Steel Tempest

Everyone involved in this stinker tried to make it a good film. You can see that even with low production values the movie was not to be a comedy but a serious project. I liked the look of the German uniforms yet they were not true to the history of the war. My review on letterboxed, the only one for this film says: The actual look of the Germans in this honest effort is ok for a film that is not so good. The film is not a joke and you can tell the producers and all involved were serious in making this not for prime time film. I did not like it much. It is in whole a piece of crap just like my review is. Do not have the flick and saw it on Amazon Prime.

I knew nothing about this before viewing and purchased the DVD from an out of print DVD merchant in the USA. The movie takes place on the Western Front in December 1944. An SS unit called the Second Abteilung must take a bridge, move into a city (apparently French)capture supplies, and wait for the panzers to arrive. Although "Ardennes offensive" or "Battle of the Bulge" is never referred to, it is obvious from internal evidence that the film takes place two days before the famous bad weather cleared and the day after it did when Allied aircraft were unleashed full force (that caused the Germans to retreat) Having lived in Britain for six years and participated in a couple of historical recreation groups, I concluded early on that the actors were themselves from a British historical recreation group which I believe from the end titles is called the Second Battle Group. The acting is competent and the group has done amazing things with the resources they had. The flavor of the times is there and the movie focuses on small unit actions at platoon strength down to squad level. There is no encumbering love interest here. Just men and war. The crew has done a great job on details that will please war enthusiasts and it does convey a certain degree of realism in small unit actions. This is not "Where Eagles Dare," but a competent independent film that clocked in, I believe, at about 70 minutes. Filmed in Scotland and on military training grounds in Hampshire.

just as 'plan 9 from outer space' is!

the plot is based on the battle of the bulge. the script is dire...'we need more ammo' blah blah is repeated endlessly. the 'actors' all seem to have retired after making this crap. bob carruthers has obviously got all the gear and props right, pity someone didn't splash out for some blanks for the guns as men pointing rifles without a puff of smoke or recoil is pathetic. its easy for me to say this is the worst ww2 film I've ever seen.

this is just a 'ooh look at all this ww2 equipment we have...lets make a feature film with it'

the film ends pretty abruptly with one of the most laughable banzai heil Hitler suicide charges...well i say charge, more like nearly a footstep!

Only without the stars.the big budget,the 70mmSuper Panavision camera and stereo sound. The makers of this film use the same plot point about finding fuel and ammunition. This film is painfully low budget,badly acted and scripted.

Most of the other reviews hit all the bad stuff so I'll just hit the two that irritated me the most. The Battle of the Bulge was fought in the coldest winter in around 100 years so where is all the snow and ice? The helmets that did not have camo covers are of the painted the pre-war apple or pea green, are poor replicas and most of all the party shield (the one that is red with Swastika) decals were ordered removed in 1940, so they would have long ago been painted over or scratch off. The little details can make or break a mediocre movie and, in this movie, they miss a lot of the little details.