Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4770 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-08
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German
• Subtitled in: English, French, German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Hindi, Turkish, Danish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, Greek, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Originally released in 1974, The Odessa File is set in Hamburg a decade earlier. Its starting-point is the Nazi support network Odessa, and its involvement with Egyptian plans to destroy Israel. Peter Miller is a freelance journalist whose interest appears initially to be a professional one, before a personal dimension finally becomes apparent in his confrontation with SS Captain Roschmann.

Kenneth Ross adapts a well-honed screenplay from Frederick Forsyth's bestseller, and director Ronald Neame captures a typically Cold War sense of individuals and organisations playing out a scenario of political right and wrong. John Voight, long before he became a cameo star, makes a sympathetic lead, able to judge between the moral and material aspects of his profession. Mary Tamm is photogenic, if uninvolving, as his girlfriend, while Maximillian Schell is a convincing Nazi stereotype. Andrew Lloyd-Weber contributes a serviceable score, centred on the catchy "Christmas Dream" sung by Perry Como. Not a classic suspense thriller, but an enjoyable and thoughtful one.

On the DVD: the letterbox widescreen format preserves the 2.35:1 aspect ratio of the cinema release with decent if not exceptional clarity, with optional 16:9 TV enhancement. There are French, German, Italian and Spanish overdubs, and subtitles in 21 languages. Detailed filmographies for Neame, Voight and Schell are included and the theatrical trailer is to the point in a way they so rarely are these days. --Richard Whitehouse

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Mono English
Mono

Synopsis
The tense true story of a newsman whose search for a Nazi murderer leads him to the discovery of a top secret Nazi organisation file named 'Odessa'... Based on the novel by Frederick Forsythe.

Customer Reviews

Classic
What a wonderful star studded cast. I saw this film when first released - yes that was a long time ago - and the memory of it has lingered. It is superbly atmospheric, the music is outstanding, and the story enthralling. It is great to see so many famous names as they were thirty-plus years ago years ago and how well they have done in between. To the younger generation it is probably nothing more than history, but to my generation it was relevant. They do not make them like this nowadays.
If you have not seen it, then watch it.

Great movie
I was told that after seeing "Day of the Jackel" that I had to see this movie, and it did not dissapoint any way or form!!! (I actually prefer it to "Day of the Jackel" now)

A really gripping story that really easy to follow, with a great twist at the end which I never saw comming.

Starts off pretty slow and we are not sure what we are actually suppose to be watching, but then once it develops everything falls into place and the movie turns into a really gripping film.

The best post-war film in years
Along with a stellar cast and a magnificent musical score by Andrew Lloyd Webber, this is a film that beats all the neo-nazi pictures of the 60s and 70s. The film starts off slow but gradually builds up pace until the surprising climax at the end. The picture quality is OK and the special features are a little thin but this is a DVD not to be missed.