Heston and Maximilian Schell is an excellent and compelling example of mid-1960s film acting. I take it that "Counterpoint" has some sort of copyright problem and hope that Universal Studios can produce an authentic version of the film at some point.

I saw this film when it first came out and thought it was excellent, Charlton Heston's best. I don't think the plot was too far-fetched, after all, the Battle of the Bulge DID occur and a USO orchestra could have been caught behind the enemy lines like this one was. Perhaps the German general would not have been quite so brutal, front line troops were not like concentration camp guards, but Charlton Heston HAD discovered important information about the German fuel situation. I too, would like to get a copy of it on VHS or DVD. I actually do have a 16mm film copy of it, 3 reels I think, which I would gladly donate to anyone for a DVD in return!

Only palatable for true Charlton Heston fans; his attempts at conducting the orchestra are painful to watch. Leslie Nielson is in his serious actor mode, being not so much wooden as cardboard. Maximillian Schell could have phoned in his performance, as it appears he sometimes did.A quaint story concerning this movie states that neither Heston nor Schell was particularly concerned with the project and the choice of final roles; rumor has it that the final decision was made by the toss of a coin as to which would be the conductor and which would be the Nazi. Viewing these performances one can see traits of both in each character.Spoiler Alert! A very picky error concerning the final scenes: the orchestra is heard playing Schubert's Unfinished Symphony and Brahms' First Symphony throughout the movie and before they escape the castle. As they are running out of the shelter of a trench during a bombing raid and into their bus, you can clearly see a tuba player dropping his instrument as he escapes; neither the Schubert nor Brahms pieces are scored for tuba.

If you're a World War II movie fan or a woman and a Maximillian Schell fan, or both, this hard to find film has definitely captured Maximillian Schell's charm and appeal. Even though he plays a German General, the "bad guy," his performance makes it very difficult NOT to like him. He is handsome and witty underneath the power of authority that he exudes. His performance is by far the best. A hand would have to be given to given to the young "pre-Naked Gun" Leslie Nielsen also. The movie plot is perhaps a little unrealistic but that's the beauty of film, right? Engaging and somewhat memorable to say the least. Worth a look if you can find it.