Un hold-up sans précédent

'54 Hours' is a docu-drama reconstructing the story of a hostage crisis that took place in Germany in the 1980s. A gang of bank robbers took some people captive and hoped to use them to negotiate their freedom. The police had no desire to let them escape, but also no wish to harm the hostages, and also, it seems, no willingness to take responsibility for action, although it's unclear how bad a thing this was - one thing one learns from the story is that there were no easy answers. An amazing detail was that the kidnap was followed the whole way by the press, who actively became part of the story - long before the internet age, the crimes were played out in full public view. Some of the acting here is perfunctory, and there's a frankly silly depiction of one of the victims as an god-like icon of German beauty, but the story itself is innately interesting and complex - more so, in fact, than that of most fictional crime dramas.

The film is certainly one of the better German productions, and almost all the other reviews here are right about its positive aspects. It's shot brilliantly and the 80's production design is spot on. Sascha Alexander Gersak as Hans-Jürgen Rösner is simply incredible. Otherwise I never completely agree with most of my fellow Germans about good acting; personally I think in many cases there is a fakeness, something too staged about the way many German star actors speak. But that may be a matter of taste and it's not my point. My grievance is about the ending. Maybe I have seen some cut home entertainment version and the TV version was longer, but the decision to not continue telling the story in the same denseness than the first 85 minutes of the film and simply rushing to the end feels like a cheat. Yes, I already know the director's and producer's explanation: Everybody knows what horrible end the crisis took, everybody has seen the images of this first media-covered (in Germany) hostage crisis, so why repeat them here? Very simple: Because A) not everyone has seen the images and B) as many, many other re-tellings of real life happenings have shown, there is an indisputable fascination to seeing familiar images from a different angle never before seen. The series 'Chernobyl' comes to mind. Don't get me wrong: I don't need to see the hostages getting shot, but watching this rushed ending after sitting through nail-bitingly thrilling 85 minutes left me hollow. I also found the decision astounding: Why did they shoot all those scenes and then only use them in such a compendious way? It seems the broadcasters or producers forced the director to do so. I can't imagine he wanted it that way. Just my 10 cents.

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.

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.

A story that is tragic, excruciating, devastating, gobsmacking and unforgettable.

A lesson for police and the media that in some circumstances trying to achieve a peaceful resolution to a hostage siege can place the lives of innocent people in even more peril.