Absolutely Fantastic

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Read Oskar Werner's bio, he was not ONLY A GREAT ACTOR he did all he could to avoid the Nazis who took over of his country and Europe. He was a GREAT ACTOR AND A GREAT HUMAN BEING WHO WITH GREAT COURAGE fought his own war to avoid service in the NAZI armies and to serve the needs and protection of his own family during WWII.http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0921459/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Spoiler alert. While searching youtube for flix, I came across Richard basehart's voice, narrating an execution. And the camera was extremely mobile. Basehart, riding in a jeep comes across two Germans, one is Oscar werner, who I recognize, but his name eludes me. I thought of tin drum but did not do Oskar oskar. So Merrill the tough no nonsense commander lets Basehart know that recruiting German spies from the pow's is the game plan and werner volunteers. Seems to be a propaganda film asserting that the Germans are just scared and some good some bad, in 51 the alliance with west Germany needed to be sold and the earnest youngster Oskar werner was the salesman. Most poignant moments when he is recognized by a lady on a tram, who calls him by his real name and tells him where his father is now working. He calls his father, but only hears his voice like a crank caller and then he hangs up. His heart is pure and his disloyalty to his father troubles him. Basehart and the other traitor who is in it for the money are very believable, yet certainly unplumbed. It is Oskar and his comfort and discomfort with Germans- a soldier on a train, a dance hall girl, a gestapo agent, a general who needs a syringe of medicine to survive, a little boy who gets too scared to finger Basehart in a bombed out building at a fateful moment. Movie gave impression that Germany in 1950 was still in ruins.

Gary Merrill and Richard Basehart are the Americans who head the cast of Decision Before Dawn, an outstanding film about the final days of World War II and the Third Reich. The film shows the scene of both the Americans who want a quick way to the heart of Germany to end the war and the Germans trying to stay alive in a situation with not many options.This film was the first introduction for American audiences to Oskar Werner who plays a young German soldier who is now a POW. An option is offered to Werner along with some other selected prisoners to now spy for the Americans as the war even from their point of view after the Battle Of The Bulge is lost. Too bad the same option couldn't be offered by the Russians on the Eastern front. A little too much personal history there.Werner's mission is to find the 11th Panzer Division and assess their strength and he's got five days to do it. He proves adept, but not quite adept enough as he eventually gets the Nazis on his trail. How he makes out is for you to see Decision Before Dawn.Werner's performance might have been something that Marlon Brando saw and made mental notes of before taking on his German role in The Young Lions. In the Brando film we see the gradual deterioration of his beliefs until he's killed a little bit after the events of this film. Werner's character is like Brando's, except he lives long enough to redeem himself in his own eyes by the work he does now.20th Century Fox spent a little money on this one with location shooting and casting of various German players who like Werner were no doubt deemed to be non-Nazi in their beliefs. Check the credits of the cast and you'll see many had long careers post World War II careers in the German cinema. As for the location shooting, a lot of that area of the Rhine border on both sides was still showing the effects of the devastation of the war. In fact besides the performances, you'll also see some of the most realistic cinematography around of World War II battle sequences, not to mention the effects of bombing of civilians.Decision Before Dawn is an outstanding war film, receiving two Oscar nominations in technical categories. It's that third Oskar you should see this film for though.

I have seen 147239423 war films, so it takes a very unusual one to merit an 8. Heck, I almost gave this one a 9--it's that good and that unique.The film is set in the latter portion of WWII. A group of German prisoners are recruited to become spies for the Americans. They want the men to sneak back into Germany and pinpoint targets for them. However, most of the Germans are still very loyal to Hitler and the only ones willing are selfish jerks. An exception is a young man played by Oskar Werner. Unlike his countrymen, he really sees the war as an evil thing and agrees to go back into his homeland on an espionage mission. Can he discover what the Allies want AND make it out alive? I liked this film--even though Werner's performance was a bit too muted. In other words, he was generally very quiet and somewhat expressionless--an acting style he carried into other film such as "Fahrenheit 451" and "Jules and Jim". But, as I said, I still liked the film. Perhaps the biggest reason was that it was actually filmed in Germany and I was surprised that I recognized so many locales (I've visited the country a couple times). Würzburg in the movie really WAS Würzburg! And, one portion was clearly filmed in Rothenburg. Additionally, the story was unique and quite tense. Well worth your time--though it is odd how in old films the Germans almost always seem to speak English!! I wish they'd just used German with subtitles.