User reviews

This movie's not bad for a TV movie, but it's interesting to note it's historical basis. Colditz Castle was 'Supermax'; the German repository for Allied 'Escape Experts'. Every prisoner in residence had at least one close-to-successful escape attempt from another facility under his belt.

Colditz had the distinction of being the only German POW camp where the guards outnumbered the prisoners. Even so, successful escapes were made.

The most daring plan involved the building of the glider in this movie.

It was actually built, but never used. They were ready to go a month or two before the end of the war, but all prisoners were ordered through the intelligence network by London to sit tight because the Germans had begun shooting escapees. The Colditz gang decided to follow their orders and save the glider to be used in case the Germans starting murdering prisoners and a quick, sure way was needed to get someone 'over the wire' to alert the oncoming Allied forces.

The camp was liberated without incident and the glider was shown around for a few weeks as a morale booster to repatriates of other camps. It was then boosted back up into the attic, but disappeared over the winter of 1945-46; probably destroyed by Russian officers billetted there and used as firewood against the unusually severe winter.

For more info read P.R. Reid's "ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ".

What a great movie and story. A story based on the Colditz Castle Prisoners of war tale. Believable characters because they are based on real people. This isn't your average escape movie, as it highlights the inventiveness of the human spirit when held captive. This is a prime example of how to tell a story through a movie, No "reimagined" tales, no artsy representations of what happened... just a solid telling of a story that is amazing, and at the same time unbelievable. A good ensemle of actors that play very well as a group of men thrown together in a dire situation, and end up striving toward a common selfless goal. This is a movie that still stands up today, and I only wish there were a remastered copy of this movie out there. Great fodder for a remake...and I mean "REMAKE" not a reimagined story full of unnecessary fluff. I am just not sure that there are actors today who could be put in a film together and not have their egos ruin the production. This is one of those films that you watch familiar stars all "play nice" together, and it made a great movie that I was happy to find on DVD after first seeing it almost 50 years ago as a little kid. I love movies, and I must say that this move is one of my favorites from yesteryear. Beyond this being a great film it is a great story. Ingenuity, planning, and the inventiveness to overcome insurmountable odds and successfully accomplish the impossible is the theme that stands the test of time. This is a story of a time when men were men, and thses men would put others before themselves without hesitation for a cause.

I loved the movie, but always wanted to know what was the song the the prisoners sung and why it so bothered the guards. Here is the song with the translation and explanation.

It has been over 30 years since I've seen the movie "The Birdmen." I only remember bits and pieces---one scene that comes to mind is a song one of the captured POWs sing that really bothered the Germans. Even after all these years, I still remember that melody. I'm hoping to try and find it on VHS or DVD-now that I know what the title is. (Thank you IMDb.com). When it first aired, I remember my brother and I watching it. Since neither of us really cared about history-we only watched it for our own reasons. I was a fan of Chuck Connors and my brother liked Richard Baseheart. And of course; we both knew who Max Baer, Jr was. It would make a welcome addition to anyones video/DVD library.

Right from the git-go I just couldn't accept Richard Basehart as the German Commanding Oficer of the Colditz Castle prison. Sometimes he speaks English, sometimes he speaks German, which is distracting, and Basehart played more like a camp counselor that a prison warden. I think Klaus Kinski would have been a much better choice for Basehart's part, but then this is only a TV movie, so I guess that is just wishful thinking on my part. Doug McClure is also rather bland, actually normal for him, in his role as the man responsible for getting a valuable scientist out of Germany. In reality, this is nothing more than a small television film, that tries to be much more than it really is. - MERK

Colditz Castle has always been considered a place of high security. However, if Chuck Norris had been present it would have surely ensured that more men would have escaped form this famous prison.

Set high on a hill above the small town of Colditz, the sleepy village was unaware of the tensions and drama that lived within the dark and cold walls of the castle. The lessons learned within those hallowed walls held both prisoners and guardians in good stead in the free world till this day.

Chuck Connors, a master character actor, plays a believable portrait of a man fighting against the forces of evil. His flight from the castle was quite inspiring and must be used for all future Colditz films.

Be sure to view "The Colditz Story" which can only pale against this epic.

I highly recommend it to all collectors of serious war movies.

This TV-movie adaptation of "Escape from Colditz" manages to pack all the action and intelligence from the book, fine pacing, and unforgettable emotional characterizations into 75 minutes of run time. Terrific pacing, unforgettable musical score -- another rarity for a TV movie. The best kind of history lesson -- well-told, well-acted, truly representative, and thoroughly enjoyable. See it if you get the chance.

Passable warlike movie with a memorable escape and outstanding acting by well-known TV faces .This is an acceptable film set in Germany 1943 about a daring breakout from inescapable Nazi concentration camp in a high alpine castle ,with all-Television-star-cast and professionally realized . Here troublesome allied Pows are thrown by the Nazis into a stirring and breathtaking breakout . As the only tool they had were their hands , yet they beat the Nazi's escape-proof fortress by building an airplane inside their prison . The film shows how the POWs had to live in Colditz, during World War II . It deals with an American soldier Harry Cook (Doug McClure) is sent to Norway to aid in the defection of a scientist (Rene Auberjonois) working on the atomic bomb for the Germans. Before they can escape Europe, they are captured and sent to a POW prison camp on the German-Swiss border. Cook must find a way to escape with the scientific before the camp commander Schiller (Richard Basehart) and the Gestapo find out the Norwegian's true identity. The continuous escapes have caused the Nazi staff ordered 'putting all the rotten eggs in one basket' as the prisoners are reunited into this special concentration camp . It concerns about the hard preparatives of a diverse group formed by rebel officers and soldiers mounting a dangerous getaway from an impregnable and strongly controlled camp . The most part of the film concerns on the elaborated process of secretly carry out the manufacturing a glider and the last one deals with spectacular breakout . The race is on to complete the glider before the German guards discover the plane, and the Gestapo catch up with Cook and the scientist . The prisoners in Colditz Castle make many attempts to escape captivity from the arrival of the first prisoners until the liberation of the castle by the Americans in 1945 . Set in Colditz , it was a "special" camp, designed by the Nazis to hold high-risk and politically important prisoners . Although the flight of the Colditz glider did not happen as originally planned, two full-sized replicas of the glider were built and flown to discover if the plan would have worked . They used to boast there were only two ways to escape from Hitler's Beckstadt prison... to die...or to sprout wings .

Bland actioner that pretends to be a thrilling movie but spends a lot of time retelling poorly and in middle budget the difficult preparatives until the exciting final escape . This moving story contains thrills, intrigue, tension, excitement galore, entertainment and impressive finale . Suspenseful WWII packs exceptional plethora of prestigious actors incarnating the motley group of POWs , giving good acting and a great support cast , until an intriguing conclusion with lots of excitement at its end . The film was loosely based on a true story. Allied prisoners-of-war held at Colditz Castle constructed a similar glider under the noses of their captors , but did not complete the aircraft until after D-Day . Set almost entirely within a reconstruction of the now-famous castle-fortress prisoner-of-war camp during WWII, there is little in the way of physical action . Instead we're treated to some of the best form of "mind games" and psychological manoeuvring and competition you can hope to see on TV, as the two sides constantly strive to get one over on the other. It dispenses with usual protocol , a good Nazi : Richard Basehart and Nazi bad guys : the Gestapo men . The Allied prisoners are determined not to be beaten mentally by their surroundings and look for every possible means of escape, while the Germans are always on their toes, looking for clues about possible break-outs and ways in which the Allied prisoners are trying to outsmart them . During their captivity a few went insane some died while trying to escape and some made a succesful escape . Doug McClure, the famous ¨Trampas¨ gives a compelling acting as Cook who convinces the other prisoners to build a two person glider that can fly to Switzerland . His contender is the veteran Richard Basehart as the tough but understanding Nazi commandant Schiller . They are well accompanied by a superb ensemble support cast such as : Max Baer Jr. , Chuck Connors , Don Knight , Paul Koslo , Barry Brown , Tom Skerritt , Charles Aidman and Karl Swenson. The motion picture was profesional , though regularly directed by Philip Leacock . He was a good craftsman who made all kinds of geners : Drama , thriller , Film Noir ,comedy , Terror, Wartime , and working as TV as cinema , such as : 3 sovereigns for Sarah , Angel city , The curse of King Tut's tomb , Killer on board , Baffled , Shattered silence , War lover , Let no man write my epitaph , Wild and whooly , Dying room only , The Spanish gardener , Escapade , among others . Rating : passable and aceptable . 5.5/10 .

This one belongs to popular sub-genre about life and escapes from concentration camps , such as : ¨Stalag¨ 17 by Billy Wilder with William Holden , ¨Colditz¨ (original title) 1972 with David MacCallum , Jack Hedley , Robert Wagner , Edward Hardwicke , ¨Victory¨ by John Huston with Sylvester Stallone , Michael Caine , Max Von Sidow , and the best of all them : ¨The great escape¨ (1963) by John Sturges with Steve McQueen , Donald Pleasence , James Coburn , James Garner , James Donald ; followed by an inferior sequel : ¨The great escape : the untold story¨1988 by Jud Taylor and Paul Wendkos with Christopher Reeve , Jud Hirsch , Ian MacShane .

I don't know if I can trump the rest of you with my age but I first saw this movie on TV in 1975. (some of you probably weren't even born yet). Anyway, it came on TV again a year later, 1976 (hey, I can add). Since then, I've just been waiting and looking. And remember a good 20 of those years "waiting and looking" there was no such thing as an the Internet. I searched through EVERY video rental store I could find (we didn't know what a DVD or CD was back then). In fact when I started looking for this movie there was NO where to look because video machines hadn't been invented yet. So as a 10 year old I got my pencil and loose leaf paper and started writing TV stations to please play the movie. I was in Canada so I wrote to the 2 Stations in Canada and the 3 in America. But nothing. Now here it is AND I discover there are people from all over the world who love this movie too. I feel like a black person returning to Africa. I have found "my people". Of course, it's about time this movie came into it's own. you wouldn't believe the weird looks a 10 year old gets when a bunch of grown ups are discussing their favorite movie stars (Richard Burton, David Niven, Gregory Peck, Charleton Heston) and I slip by with my glass of Kool-Aid and say, "my favorite actor is Rene Auberjonois." You'd have thought I had a banana growing out of my head! (I actually wrote to Rene Auberjonois about this movie because it had so many titles it was making it difficult to look for. He wrote me back a lovely note AND sent me a photo which he wrote the name of the movie and my name on it as well. By then he was on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and most people knew who he was. That renewed my vigor to keep looking) But I think what those who haven't watched the movie and are reading these reviews should notice something important. Almost all of us gave this move a 9 or 10 stars. Personally I WANTED to give it 10 stars but that would mean "perfection" and I just can't hold to believe that there is anything this side of heaven that doesn't have at least ONE FLAW.

Which brings us to Doug McClure. HE AIN'T IT! They may make characters to spoof him on "The Simpsons" ("Hi. I'm Troy McClure"). But good old Doug redeemed his entire career of somewhat goofy movies with this one. Way to go Doug! And thanks to the rest of you who have reminded me that we are never alone. Just perhaps a little distant from those we belong to. Love Laura-Lee

I saw this movie twice on TV in the 70's when I was only ten years old and it became my favorite movie of all time. It also made me fall in love with Rene Auberjonois. I've been searching for any news on it for THIRTY years. I even wrote to Rene to see if he could give me any info. Now here you are. People just like me who love this movie. I thought I was all alone. I've found you at last. It's been a long time to wait.For 15 years I didn't even have the name of the movie correct which made it very difficult. When people ask me what my favorite movie is and I reply "The Birdmen", they look at me like I've got a banana growing out of my ear. When all alone I've been one of a chosen few. It must be a classic movie to have endured all these years and still have an active fan base.

Reply to your comment of 28 June 2004 Author: Walter Collins (ondessonk71@yahoo.com) from Shreveport, LA USA on IMDb.com - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066833/#comment

Re: The Birdmen (1971) (TV) – I saw the same movie. The same scene that you mentioned, the POW singing a German song, is the scene I remember the most. At the time I went to the library and was able to locate the song in a book about protest songs.

Here's some information from the internet Die Gedanken sind Frei the German title translate to Our (My) Thoughts Are Free and here is a YouTube link, if your interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_6YQ-knKFw&mode=related&search= And finally here is an English translation of the German lyrics.

Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Our Thoughts Are Free)

Die Gedanken sind frei My thoughts freely flower, Die Gedanken sind frei My thoughts give me power. No scholar can map them, No hunter can trap them, No man can deny: Die Gedanken sind frei!

I think as I please And this gives me pleasure, My conscience decrees, This right I must treasure; My thoughts will not cater To duke or dictator, No man can deny-- Die Gedanken sind frei!

And if tyrants take me And throw me in prison My thoughts will burst free, Like blossoms in season. Foundations will crumble, The structure will tumble, And free men will cry: Die Gedanken sind frei!

Neither trouble or pain Will ever touch me again. No good comes of fretting, My hope's in forgetting. Within myself still I can think as I will, But I laugh, do not cry: Die Gedanken sind frei!

-- Traditional

(Source for translation of song - http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/1185.html )

I think this movie is one of the best made for the period and about the war. The determination of the POW's to escape and the importance of one man to the world, and the US government is shown in the drama. The actors include Chuck Connors, and others fit like a glove into their roles.

The song that the prisoners sang was "Die Gedanken sind frei" Which roughly translates to My thoughts are free. It told the Germans that although you have my body in prison, you will never imprison have my spirit. This movie is one of my all time favorites. As a kid growing up, I loved movies and songs that showed American ingenuity. The premise of building a glider to escape from prison fascinated me. You can see the German words to the song at the following website: http://www.online.ee/~pikka/voorlaul.html#50 If you want to know what the words mean, copy and paste the test to Google's translation program.

There is a song in this film which the prisoners sing. It is from the Death Camps and they taunt the Nazis with it when they burn their uniforms. I am trying very hard to get a copy of the film or the soundtrack so that I can have that music....I would be very grateful to anyone who could help me obtain the music.

Odd that such an obscure film should have such an affect on so many people so many years later. I think that I saw the movie on TV once (or maybe twice, I am not sure). I have never been able to forget the movie.

Some parts that I remember mostly are when the blind pilot insists that they allow the plane to be used by the intelligence operative and the phony officer who is really a nuclear scientist. What a great story! I am very humbled that so many of you admit that the film had such an affect on you. It did on me also. I entered the Service and stayed for almost 24 years active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard. I had some Marine Corps reserve time in college before that.

What a wonderful film! I would really like to have that music!

Tom Barnes arnes848@aol.com

I feel "The Birdman"was one of the best war movies ever made. The cast of actors is excellent. The plot was interesting, and the movie was well produced. Any fan of Richard Basehart or Chuck Connors, should check out this movie. They will be in for a pleasant surprize. P.S. I'm currently looking for a copy of this movie.