Taking place in France, just after the allied invasion of Normandy, this is the story of a successful hospital surgeon whom takes revenge on a group of SS soldiers. The movie is a combination of events taking place at that specific moment and flashbacks to prior (more happy) times.
This movie made in France and released in 1975. The acting is pretty decent, with the popular actress Romy Schneider - whom gained worldwide popularity due to her iconic role as "Sissi" - in one of the lead roles. I think that her role in this movie may have had a very positive effect on the popularity (IMDb rating) of this movie.
The fact that this movie was produced in the 70's, gives it the advantage that much equipment from WW2 is still easily available. What is especially interesting to see, is the use of cars that are powered by so-called "wood gas generators". Not to be confused by "gas vans" that were used by germans to kill prisoners, "wood gas generators" are systems whereby a combustion engines - whom normally run on petrol or diesel fuels - use wood / charcoal / coal as fuel. The latter are thereby "gassified" allowing making it fit to use instead of petrol. This movie shows quite a number of vehicles equipped with several variants of gas generators. After a country was occupied by Germany, which caused petrol fuel to be prioritized for the Nazi forces, civilians converted their cars by equipping it with a gas generator. Closer to the end of WW2, they were also seen on german (military) vehicles, due to shortages and low availability of petrol fuel. Such gas generator systems are quite rare to see in a WW2 movie. This movie however, shows quite a number of vehicles, with systems on top of the roof (large cylinders) or variants that are installed right next to the engine.
I personally found this movie just acceptable: I score it at 5.8/10, resulting in an IMDb rating of 6 stars. I am personally not biased by having Romy Schneider feature in one of the main roles. Thing that I did not like are the regular flashbacks and most annoyingly the unrealistic manner in which the doctor is able to fight against a group of SS soldiers. If you are open to "James Bond"-like fiction, where you always see someone win in the most impossible of situations, I think that you may like this movie a lot better. This may explain the difference between my rating and the relative high average rating of 7.5 stars.
This movie made in France and released in 1975. The acting is pretty decent, with the popular actress Romy Schneider - whom gained worldwide popularity due to her iconic role as "Sissi" - in one of the lead roles. I think that her role in this movie may have had a very positive effect on the popularity (IMDb rating) of this movie.
The fact that this movie was produced in the 70's, gives it the advantage that much equipment from WW2 is still easily available. What is especially interesting to see, is the use of cars that are powered by so-called "wood gas generators". Not to be confused by "gas vans" that were used by germans to kill prisoners, "wood gas generators" are systems whereby a combustion engines - whom normally run on petrol or diesel fuels - use wood / charcoal / coal as fuel. The latter are thereby "gassified" allowing making it fit to use instead of petrol. This movie shows quite a number of vehicles equipped with several variants of gas generators. After a country was occupied by Germany, which caused petrol fuel to be prioritized for the Nazi forces, civilians converted their cars by equipping it with a gas generator. Closer to the end of WW2, they were also seen on german (military) vehicles, due to shortages and low availability of petrol fuel. Such gas generator systems are quite rare to see in a WW2 movie. This movie however, shows quite a number of vehicles, with systems on top of the roof (large cylinders) or variants that are installed right next to the engine.
I personally found this movie just acceptable: I score it at 5.8/10, resulting in an IMDb rating of 6 stars. I am personally not biased by having Romy Schneider feature in one of the main roles. Thing that I did not like are the regular flashbacks and most annoyingly the unrealistic manner in which the doctor is able to fight against a group of SS soldiers. If you are open to "James Bond"-like fiction, where you always see someone win in the most impossible of situations, I think that you may like this movie a lot better. This may explain the difference between my rating and the relative high average rating of 7.5 stars.