Kennwort 'Schweres Wasser'

During WWII, the Nazis were close to making nuclear weapons. For making this, they needed heavy water, which they produced in Norway. This film is about the operation where members of the Norwegian resistance attempted to stop the Nazis from getting their heavy water.

The story is previously told in the Norwegian film "Kampen om tungtvannet" from 1948. As such, you may call this a remake. The reason for remaking the film is of course the language. As always a good film does not get better by making it one more time. The Norwegian film is in my opinion far better because it is more realistic. The problem of Heroes of Telemark is that even if it is telling a true story, it seems artificial. The Norwegian film is more exciting and believable. Even the acting in the Norwegian film is better than in the remake, even though the actual `heroes' themselves play some of the parts!

THOF offers cheesy German accents and I'm sure a few liberties with historical facts, but for those who nitpick at a Kirk Douglas film made in the mid-60s, keep in mind that it's just that: a simple little mid-60s war film with Kirk Douglas. It is fun, quick, not too talky, and with some very nice snowy scenery. Not dull in spite of its length of 2 hours plus, so what more can one expect from a simplistic little action film? Norwegian viewers might understandably get a little annoyed by the bending of facts, but at least movies about Norway's role in the war were made - which can't be said about Sweden. There will never be a movie about Sweden's fight against the Nazis, and this alone should give the Norwegians some satisfaction...

IMDb states that both shorter (i.e. butchered) versions of THOF were released in Germany. Hmm, I wonder why...

While one might question the ethics of making entertainment out of the Second World War when it was a terrible experience for all concerned this film does well. There is plenty of suspense in the film and it also shows the inconceivable wickedness of the Nazis. This film tells very effectively the story of a number of people who thwarted Hitler's attempts to produce a war winning weapon. For dramatic purposes Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris play amalgams of several different people but the film sticks to the basic facts. The film also shows the stupidity of war and brings home the value of human life. May humanity never again have to go through such a terrible experience as the Second World War and films like this should be shown to bring home that we live in an infinitely better world nowadays.

I see a few comments that are decrying the liberties taken with the true story, as usual, by Hollywood.

Not that it's not a common occurrence, and I'm not defending such practice - but I do feel it necessary to point out that THIS film is NOT, in fact, a Hollywood film at all. It IS a British film. Any complaints one can have with the omission or alteration of events must be directed at Rank, not at the non-specific "Hollywood".

The events of the movie, and the true-life events, are fascinating. It's a terrible thing to contemplate, Nazis creating the atomic bomb. What would our world be like today if they had succeeded? This was certainly a WWII story worth telling.

The Heroes of Telemark is based on a real-life story. It follows a unit of the Norweigan resistance in their efforts to destroy a German occupied factory, where the Germans are drawing near to creating the first atomic bomb. Kirk Douglas plays an academic from the University of Oslo who is brought in to help them because he is an expert on atomic science. Richard Harris plays the leader of the resistance fighters, a strong willed and courageous man who is always thinking of the best way to be a thorn in the side of the Nazis. There are other decent characterisations too, such as Ulla Jacobsen as Douglas's ex-wife (they parted because he seduced one of his students) and Eric Porter as a power hungry Nazi.

The film is quite good, but it might have been better still. For much of the running time, it seems curiously subdued, with lots of scenes which don't quite screw home the tension as far as they could. The sequence in which the resistance fighters infiltrate the factory and attempt to destroy the German's heavy water supply should have been unbearably tense, but it kind of comes and goes without generating the necessary atmosphere. The closing sequence aboard a boat full of children is very well done, though, and there's another taut bit where Douglas and Jacobsen are almost caught snooping around the factory but manage to convince a passing guard that they are merely young lovebirds trying to find a quiet spot for a bit of private love-making.

The Heroes of Telemark tells a worthy story and is reasonably entertaining, but it could have been a touch better if the maker's had concentrated slightly harder on the suspense.