The Odessa File [DVD]

Well, of course Frederick Forsyth is a world class thriller writer, if not the top one ever. How could I possibly select Odessa for pre-eminence above "The Veteran", "The Negotiator", "The Deceiver", or "The Fist of God".? And yet I must. This is one of his earlier books, on an ever popular but more historical subject (Nazis), but I can't put it down, even if I read it (present tense) three times a year. It's not just that there really IS not a dull page, it's like all great art - one learns something or is reminded of something each time one reads it. I just love his way of putting small stories inside the main one, of telling the story of the Jewish victim (Tauber), then that of the Nazi hunter (the real-life Wiesenthal), or that of the little timid Nazi forger (Winzer), or even the tank commander (mentioned in passing) right at the end. The story is gripping, the text exciting,, the characters well drawn, the history accurate, the whole entertaining AND instructive. As a thriller reader I'll bet you come to the end and just can't bear it, & have to start again. Where Forsyth gets his information beats me, he must have an ear stuck to the wall of every government building & terrorist camp! My favourite episodes? - 1. Sigi is a kindly & understanding girl, does not despise her (striptease) customers with loathing as the other girls do. Peter: "But they are just dirty old sods with a pocketful of cash to spend." "Well they wouldn't be if they had someone to take care of them." Forsyth shows his human understanding here. 2. (Germans): "We're a very obedient people. It's our greatest strength & our greatest weakness. It enables us to build an economic miracle while the British* are on strike, & it enables us to follow a man like Hitler into a great big mass grave". (*For "British" read "French" nowdays...). 3. Here's a lesson in politics for us all in one sentence, in why things move so slowly: "Six million dead Jews don't vote. Five million former Nazis can & do, at every election": 4. "There had been a time when people did not reject his orders & he had never quite got used to the change". (Oh, misery! We retired managers know that one all right, don't we?). Just one more, - father of forger to mother: "Are you saying, foolish woman, that our son's ration cards are inferior to the Yankee ration cards?' An amazing book. When you've finished it (twice), do read Haffner's "The Meaning of Hitler".

The Odessa file based on Frederick Forsyth's book is a thrilling film , with wonderful acting. A classic. PB

Super Aryan (John Voight) was created to kill the enemies of the Reich. The whole intent was for him to impregnate the tanks of the enemy with the wonderful killing device that was the 88 mm gun. There is nothing worse than having your own weapon turn against you. This is quite the best film about the holocaust. It is no didactic Speilburg epic. Certain individuals "roll" without constraint. Wiping out the Jews was kind of incidental. "Well we played the game a bit harder back then and a few individuals got ground beneath the wheels. So what? Life goes on. We were all doing it and to not do it would result in one's own terminus. It was not wrong (what is wrong?) and when the Amis re-wrote the rules we covered our backs." Now this makes it all real. There are plenty out there today who would play that game. We wonder where all the Nazi players came from: they are still there but society's constraint prevents them from getting inventive. This film is about justice in its rawest form. They are made to look at their crimes and to pay. And on top of this film has probably the greatest plot twist of any film I have watched.

Another great Frederick Forsyth adaption good story and as always with Forsyth impeccably researched does anyone remember the tv segment he did about identity fraud and how easy it was to become someone else? Anyway back to Odessa a very low key movie slowly gathering momentum yet never dragging on.Then there's the contrast between the cheery christmas tune Perry Como I think and the sinister insidious goings on in the background and how innocently Jon Voight becomes embroiled with the deadly Odessa. This is a fine 70's movie which unfairly basks in the shadow of the also brilliant Day of the Jackal,which got a dreadful remake some years back anyone remake Odessa? second thought maybe not!!!

The Odessa File [DVD] [1974 ] The widescreen version is not available stateside, so this is a great chance to see a film that really suffers from the pan and scan treatment. A non-regional player is a must, of course. The music plays with your head, too. You'll never hear Perry Como and the 'Christmas Dream' song the same way again after listening to it in its first context as this movie's theme. And who would have thought Webber and Rice would have composed and written the score and song lyrics for such a dark thriller. Und die deutschen/Nazi kinder...ausgezeichnet! Lots of fun and surprises. Merry Christmas, indeed.

Firstly, no complaints about the film. A good adaptation of the book. Very atmospheric and events proceed at a healthy canter. Good acting and direction make this a rewarding way to while away a couple of hours or so. However (in capitals so you’re in no doubt) THE FRONT COVER AND THE TITLE PAGE OF THE DISC GIVE AWAY THE MAIN PLOT DRIVER. which is some way to the end of the film. How anyone could be crazy enough to issue the DVD like this demonstrates stupidity or carelessness beyond imagining. Just be aware.

Great item well packaged fast delivery 5***** seller 👍

The book arrived in 1972, followed by the film two years later, and to be honest the film didn't stray to far from the book. Good sign.. So the story..."Following the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, investigative journalist Peter Miller sets out to hunt down an SS Captain and former concentration camp commander. In doing so he discovers that, despite allegations of war crimes, the former commander has become a man of importance in industry in post-war Germany, protected from prosecution by a powerful organisation of former SS members called Odessa." Good plot, and probably not that far from the truth. There is a twist. I can't really write it here just in case you don't know, but I didn't think it that obvious. Over all the production has aged reasonably well, although (and this is the only criticism) we did have to pump up the volume quite a bit. Well worth 5 stars.

Don't read the book if you want to enjoy this film. The storyline was partly rewritten and changed, leaving out, IMHO, some crucial elements that make the book so enticing. I do realize that it is not easy to pack a 300-page novel into 2 hours of film. Here, however, they slaughtered the story and omitted details that would make the film more understandable. I truly don't understand how Mr. Fortsyth condoned the changes. At best, this is a film to watch if you need to kill a couple of hours on a very boring night.

Unable to play on DVD player- it must have been produced in Europe