Escape from Sobibor

The uprising of the Jews in the death camp of Sobibor, with the escape of three hundred Jews, is brilliantly presented in this awesome movie. The excellent Alan Arkin performs Leon Feldhendler, a natural leader, organizing and motivating the prisoners. Rutger Hauer, in an excellent shape (in 1987), has also a marvelous performance as Alexander 'Sasha' Pechersky, a Russian POW. The gorgeous Joanna Pacula plays Luka, a very brave woman. The explanation of Leon to a new prisoner, why they should dance, play, laugh and make love after the execution of their families, is very touching and respectful. It is indeed an amazing lesson of survival. I have to confess that I am tired of corny movies like `The Pianist', which only shows disgrace and misery of some Jewish persons in the Second World War. We, viewers, are aware of the massacre of Jews in the WWII, but I note that this type of movie is becoming more brutal and explicit. Is it because the world society in 2004 can support watching such brutalities? Is it an adaptation of a historic fact to the violence of the present days? But `Escape From Sobibor' portraits Jews not only as passive victims going (or staying) in the slaughterhouse like a lambs, but also as a very brave people, fighting for survival. It does not mean that the brutality and sadism of certain SS officers is not shown, like the killing of the mother and her baby, or the shot of twenty-six defenseless prisoners, or the use of the whip by some German. But again, it is not explicitly shown as in some movies, with blood, pieces of brain etc., with the only intention of shocking the viewer more than necessary. All the cast has an outstanding performance. The direction is stunning: the scenes of the escape are very real. For example, when the desperate prisoners climbs the wire while escaping is very impressive. Just for reference, another excellent movie about this theme is Jon Avnet's `Uprising'. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil) `Fuga de Sobibor, O Campo do Inferno' (`Escape From Sobibor, the Hell Camp')

This movie did a good job of showing what happened and how prisioners coped with life in a nazi death camp. The acting was good and you really get a good depiction of death camp life. However, I would not say that this was better than the masterpiece that SCHINDLERS LIST was.

Oh by the way, this movie didnt show what happened after the prisioners escaped. Everyone left behind at the death camp was executed the next day, some being buried alive because the nazis were in a rush to shut the camp down. The area was then simply planted over with trees so today when people walk on the grounds where Sobibor was, many feet underneath them is the remains of thousands of people.....

One of the best films best about the Nazi holocaust,and the atrocities committed in the concentration camps,ESCAPE FROM SOBIBOR is based on a true story of an heroic uprising in one of these camps of death and horror.Some of the scenes depicted are so horrific that they are very hard to watch,but we are left cheering at the escape at the end as a reaction to the brutalities and inhumanity we witness beforehand.

The cast is excellent,with fine actors such as Alan Arkin,Jack Shepherd,Rutger Hauer on-hand,but a special note should be made of Harmut Becker's performance as the evil,sadistic,murdering monster Sgt Wagner.He is completely without any redeeming features whatsoever,and Becker is totally convincing in the part.I wished this character to come to a enormously nasty end,though he didn't get it;the end credits inform us that Wagner was murdered in a fascist South American country in 1978.

British director Jack Gold is a talented director who made a few decent big-screen films,but his best work was left for TV films like THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT,CATHOLICS,and GOODNIGHT MR TOM.This may be his best.

It was interesting to read another viewer's comments about this film. I have seen Schindler's List and it didn't touch me anywhere near as deeply as Escape from Sobibor. I first watched it in my teens and it was this film, more than anything I'd seen previously about the Holocaust, which had the greatest impact. The story, of course, is based on truth and is full of painful, heart-wrenching scenes. Nothing has ever presented the Holocaust to me in a more vivid, more graphic, more powerful way.

It's amusing that some people can watch a film and it barely registers with them. Others can see the same film and have a completely different reaction to the experience. But that's people for you, the great variety that is the spice of life. For me, Escape from Sobibor was a very emotional experience and it had a major impact on me. But don't take anyone else's word for it. We all see things differently - go and see it yourself.

This film has very direct blood and violence but it is never used in a distasteful way. The filmmakers have done a good job with the graphic scenes that also have an emotional impact. Compared to Schindler's List, this film has a more hopeful tone but it has the same amount of tension. There are so many characters shocked by the constant brutality of their situation but they decide to take action instead of resigning themselves. This film is gripping from beginning to end, with incredible tension and stakes.