The 1960s brought us some excellent WWII flicks with incredible cinematography and great acting--particularly THE GUNS OF NAVARONE and WHERE EAGLES DARE. In this same vein we have THE HEROES OF TELEMARK. It's not quite as big in scope as these other two films, but it is still an excellent film.
Kirk Douglas is a Norwegian man living out his life in the UK during the war, as his native Norway was overrun by Nazis. However, he is convinced to return. His expertise is needed to infiltrate a factory to see if it is indeed manufacturing Deuterium ("heavy water"--used in the production of atomic weapons). If so, he's under orders to destroy it or pinpoint it for bombing raids. What makes this tough is that its surrounded by a town full of innocent people, so the stakes are high.
The acting and action are excellent. What I really liked was the ending. While VERY depressing, it just goes to illustrate the high cost of war.
PS--After watching this movie, I discovered that much of it was true--including the sad but necessary scene involving the ferry. Such a raid really did occur in Norway in order to destroy their deuterium production.
Kirk Douglas is a Norwegian man living out his life in the UK during the war, as his native Norway was overrun by Nazis. However, he is convinced to return. His expertise is needed to infiltrate a factory to see if it is indeed manufacturing Deuterium ("heavy water"--used in the production of atomic weapons). If so, he's under orders to destroy it or pinpoint it for bombing raids. What makes this tough is that its surrounded by a town full of innocent people, so the stakes are high.
The acting and action are excellent. What I really liked was the ending. While VERY depressing, it just goes to illustrate the high cost of war.
PS--After watching this movie, I discovered that much of it was true--including the sad but necessary scene involving the ferry. Such a raid really did occur in Norway in order to destroy their deuterium production.