Os Heróis de Telemark

During WWII, the Nazis were close to making nuclear weapons. For making this, they needed heavy water, which they produced in Norway. This film is about the operation where members of the Norwegian resistance attempted to stop the Nazis from getting their heavy water.

The story is previously told in the Norwegian film "Kampen om tungtvannet" from 1948. As such, you may call this a remake. The reason for remaking the film is of course the language. As always a good film does not get better by making it one more time. The Norwegian film is in my opinion far better because it is more realistic. The problem of Heroes of Telemark is that even if it is telling a true story, it seems artificial. The Norwegian film is more exciting and believable. Even the acting in the Norwegian film is better than in the remake, even though the actual `heroes' themselves play some of the parts!

THOF offers cheesy German accents and I'm sure a few liberties with historical facts, but for those who nitpick at a Kirk Douglas film made in the mid-60s, keep in mind that it's just that: a simple little mid-60s war film with Kirk Douglas. It is fun, quick, not too talky, and with some very nice snowy scenery. Not dull in spite of its length of 2 hours plus, so what more can one expect from a simplistic little action film? Norwegian viewers might understandably get a little annoyed by the bending of facts, but at least movies about Norway's role in the war were made - which can't be said about Sweden. There will never be a movie about Sweden's fight against the Nazis, and this alone should give the Norwegians some satisfaction...

IMDb states that both shorter (i.e. butchered) versions of THOF were released in Germany. Hmm, I wonder why...

When Norway was occupied by the Nazis it had a unique burden to face. With the exception of Winston Churchill all the rest of the Allied political and military leaders favored no military operations to liberate Norway. The war was not to be fought in Scandinavia. Therefore the Norwegians could only sit back and hope for an allied victory in other parts of Europe in order to be free.

Knowing that those who resisted in Norway did it from real anti-fascist conviction and the fact that they wanted to do something against their unwelcome occupiers.

The Heroes of Telemark and the Norwegian film, Kampen om Tungtvannet on the same subject that was previously done showed the Norwegians in their resistance just such a chance even though it did not help one bit in the liberation of their country.

The Nazis have a plant used for making heavy water, deuterium, water made with a hydrogen atom with a neutron as well as a proton. This stuff was critical in the development of the atomic bomb. When a Norwegian scientist got wind of it he gets a message to a colleague played by Kirk Douglas who escapes to Great Britain to inform the Allied High Command.

Douglas goes back to Norway and with Richard Harris makes several attempts to destroy the water. A whole lot of people, British Commandoes and Norwegian citizens die in the attempts made. But the job gets done.

Hey if the job hadn't gotten done, I'd be writing a review of a different kind of film, maybe in German.

Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris prove uneasy allies. In a recent biography of Harris it was reported that he and Harris did not get along at all on this film. Douglas is a talented egotist and Harris was quite the carouser back in those days and also didn't get along with both Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston on films he co-starred with them. Not a good combination for a happy set, but the film got done.

Anthony Mann did some great location photography in Norway for this film, shot on the actual sites. Kirk and Dick on skis, even if it was stunt doubles were something to watch.

The Heroes of Telemark is a good World War II action/adventure film and a nice tribute to the Norwegian resistance.

The Heroes of Telemark is based on a real-life story. It follows a unit of the Norweigan resistance in their efforts to destroy a German occupied factory, where the Germans are drawing near to creating the first atomic bomb. Kirk Douglas plays an academic from the University of Oslo who is brought in to help them because he is an expert on atomic science. Richard Harris plays the leader of the resistance fighters, a strong willed and courageous man who is always thinking of the best way to be a thorn in the side of the Nazis. There are other decent characterisations too, such as Ulla Jacobsen as Douglas's ex-wife (they parted because he seduced one of his students) and Eric Porter as a power hungry Nazi.

The film is quite good, but it might have been better still. For much of the running time, it seems curiously subdued, with lots of scenes which don't quite screw home the tension as far as they could. The sequence in which the resistance fighters infiltrate the factory and attempt to destroy the German's heavy water supply should have been unbearably tense, but it kind of comes and goes without generating the necessary atmosphere. The closing sequence aboard a boat full of children is very well done, though, and there's another taut bit where Douglas and Jacobsen are almost caught snooping around the factory but manage to convince a passing guard that they are merely young lovebirds trying to find a quiet spot for a bit of private love-making.

The Heroes of Telemark tells a worthy story and is reasonably entertaining, but it could have been a touch better if the maker's had concentrated slightly harder on the suspense.

Throughout the 1960s, Hollywood invented what we now call 'infiltration commando films', a truly interesting sub-genre within war films, far from the brutal realism that would be introduced years later, but with enough adventure and romanticism to be regarded as a great spectacle. Until then, war films were characterized by a minimalist way of developing the theme, showing the audience small brush strokes of war. Although there were war scenes, directors focused more on directing the actors than on special effects and creating a spectacular story. Great films such as 'Objective, Burma!' (1945), 'Destination Tokyo' (1943) and 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' (1957) included no important action scenes. They started to appear later on thanks to the demythologization of war, and the will to recover a genre that had been more or less forgotten. 'The Guns of Navarone' (1961), 'The Dirty Dozen' (1967) and 'Where Eagles Dare' (1968) are good examples of this commando sub-genre. They were keen to show a more feasible type of war, slightly unreal and 'festive', but without losing their ensemble film quality.

Together with the three mentioned above, one of the most popular films is 'The Heroes of Telemark', directed by the brilliant Anthony Mann, a great director of western and ensemble films, who lived in Europe back then and worked in Samuel Bronston's blockbusters. Using his savor-fare in 'The Heroes of Telemark' he adapted a true story that took place during Germany's invasion of Norway. He worked together with screenwriters Ivan Moffat, Knut Haukelid and Ben Barzman (with the support of novelist John Drummond) and the magnetism of Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson and Sir Michael Redgrave. We must not forget the excellent photography of Robert Krasker, which transports us to Telemark (Norway) in the comfort of our seats, and also the elegant score by Malcolm Arnold (who also composed the music for 'The Bridge on the River Kwai'). Curiously enough, Kirk Douglas worked with Anthony Mann again when he started to direct 'Spartacus' (1960), before he was replaced by Stanley Kubrick.

The film is set in the region of Telemark (Norway) in 1942, when the allies found a document that irrefutably proved that German scientists were making progress in the search for atomic fission at the Vemork heavy water plant, situated next to the small town of Rjukan, and were in the middle of making an atomic bomb that would change the course of the war. 'Heavy water' is a chemical compound with a molecular formula equivalent to water, in which hydrogen atoms are replaced with deuterium, a heavy hydrogen isotope.

Back then, Norway had built up its own resistance, made up of civilians and former soldiers. One of the members, Knut Haukelid (1911-1994), twin brother of actress Sigrid Gurie, became a national hero after being part of the real commando that appears in the film. The Norwegian resistance and the British army work against the clock to prevent Hitler from achieving his long-awaited bomb: Together they draw up an ambitious plan to destroy the Vemork factory. Once they rule out the possibility of bombarding, Operation Freshman is launched – British paratroopers are deployed over Telemark and are supposed to join the resistance, led by the Norwegian soldier Knut Straud (Richard Harris), who does not hesitate to seek the help of physicist Rolf Pedersen (Kirk Douglas). To make it all even more dramatic, Pedersen discovers that his ex-wife (Ulla Jacobsson) and uncle (Sir Michael Redgrave) have joined the resistance. This is dangerous for him personally because one's feelings can often cloud one's reasoning in times of war. The human reactions that take place in the film help to establish a stronger connection between the audience and the protagonists.

Operation Freshman proves to be unsuccessful because the Horsa Glidier gliders crash and part of the crew die in the accident, and the rest are shot by the enemy. A great part of the true story emerges in the film, although the name of Major Knut Haukelid is changed to Knut Straud (Richard Harris), in order to allow certain liberties in the development of the film. After the first mission fails, the Norwegian commando that is waiting, made up of 15 volunteers (in the film there are only 9), launches Operation Gunnerside. They enter the factory and destroy the tanks where the 'heavy water' is stored. The facility remains inactive for two months but the Germans manage to rebuild the tanks and increase production. The saboteurs ski all the way to Sweden to avoid being captured by the Germans, while the Norwegian and British soldiers continue to rack their brains to find a way to stop the production of 'heavy water'. These events pick up speed in the film and shortly after the first attempt to sabotage the factory, Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris (after a thrilling persecution on skis) come into action again and plan to blow up the factory which is about to transport the 'heavy water', even if they have to risk their lives and those of their loved ones to complete the mission.

For just over two hours, and thanks to the rhythm and elegance that Anthony Mann stamps in every shot, the audience will travel alongside the protagonists, in their adventures and mishaps, and will discover a truly interesting series of historical events. The filming locations were Vemork, Rjukan, Tinnsjo and Gausta, in the region of Telemark, in Norway, and also Oslo, because Anthony Mann wanted to make the most of the beautiful landscape. While he was there, he shot magnificent skiing scenes, in the manner of the best German Bergfilms. We must not forget that the region of Telemark is the cradle of skiing, as it is known today.