Simply A Masterpiece

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.

The acting in this movie is really good.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

JOINING IN WITH so many other films that could be classified as being in the category (our classification) of MICROCOSIM DRAMA. Whether or not that there is such a term, or even another term, there should be no problem in anyone of us in understanding what we mean.IN SHORT, WE are referring to so many films that cross over into many different genres; be it Western, contemporary, War or even Romance. The only requirements are that the story should have a sizable number of highly diverse individuals; who get thrown together under some stressful and tragic situations. The story each character is told in flashback, as to why they are present under such adverse conditions.THIS WOULD MEAN that today's honoured movie, THE HINDENBERG, is numbered among a long list of very popular and critically acclaimed fare. As an example, we offer: STAGECOACH, LIFEBOAT, TITANIC, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY and AIRPORT. As a testimony to the box office power of such films, we find that there is even some high-powered parody; such as AIRPLANE. (What's the vector, Victor?) REGARDING THE SCREENPLAY of this semi-historical drama, we have a writing team, which manages to turn in a story line that touches on all of the aspects of the day. We examine this diverse group of new money Germans, the aristocracy, Jews and Nazi hardliners.THEY ARE ALL passengers on the ill-fated air voyage of the dirigible from Germany to the U.S.A.; in NYC where the destination, the actual docking and mooring was done are the Naval Air Base in Lakehurst, NJ. It was there that the ship suddenly and inexplicably bust into flames, crashing into the runway below. Being filled with the highly lighter than air but highly flammable, hydrogen, rather that the lighter than air, but still was as great in the bouncy department as the much safer and more plentiful in the USA, element of helium.ALTHOUGH MANY CONSPIRACY theories abound, there is no evidence that the tragedy was not a product of natural causes; that being the build-up of static electricity during the docking. Of course this is only the product of our soup & sandwich lunch.SO, VAT ISS you tinking about zis, Schultz?

I think this is a reasonable film.It goes down the sabotage route. I found it to be believable. George C Scott isn't too bad but I thought Roy Thinnes, best known for his role in The Invaders, here playing a typically nasty SS man was better.It mixes actual footage of the disaster with modern film and this doesn't look too great because some is black and white while the rest is in colour. It helps to convey the enormity of what happened though and it must have been terrifying for all those caught up in it. It seems like a bit of a miracle that there were any survivors.William Atherton plays the saboteur who planted the fatal bomb shown as the cause in the film. He was quite convincing although better later on in Ghostbusters I think.It does drag a bit in places but overall I found this film reasonably exciting although tension isn't that high because the eventual outcome is already known.

Robert Wise directed this all-star recreation of the events(both fact and fiction) that led to the sudden explosion of the German blimp the Hindenburg while it was about to land in America back in 1937. George C. Scott plays a German official assigned to investigate threats of sabotage that have been made against the famous Zeppelin. Others in the cast include Anne Bancroft, Roy Thinnes, Charles Durning, Richard Dysart, Gig Young, Burgess Meredith, and William Atherton. Some will live, some will die as the film uses the actual newsreel footage of the time, and integrates it into the film at the end.Though well acted and directed, this film is strangely ineffective, with an uninspired script that feels lifted from any number of similar disaster films from the decade.(Though there is one memorable scene involving a song about Hitler & the Nazis sung at a piano.) Not bad by any means, but a disappointment. The "In Search Of..." TV series did an episode on the subject that was much better IMO.

Disaster movies are easy targets, but not for the obvious reasons.There is something cynical and voyeuristic about watching mass destruction and wholesale slaughter as entertainment. So after viewing such things our guilt reflex kicks in and we lash out at the source of our embarrassment and don't take the personal responsibility for our behavior.Most of the these films are a mediocre mishmash of boring characters played by big-name stars and big-budget special effects that are a mixed bag. The reason these keep being made is that most of the time they are money makers from movie makers that have no qualms about exploiting this rubbernecking public neurosis. The Hindenburg has as much to offer as any of its DM cousins and as much to criticize. Disturbingly stylistic, the actual demise is different and dramatized in a way that is surprising and distressing. Listen closely for some excellent sound editing. The odd, after the disaster ending and the detached overly punctuated way of listing the casualties is rather a curiosity. It is delivered something like this...dead...dead...dead...survived...survived...survived...dead dead...survived survived...dead dead dead dead dead...survived survived survived survived...dead survived dead dead dead