Der Befehl

The very first movie I looked up when I stumbled on the IMDB was "Counterpoint." For years I had told people about this movie and how much of an impact it had on me, but no one had ever seen it -- some tried to convince me that I had imagined the whole thing! In their defense, it is a rather strange plot. I give this movie a substantial amount of the credit for beginning my appreciation for classical music. Unfortunately, you can only see it by purchasing it (I would presume). If the idea of a WWII/classical music/POW/intensely-driven-conductor movie sounds stupid, it probably isn't worth the price. If it sounds like it's right up your alley -- you shouldn't be disappointed.

I "rediscovered" and just watched this little gem of a film with Good classical music and great performances, particularly by Maximilian Schell. It's technically a war movie though. My rating of 7 is based on purely entertainment value. Pretty good

I make a difference, referring to war movies. There are some that are very faithful to the history such as Midway, Tora, Tora, Tora and there are some that emphasize the epic and heroic aspects of soldier life in terrible circumstances. I have to say that I am more interested in the second ones such as The Dirty Dozen, The Eagle has landed, etc. Counterpoint belongs to the second category. A famous music director (C. Heston) and his orchestra is kidnapped by the Nazy army in Belgium. The German General (M. Schell) wants this orchestra to play for him but the director delays this concert as much as possible to avoid his musicians to be killed. I think Ralphn Nelson felt some empathy for the character, starred by Heston because he was in the Army in the II World War and participated in different plays in Broadway to entertain people in the same way Heston tries to entertain soldiers in the cold Europe. Schell and Heston perform their roles perfectly: they admire each other but war has placed them in different sides of the river. Schell is far from the archetype of the Germans in the Hitler era. There is a love subplot between Heston and one old love, his musician,Kathryn Hays, who is now married with a partner, a serious Leslie Nielsen. This love story and the sequence in which an American soldier is nearly discovered by a German Colonel but he feigns to be a musician of the orchestra, playing the U.S. hymn, remind me of Casablanca. The cinematography of Russel Metty, in which the shadows have a relevant role, is quite brilliant. So, it deserves to be seen.

Juan Carlos del Castillo Álvarez

Famous symphony conductor (Charlton Heston) is captured by the Germans in WW2 and is forced to put on private concerts for the Nazi generals . At the beginning the known orchestra conductor entertains the Allied troops until is taken nearly Bastogne , during Ardennes offensive led by General Von Rundstet . The musicians are moved to an impressive castle where is a Nazi army , a Panzer Division commanded by Gen. Schiller (Maximilian Schell) and Col. Arndt (Anton Diffring) . To save their lives , the players (Parley Baer , Bill Erwin , Ed Peck ,Dan Frazer and ¡ Leslie Nielsen¡ along with his wife performed by Kathryn Hays) have to play a private concert . However , the musical conductor doesn't want to follow the Nazi orders . Meanwhile , Lt. Long (Linden Chiles) and Sgt. Calloway (Peter Masterson) who are hidden in orchestra attempt to escape .

Good melodrama packs adequate cinematography , nice settings , classic score and wonderful performance . Enjoyable picture in which takes place an exciting battle of wits between two aces of interpretation : Charlton Heston and Maximilian Schell . Acting by two principal actors is first-range , both of whom are magnificent . Extraordinary Maximilian Schell , as usual , and acceptable acting by Charlton Heston as orchestra conductor though he must not change facial expression while conducting . Support cast is frankly good , such as Kathryn Hays , Leslie Nielsen , Linden Chiles , Peter Masterson and a cameo by the same director , Ralph Nelson , as Belgian officer . Special mention for Anton Driffing who worked continuously in motion pictures due to his aristocratic, German face and cool, clipped diction, making him ideal for typecasting in British and later American motion pictures as Nazis and other vile, despicable characters such as : ¨Where eagles dare¨, ¨The Blue Max¨ , The Heroes of Telemark , "The Battle of Sutjeska" , ¨Zeppelin¨ , ¨Victory¨ and many others .

Russell Metty cinematography in Techniscope is rousing and colorful . Bronislau Kaper soundtrack is riveting , including classy musical score ; these are the followings pieces heard in the film : 5º symphony of Bethoven , Endless symphony by Schubert , 1º symphony of Brahms , Lake of swans by Tchaikowski and Tanhauser's Wagner . The feature obtained a limited success and had a moderated box-office , it is nowadays better valued . The motion picture was well directed by Ralph Nelson . There were no half measures in this filmmaker. He would make sentimental movies or violent and gore films . Failure alternated with hits through the 1960s, though Nelson's direction was more than successful in ¨Lilies of the field¨ with invaluable help of Sidney Poitier who won an Oscar as an African-American helping a group of German nuns to build a chapel. And of course , his greatest success ¨Soldier Blue¨, including cruel massacres and and blood fountained all over the screen . In the 7os Nelson went on to making strong movies , however, his films themselves were doing less successful at the Box office , numerous of those being barely seen outside US . As a violent Zapata Western titled ¨Wrath of God¨ with Robert Mitchum, as ¨Tick..Tick..Tick¨ in which the racial tensions arise when a black man being elected sheriff , ¨ The Wilby conspiracy¨ about the apartheid and again with Poitier and a Sci-fi movie titled ¨Embryo¨ with Rock Hudson. Rating : Better than average , Charlton Heston fans will enjoy their idol .

Counterpoint remains one of my favorite movies mainly because of the interesting interplay between Schell's and Heston's characters. It is good movie making to set up a psychological tug-of-war with life at stake. Schell does an excellent job portraying a conflicted authoritarian who has stumbled upon a small bit of beauty in the midst of chaos. Schell exudes his character's charm and ultimate control over the situation when he comments on the orchestra's performance list - "Something Wagnerian perhaps..." I always have the feeling watching this movie that it would translate very well to the stage. Your eye is never distracted by other things. The premise, though a bit unrealistic, is still compelling enough to make the movie a good watch.