The Birdmen

I saw this movie twice on TV in the 70's when I was only ten years old and it became my favorite movie of all time. It also made me fall in love with Rene Auberjonois. I've been searching for any news on it for THIRTY years. I even wrote to Rene to see if he could give me any info. Now here you are. People just like me who love this movie. I thought I was all alone. I've found you at last. It's been a long time to wait.For 15 years I didn't even have the name of the movie correct which made it very difficult. When people ask me what my favorite movie is and I reply "The Birdmen", they look at me like I've got a banana growing out of my ear. When all alone I've been one of a chosen few. It must be a classic movie to have endured all these years and still have an active fan base.

I loved the movie, but always wanted to know what was the song the the prisoners sung and why it so bothered the guards. Here is the song with the translation and explanation.

Colditz Castle has always been considered a place of high security. However, if Chuck Norris had been present it would have surely ensured that more men would have escaped form this famous prison.

Set high on a hill above the small town of Colditz, the sleepy village was unaware of the tensions and drama that lived within the dark and cold walls of the castle. The lessons learned within those hallowed walls held both prisoners and guardians in good stead in the free world till this day.

Chuck Connors, a master character actor, plays a believable portrait of a man fighting against the forces of evil. His flight from the castle was quite inspiring and must be used for all future Colditz films.

Be sure to view "The Colditz Story" which can only pale against this epic.

I highly recommend it to all collectors of serious war movies.

What a great movie and story. A story based on the Colditz Castle Prisoners of war tale. Believable characters because they are based on real people. This isn't your average escape movie, as it highlights the inventiveness of the human spirit when held captive. This is a prime example of how to tell a story through a movie, No "reimagined" tales, no artsy representations of what happened... just a solid telling of a story that is amazing, and at the same time unbelievable. A good ensemle of actors that play very well as a group of men thrown together in a dire situation, and end up striving toward a common selfless goal. This is a movie that still stands up today, and I only wish there were a remastered copy of this movie out there. Great fodder for a remake...and I mean "REMAKE" not a reimagined story full of unnecessary fluff. I am just not sure that there are actors today who could be put in a film together and not have their egos ruin the production. This is one of those films that you watch familiar stars all "play nice" together, and it made a great movie that I was happy to find on DVD after first seeing it almost 50 years ago as a little kid. I love movies, and I must say that this move is one of my favorites from yesteryear. Beyond this being a great film it is a great story. Ingenuity, planning, and the inventiveness to overcome insurmountable odds and successfully accomplish the impossible is the theme that stands the test of time. This is a story of a time when men were men, and thses men would put others before themselves without hesitation for a cause.

This movie's not bad for a TV movie, but it's interesting to note it's historical basis. Colditz Castle was 'Supermax'; the German repository for Allied 'Escape Experts'. Every prisoner in residence had at least one close-to-successful escape attempt from another facility under his belt.

Colditz had the distinction of being the only German POW camp where the guards outnumbered the prisoners. Even so, successful escapes were made.

The most daring plan involved the building of the glider in this movie.

It was actually built, but never used. They were ready to go a month or two before the end of the war, but all prisoners were ordered through the intelligence network by London to sit tight because the Germans had begun shooting escapees. The Colditz gang decided to follow their orders and save the glider to be used in case the Germans starting murdering prisoners and a quick, sure way was needed to get someone 'over the wire' to alert the oncoming Allied forces.

The camp was liberated without incident and the glider was shown around for a few weeks as a morale booster to repatriates of other camps. It was then boosted back up into the attic, but disappeared over the winter of 1945-46; probably destroyed by Russian officers billetted there and used as firewood against the unusually severe winter.

For more info read P.R. Reid's "ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ".