ODESSA FILE DVD

The year is 1963...as the world is reeling from the assassination of President Kennedy, Egypt has missiles posed to annihilate Israel. The only thing preventing this is the lack of guidance technology to properly target the missiles, which Egypt is on the verge of obtaining with assistance from a group of Germans, once officers within the SS during World War II, now members of a group called Odessa, a clandestine organization designed to assist ex-German military personal gain new identities and lives, thereby avoiding capture, after the end of the war.The Odessa File (1974) takes the popular Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, which is supposedly based on actual facts and events, and presents it as a truly wonderful, tense thriller that I really enjoyed. Directed by accomplished cinematographer and director Ronald Neame, the film stars Jon Voight as freelance German journalist Peter Miller and Maximilian Schell as an ex-German officer named Eduard Roschmann, a man responsible for horrible atrocities, earning him the nickname `The Butcher', during his tenure as head of a concentration camp which housed Jewish prisoners. After the passing of an elderly Jewish survivor of a WWII concentration camp, Miller comes into possession of a diary kept by the man, one which detailed, in particular, the various crimes against humanity by Roschmann, and also seemed to indicate that the war criminal may still be alive. As Miller begins delving into the story, uncovering tidbits of information, he meets resistance in the form of various individuals, many of which turn out to be members of the secret Odessa organization, and are now actively working against Miller for fears that he may uncover their secrets.As Miller gets closer to uncovering the truths, the resistance against him grows, and takes the form of actual attempts on his life. Around this time he comes into contact with a Jewish group, working to locate the site within Germany that's developing the guidance system for the Egyptian rockets, and Miller agrees to work with them, changing his identity in order to become an ex-German officer and enable him access to the Odessa organization. In exchange for this, Miller will supply the group with information, while he himself tries to get closer to Roschmann. As Miller infiltrates the group, his cover is eventually blown, but not before he learns of the existence of the Odessa file, documents that detail many of the members within the group, including Roschmann. The goal now is survival, and given the circumstances, his chances seem pretty slim.I have not actually read the book, but I really liked this film. Jon Voight is wonderful and believable, German accent and all, as a reporter, seemingly driven by a determination to expose a subversive hideousness, once prominent in his country, that has now gone underground, and threatens yet again a great many peoples of the world. Listed as a thriller/drama, The Odessa File certainly doesn't disappoint. The plot, while having many twists and turns, keeps focused, and rarely falters in its' progression. The development of the characters is carefully planned, but not so to bring attention to the fact, allowing for the viewer to become drawn into the film. The exposition at the beginning was a little awkward to me, but I didn't see any other way around it, so I accepted it. Schell provides an excellent performance as an ex-German officer hiding in broad daylight, one who will resort to any means necessary to protect his secrets, along with those of the Odessa group. One point I enjoyed was near the end, as a particular revelation was made. Prior to that point, I had started to question one of the main character's motivations, and, as if the film knew what I was thinking, it answered my question in a completely satisfying manner. The film runs just over two hours, and the first half may seem slow, but I felt as if this was deliberate, allowing time for the story to develop. During the second half the film picks up speed as the tension mounts, drawing on the momentum carefully constructed in the beginning, resulting in a wholly enjoyable conclusion. Given the nature of realizing novels to film, I suspect a number of plot elements were left out, but what was left seemed to be missing very little, at least anything that left a glaring hole which would pull the viewer out of the movie with its' obviousness, which indicates a skillful adaptation of original source material, done with care to preserve the elements which made the book so very popular and well received. All in all, this is a really thrilling outing, one that requires a little patience, but provides a rewarding experience overall.Presented on this release are really good looking prints, both in wide screen and full screen formats (it's double-sided). The audio seems a bit soft, but there are English subtitles, so I missed nothing. As far as special features, there are some well put together production notes in a four page booklet within the DVD case, an original theatrical trailer, talent biographies for actors Voight, Schell, and director Neame, and trailers for Anaconda (1997) and Oliver Stone's U-Turn (1997), neither film as good as this one, but both certainly benefiting from Voight's appearance...and that's another thing...remember when Jon Voight appeared in good films? Along with this film, I also count Midnight Cowboy (1969), Catch-22 (1970), Deliverance (1972), and Runaway Train (1985) to be some real highlights of his career...and let's look at some of his more recent films...Most Wanted (1997), The Karate Dog (2004), and Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)...not exactly the caliber of films early in his career, but who knows what the future holds?Cookieman108

The Odessa File is a good post-war Nazi conspiracy thriller. Odessa is the secret alliance formed by the Nazis after the war and they allegedly secretly operate to restore the Nazi regime. One of their plans is the destruction of Israel (the missiles from Egypt are set to destroy Israel which is a point established in the beginning of the movie).Jon Voight plays a journalist (Peter Miller) who comes across a diary of a Jewish person who was an inmate in Nazi concentration camp. Reading the diary, he becomes engaged with finding out the truth and discovering the identity of the notorious Nazi officer who is responsible with many atrocities and killings, one of which involves the shooting of a German officer.***MINOR SPOILERS***The movie well paced and delivers some serious thrills but I feel that the act 2 was kind of short, and after Peter Miller (Jon Voight) joins the Odessa by impostering as a member, it moves a bit too quickly to the 3rd act. After all the preparations to become an impostor and joining the Odessa, I expected Peter Miller to continue his role more. Overall, I think it is still a good movie and delivers well. The locations seem authentic European locations which give the movie a sense of realism in terms of the story. It was also pleasant surprise to see Mary Tamm who is as gorgeous as she ever was, playing the girlfriend (Sigi) of Peter Miller (she had played Romana, female company of Doctor Who in the Tom Baker Doctor Who episodes).Blu-ray transfer is very decent but there are no special features.

"The Odessa File" is a very clever suspense film set around the intrigue of a post-World War II SS type organization that is well-funded and ready to make a comeback in the 1960's! Jon Voight plays an German free-lance journalist who stumbles upon a Riga Latvia, concentration camp victim's diary that opens his eyes to the threat of this rising organization operating not only in Germany but around the world as it prepares to unleash new horrors. At the same time, the diary reveals a very important personal connection to Voight's character that is hinted at but finally revealed only near the end of the film where a climactic event occurs. Voight is perfect for the role down to his English spoken german accent (I believe he is of German descent so he certainly also looks the part. The absolutely gorgeous (in my opinion) Mary Tamm plays his love interest in what I believe was one of her few feature film appearances. Mary Tamm went on to become known to viewers as the "first Romana" for a season of Doctor Who in the late 1970's, a few years after this film was made. I think what makes this film work for me is that Odessa apparently was an organization that truly existed for a time after WW II that helped former SS soldiers begin new lives under false identiies so this shred of truth was simply built upon further to make for a truly engaging thriller from start to finish.

A great suspenseful thriller with fine acting. The delivery of the movie I wasn't too thrilled with. This is not the first time this has happened, it's great my movie came on time but, I don't need a delivery person not telling the truth, he or she said they handed it to me personally but, I found on my front porch.

Don't read the book if you want to enjoy this film.The storyline was partly rewritten and changed, leaving out, IMHO, some crucial elements that make the book so enticing. I do realize that it is not easy to pack a 300-page novel into 2 hours of film. Here, however, they slaughtered the story and omitted details that would make the film more understandable. I truly don't understand how Mr. Fortsyth condoned the changes.At best, this is a film to watch if you need to kill a couple of hours on a very boring night.

What a classic film. Based on book by Frederick Forsythe... A very young Jon Voight, and many fine European actors.The theme song was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and sung by Perry Como, and you will be humming it for ever! Easy to watch and love the Berlin scenes.

AN INTERESTING MOVIE BUT PROBABLY SOME REAL BASIC FACT IN SOME INSTANCES OF THE SECRET ORGANIZATIONS THE GERMAN SS HAD AFTER THE WAR IN AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THERE ACTIONS TO THE POINT SOME OF THEM ARE STILL BEING FOUND OUT TO THIS DAY AND REAPING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THERE ACTIONS TO THIS DAY IN A COURT OF LAW.

I enjoyed this movie all over again.