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Colditz We are based in South London near Croydon and if preferred this item can be picked up by appointment. Just e-mail here. As of Sept. 11 This title seems to be going out of print. We have just a few left actually in stock. I came to it after watching the 1955 British film The Colditz Story and while I enjoyed it immensely and am a big fan of both its stars, John Mills and Eric Portman, the film wasn't a patch on this. It could never be, thinking about it. A movie doesn't really give the time for the characters to develop as only TV can. Incidentally, the series was inspired and based on the film and the novel by Pat Reid, a prisoner in Colditz, whose character in the series is played by the late Edward Hardwicke. The best of a fine bunch for me. He could have 'authority' tattooed across his forehead and it would still not be enough to convey just how in command of his inmates he is. He oozes more authority than a primeminster or president. In lesser hands you would not believe that someone could command so much respect. If Hedley told me that the world was square I'd immediately think that the scientists have been lying all along. Superb - as good an actor as you will find anywhere. The 'token' star of the series. I say 'token' as this very much an ensemble piece which without one of the actors not on top of his game would not have worked. But McCallum holds the whole thing together like clue.s . Before the series began he researched his role by travelling with Pat Reid (who wrote a memoir about his escape from Colditz) to the prison (actually a 11th-century castle). Both stayed in Leipzig. He also became great friends with Robert Wagner during the filming. Gives the best performance of his career as Flt. Lt. Phil Carrington because it is so undertated and that fits in to the downtrodden claustrophobia of the series. There's nothing 'Hollywood' or starry about his performance - he fits in like a glove. As Hauptmann Franz Ulmann Hans Meyer has one of the most mesmeric faces I have ever seen. Though born in South Africa his Germanic presence fills Colditz and consequently the screen with an air of all-things Deutschland. A face made from German granite; a magnetic presence that makes Marlon Brando look insipid. Anthony Valentine does slimy, vile, slithering creepiness better than anyone. As toad-faced Major Mohn he takes sneakiness to new heights or should that be depths? Who could forget the Chameleon episode (the last but two of the final series) where he tries to ingratiate himself with the prisoners to try and save his own skin as the Americans inexorably move towards the castle? Cringeworthy, it is painful to watch; I have to look away from the TV at times at his attempts to be Germaically nice. The way he himself escapes from Colditz says all you need to know about the character. Just brilliant. As the Kommandant Bernard Hepton (gives his complex role a great authenticity. He is torn between a regime that he can't understand (the Nazis and SS play their evil games without any thoughts to rules) and the principles of the Wehrmacht where the prisoners are to be treated with the respect afforded by the Geneva Convention. He brings a dignity to the role that leaves the viewer in no doubt he is fundamentally a decent man. As Capt. Pat Grant (based on Pat Reid) is as solid as he has been in anything he appeared in. Sadly he passed away in 2011 so the boxset now serves as a poignant reminder to him. There is one award-winning episode (Tweedledum) portraying the attempt of a prisoner, Wing Commander Marsh (Michael Bryant), to get out of Colditz by feigning insanity. He succeeds, but is pushed to the limits of his sanity in the process. The outcome is truly heartbreaking. In fact, it is really hard episode to watch. You are basically watching a man's descent into madness and it is so well played you shudder at the oncoming insanity. That said, the boxset is beautifully packaged with some art cards and booklet. The quality of the picture is pretty clean. Just 30 years too late! CONDITION: New. © BBC © BBC To reserve this item please e-mail by clicking here and include country ordering from. I will then get back to you within 24 hours with availability, price including postage and methods of payment (paypal, cheque, which is preferred, po etc.). |
