La bataille de l'eau lourde

"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

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.

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.

I've received this movie from a cousin in Norway and had to convert it from Norwegian to American format with a copied video. Comparing this film (1948) with the Heroes of Telemark (1965), Kampen om Tungtvannet (The Struggle for the Heavy Water) casts the saboteurs themselves, playing their respective roles, though actors were also cast to play the roles of the saboteurs who have given their lives in Norway's struggle for freedom in later campaigns. The plot is in four languages: Norwegian along with French, German and English (complete with Norwegian subtitles).

Impressive during this course of history was what led to the struggle. French scientists were interested in obtaining some two hundred kilograms of heavy water from Norsk Hydro in Vemork to take back to France in order to do lab studies on its effectiveness. Simultaneously, the Nazis, too, were interested in obtaining heavy water to build a secret weapon. The French were worried that the Nazis might take an early lead by invading Norway, and through secret codes, their man carefully eluded Nazi spies on his trip to Oslo where he received the heavy water and making it back without hindrance. He was watched by two spies as he boarded an airliner, but they did not see him hop out on the other side where he crossed the tarmac to another plane nearby where his cargo was waiting for him. This clever trick worked by using the airliner as a decoy that the Nazis later forced down in Hamburg.

However, the invasion of Norway on the morning of April 9, 1940, the Nazis took over Norsk Hydro and it was up to the Norwegian Underground and British intelligence in London to take action. Professor Leif Trondstad volunteered the services of eleven young Norwegians; the "Swallow" and "Gunnerside" groups who would successfully sabotage the heavy water production in Vemork. This was shown in detail on how they actually carried out the operation, including the sinking of the ferryboat after the Nazis abandoned Norsk Hydro to take the shipment of heavy water on rail cars to Berlin.

The quality of the film was fair though there were many splices in the film. I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in World War II history.