Gladbeck

This is a German TV 2-part movie, and really is far better in almost every department than even the many higher profile & higher budget fare you get in the crime & heist genre you get in the English speaking world.

We have a curious case of a prolonged bank robbery led by a dangerous and frightening lead, who is able to take advantage of the bureaucratic and hand-tied authorities to string out his crime to try in a vain attempt to escape.

This film is brutal in its honesty about the different elements involved: the criminals, the police and the abducted. It's brilliantly paced and filmed, and you can't help but feel sucked.

A great experience, and really wouldn't be surprised if this is copied or influenced to others abroad in their efforts in years to come.

This two-part drama tells the tale of the 'Gladbeck hostage crisis'; a shocking event which began on 16 August, 1988, with two gunmen attempting to rob a bank in the German town of Gladbeck. Those inside are taken hostage as the police surround the building. Wishing to avoid any violence the police allow them to leave with two hostages, they then pick up one of the gunmen's girlfriend. As they are in a car fitted with a tracker the police follow. As soon as the news of the event gets out the media descend on the story. The action then moves to Bremen where the kidnappers abandon their car and hijack a bus. As they wait for police negotiators they give interviews to the press who are free to film everything. The police response is very confused with different forces claiming overall command and the men on the ground being left waiting for orders.

This drama really is quite shocking; if it weren't based on real events it would be impossible to believe. The competence of the senior officers is clearly lacking, as an example they don't even have an ambulance on standby. If anything the media response is even more shocking; they surround the hijackers, interview them, obstruct the police and even board the bus to take photographs.

As a piece of entertainment this was very effective. It was filmed in a way that felt very real and the actors gave natural performances. Knowing it was based on real events, but not knowing details before watching, made it very tense at times as we can't work out the 'designated survivors' as one might in a fictional thriller. There are of course some fictional elements as the creators give us there idea of what happened behind the scenes; these scenes were necessary to give more depth to characters and explain some of the things that were happening. Overall I'd definitely recommend this drama.

These comments are based on watching in German with English subtitles.

One might think that the plot is quite constructed and far away from realistic, because the behaviour of police and journalists looks too strange in this story. But all this stuff is extremely close to reality.

I remember the actual crime and the hunt taking place in Germany very close to my home in northrhine-westphalia, and I remember the repeated shocks and disbelieve I was in when all the television broadcasts rushed over the screens. Now, 30 years later, the mini series remembers us of what happened back in 1988.

The film makers say they added fictional elements to the plot and that of course must be true because just for example, police internal dialogues could not have been reconstructed this way. But in my opinion this film looks like it is very close to what really happened. Many if not all of the earlier television news are minutely reproduced with the actors and placed within the movie. I was thrown backwards in time while watching the film and watching again this failure of police and journalism.

This is not only a police thriller but in times a heartbreaking story about fear and loss. It is the best German television production I have seen in years. Very intense!

A sad event in German history but an excellent piece of television.

The story line dives straight in and keeps going. Similar material would be dragged out for 8 or 10 episodes on mainstream outlets.

Believable performances by all who make you think you are watching a documentary rather than a dramatisation. A very realistic feel.

More of this quality please.

A study in extreme incomepetence. It must have been extremely embarrasing for the German police at the time.

Too bad the film makers used hand held camera, some scenes are almost unwatchable.