A Batalha da Água Pesada

by saying that,I mean that this is not a well made movie but it's a very good version of the real event and the best depiction so far.and if you are a WW2 buff then this is a treat for you,cause there are three out of four saboteur members playing roles in this movie. It's theater acting at best but then this is still as said before a semi documentary.

Me personally am a die hard fan of our nearly over-human heroes of the second world war,and there should be hundreds of these movies showing us what they did so it won't get forgotten by next generations.Cause nowadays kids doesn't read books,they watch movies.

So if you want a action extravaganza,rent Private Ryan,this is the truth about lingering pain,outrageous endurance and the will to fight when all seems lost.

World War II had several important episodes, but over the years many of them were forgotten or not had due recognition. Besides the famous invasion of Normandy by the Allies, operation known as "D- Day", The Battle of the Heavy Water also played a key role in the outcome of that war. Directed by Titus Vibe-Müller and Jean Dréville in a French-Norwegian co-production, Kampen om Tungtvannet (original title) or Operation Swallow: The Battle for Heavy Water (in English) is a docudrama (documentary drama) that dramatically presented the reconstitution of these events that marked the history of the world and Norway.

The film begins by an introduction to the war and the reasons that led France and Germany to become interested in the heavy water produced only in the chemical factory Norsk Hydro, in the Vemork plant on the outskirts of the town of Rjukan in Norway. The first country was seeking it to do research in laboratories on its effectiveness, while the second was aimed at getting it to build a secret weapon. As the heavy water was a byproduct of fertilizer production, its production was limited and on a small scale, which meant that any amount obtained become of paramount importance. While the Norwegians remained neutral in the war, the Allies were able to catch the first batch of the precious liquid. But with the invasion of Norway by the Germans, on the morning of April 9, 1940, the Nazis ordered the Norsk Hydro plant to increase its production. Realizing the threat that the plant had the British Intelligence in London with the Norwegian Resistance came together to take preventive measures and sabotage Nazi Germany's plans involving heavy water.

Shot in black and white and without the aspects of large productions such as extravagant action situations and melodramatic approach, Kampen om Tungtvannet uses archival footage and reconstructs the other scenes with the participation of real life counterparts. This gives the movie plenty of realism and authenticity, as well as historical and educational features. Among the counterparts actors we can quote the scientists Frédéric Joliot-Curie and Lew Kowarski and most of the Norwegian saboteurs. So few characters were played by professional actors and the four native languages ​​of the countries involved in the plot were kept: Norwegian, French, German and English. And it is exactly by the common aspect that this film stands out, especially when we remember what was at stake at that time. These are not synthetic heroes we find in American blockbusters, they are just ordinary men who risked their lives to prevent the victory of the Nazi Germany.

The photography explores the mountainous region and the harsh climate of Norway through open shots. The rigorous living conditions to which the members of the Norwegian resistance underwent equate to the size of the challenge that was ahead: prevent the Germans build their secret weapon. They faced hunger, cold and also the enemy.

This story was also dramatized in a British production called The Heroes of the Telemark (1965), with the participation of Kirk Douglas (citing some of his films: Ace in the Hole - 1951, Paths of Glory - 1957, The Vikings - 1958 and Spartacus - 1960) and Richard Harris (known for A Man Called Horse - 1970), and two TV mini-series, a Canadian (A Man Called Intrepid - 1979) and a Norwegian (Kampen om Tungtvannet - Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb - 2015). The Swedish power metal band, Sabaton, also honored this episode through the music called Saboteurs.

War is not only won in the trenches or in the battle fronts, being fought by artillery fighting, but by the economic, social and mental mobilization in the rearward. It is won by the adopted strategies and resilience, bravery and wit of all its fighters.

Originally posted in: https://vikingbyheart.blogspot.com.br

"Kampen om tungtvannet"("The Battle for the heavy-water") is a movie about how Norwegian saboteurs destroyed the factory at Rjukan, which produced heavy-water, which again was vital for making a German atomic-bomb. Some of the guys playing the Norwegian saboteurs are the real men, who risked their lives by blowing up the factory at Rjukan. The acting isn`t the best, but remember that the movie is from 1948, and the fact that this is no American blockbuster. If you can forgive it for having these flaws, you should be able to enjoy it. 7/10

This is the original Heavy Water Battle-film about the sabotages done by the Allied to prevent Hitler-Germany getting the heavy water they needed to experiments in making the world's first atomic bomb. A French-Norwegian co-production made just after the events took place during the second world war. It's also quite unique that many of the saboteurs are playing themselves in this film about the famous sabotage action.

The film is a drama-documentary, very close up to the real events. In the start of the movie we are given a narrative introduction to the war as well as the reason for Allied and German interest in the heavy water produced only at the Vemork plant in the little industrial town Rjukan in the heart of southern Norway.

The film starts off with the French and German interest in getting the water, and the Allied forces managing to get the first little badge of water. But the Germans have the facility in Rjukan, and they command a new production of 5000 liters. In London they soon get this message from Norway, and starts the first plan of sabotaging the German plans.

This film is a quality production, and not only loved because many of the saboteurs play themselves. The two directors, Titus Vibe-Müller and Jean Dreville manges to tell the story in an interesting and exciting way, though a mix of drama and documentary was not very usual for cinema release back then, like it is on the Discovery channels now. Shown first in 1948, this was a few years before TV was commonly released on the public. t's fun to see that the real saboteurs are doing a great job acting. Claus Helberg is stealing a lot of the screen.

No doubt one of the most important Norwegian films ever, also because it was a huge success at the cinemas shortly after the war. It was also given a wide release across the world, and was successful in telling about this sabotages which has had a large following and interest after the war.

This is of course one of the most famous sabotage actions during the war, and there's several film-productions planned about this still. Both Michael Bay and Danny Boyle is involved with their own productions. This story is dramatized several times, and is just released as a six episode Norwegian TV-series which is sold all over the world. This TV-drama is also very close to the true events, and nothing like the large production The Heroes of Telemark from 1965. This is still quite entertaining. So is also the Canadian 1979-production A Man called Intrepid, which is both made as a feature and a TV-series.

I saw this film originally in Norway (in Norwegian) in 1965 and was very impressed even then, particularly as several of the "actors" had taken part in the raid which made the film entirely credible. However, it is now possible to buy a version with English dialogue from the resistance and special forces museum in the Akershus fortress in Oslo. Ray Mears has also produced an excellent documentary for the BBC in which he attempted to re-create what happened. Several of the team were interviewed in that documentary. Inspired by the film we have visited Vermork the heavy water factory near Rjukan and were amazed at the skill and bravery of the men who took part in the raid, all of whom evaded the Germans and survived the war. The film made later in Hollywood starring Kirk Douglas does not reflect the reality in the same way.