The Blockhouse
6.2 /10 1 Votes6.2
Director Clive Rees Initial DVD release June 7, 2005 Duration Country United Kingdom | 6/10 IMDb Genre Drama, War Music director S. Myers Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Writer Jean-Paul Clebert , John Gould , Clive Rees Release date 1973 Cast (Rouquet), (Visconti), (Grabinski), (Aufret), (Kromer), (Kozhek) Similar movies Strayed (2003), Forbidden Games (1952), The Devils Rock (2011), A Circle of Deception (1960), Leon Morin - Priest (1961) Tagline A true story of perseverance and survival. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The blockhouse
The Blockhouse is a 1973 film, based on a novel by Jean-Paul Clébert. It was directed by Clive Rees and starred Peter Sellers, in a rare dramatic performance, and Charles Aznavour. It was filmed entirely in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Contents
Plot
On D-Day, a mixed group of forced labourers held by German forces take shelter from the bombardment inside a German bunker, but are then entombed when the entrances are blocked by shelling damage. By coincidence, the bunker is a storehouse, so the prisoners have enough food and wine to last them for years. However, they are trapped not for years but permanently, and the film analyzes how they deal with their underground prison, with their relationships, and with death.
Cast
Influences
The book and film appear to have been inspired by a possibly true story: On 25 June 1951, Time magazine reported that two German soldiers claimed to have been trapped for six years in an underground storehouse in Babie Doły, Poland.
Reception
TV Guide states that "the film tries to study men in a terrible, claustrophobic setting, but it never reveals the true nature of the characters or a metaphysical reason for their predicament. A worthy idea that sadly goes nowhere." However, the film does currently hold a 73% approval rating (based on 126 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
References
The Blockhouse WikipediaThe Blockhouse IMDb The Blockhouse themoviedb.org