Isla del infierno

I had heard that Bear Island was not a good movie at all, but I wanted to see it anyway because I like the cast a lot. When I eventually saw it, I didn't find it great, but it was much better than I expected.

Pros: Lovely photography and great sets and locations. Atmospheric score by Richard Farnon. Great performances from Richard Widmark and Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave has her moments but has an inconsistent accent. Sharp and well paced direction.

Cons: As much as I love Donald Sutherland, he does look bored and stiff here. The dialogue is uneven, having moments when it is decent but some of it is really quite bad. The story has great idea and starts and ends well, but the film is rather sluggish with some of the middle section feeling like filler.

All in all, not great, not awful, just somewhere in between. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I read the book and saw the movie. I enjoyed both. Donald Sutherland was excellent. This is a suspense thriller and so it goes slower than a typical action flick. If you expect this to be an action flick you will be disappointed. There are a few surprises which is typical of the writer's style.

If you want an action movie MacLean is not for you as he is the Master of Suspense and writes in a way to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going on. If you see this from the middle, you will be bored, you must see it from the start and watch with full attention. If you miss any of the plot, you will get confused frustrated and wonder why you're watching the movie.

When you watch this, don't do anything else except watch it and I assure you that you will applaud this movie along with others like unto it like Where Eagles Dare, Guns of Navarone, Force 10 from Navarone, Ice Station Zebra, Detonator I and Detonator II, Satan Bug and a few more. The only one that dragged for me was Puppet on a Chain but I saw it chopped up on network TV so I need to see it again unchopped, unedited and not edited for television.

The similar theme music, Arctic setting, Norwegians and group alone left wondering who the antagonist is. This is a neat little film I found cross referencing Donald Sutherland films I haven't seen before. The Nazi U boat subplot is also great for its atmosphere. Another bonus is that it offers a pretty good line up of old school actors such as Richard Widmark, Loyd Bridges and Christopher Lee. There aren't many great films about the Arctic but this is one that you will enjoy.

Film with good scenes from Alaska and good actors. He holds attention until the end of the film

The UK-Canada co-production treaty of the late Seventies produced a lot of dross. "Bear Island" is better than some of its companions but still no classic.

Alistair MacLean's novel was a turgid affair, written at the start of his long decline as a writer. The film-makers wisely ditch most of his plot but the story they substitute, about an icy hunt for wartime Nazi gold, is no masterpiece of originality. Vanessa Redgrave's Norwegian accent comes and goes (at times, she sounds like the Swedish chef from "The Muppets") and Donald Sutherland tries for depth by speaking - very - very - slowly. Anybody who has seen a few of these films won't take long to guess the identity of the "mystery" villain.

On the credit side, the locations are spectacular and Robert Farnon's music score is appropriately portentous. Don Sharp knows how to direct action (he had been brought in a few years earlier to ginger up another MacLean adaptation, "Pupper On a Chain") and the fights are well-staged.