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Amazon.co.uk Review
Black comedy and suspenseful action inside a German POW camp during World War II--a setting that was later borrowed for the American TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes. The great director Billy Wilder adapted the hit stage play, applying his own wicked sense of humour to the apparently bleak subject matter. William Holden plays an antisocial grouse amid a gang of wisecracking though indomitable American prisoners. Because of his bitter cynicism, Holden is suspected by the others of being an informer to the Germans, an accusation he must deal with in his own crafty way. Holden, who had delivered a brilliant performance for Wilder in Sunset Blvd., won the 1953 Best Actor Oscar for Stalag 17. Very much his equal, however, is Otto Preminger, an accomplished director himself, who plays the strict, sneering camp commandant. --Robert Horton
Special Features
English
Region 2
Region 2
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17" is cinematic simplicity at its best. It is a good old fashioned piece of entertainment that effectively establishes a simple and specific situation and then spins an absorbing yarn around it. Throw in several great William Holden moments and you have got yourself a winner of a film.
After a failed escape from the prison camp designated Stalag 17, the imprisoned soldiers start to suspect Sergeant J.J. Sefton (William Holden) of being a snitch. Sefton's reputation as an antisocial cynic certainly has not endeared him to his barrack-mates and they have no qualms over dishing out their own brand of justice on him. Sefton's guilt or innocence is eventually determined shortly before a crucial attempt to smuggle Lieutenant James Dunbar (Don Taylor) out of the prison camp is scheduled to begin.
"Stalag 17" does not have the complex discourse of "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) or the belly-laughs of "Some Like It Hot" (1959) but it is still a notable entry on Billy Wilder's directorial resume. His ability to fuse drama and black comedy results in a prison camp tale that holds up better than all of the best episodes of "Hogan's Heroes" combined. Holden is splendid in his Oscar-winning performance. Watching him here reminds you of just how fine an actor he was and why he is still remembered fondly as one of the legends of the silver screen. The fact that "Stalag 17" is as fresh and absorbing today as it was when it first came out is a testament to both Wilder and Holden and their ability to make truly timeless films.
After a failed escape from the prison camp designated Stalag 17, the imprisoned soldiers start to suspect Sergeant J.J. Sefton (William Holden) of being a snitch. Sefton's reputation as an antisocial cynic certainly has not endeared him to his barrack-mates and they have no qualms over dishing out their own brand of justice on him. Sefton's guilt or innocence is eventually determined shortly before a crucial attempt to smuggle Lieutenant James Dunbar (Don Taylor) out of the prison camp is scheduled to begin.
"Stalag 17" does not have the complex discourse of "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) or the belly-laughs of "Some Like It Hot" (1959) but it is still a notable entry on Billy Wilder's directorial resume. His ability to fuse drama and black comedy results in a prison camp tale that holds up better than all of the best episodes of "Hogan's Heroes" combined. Holden is splendid in his Oscar-winning performance. Watching him here reminds you of just how fine an actor he was and why he is still remembered fondly as one of the legends of the silver screen. The fact that "Stalag 17" is as fresh and absorbing today as it was when it first came out is a testament to both Wilder and Holden and their ability to make truly timeless films.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Stalag 17 is a war comedy-drama set in a World War II German POW camp. A group of American G.I.`s are held in Barrack 4. Among them there is cynical Sergeant J.J. Sefton (William Holden) a dealer who trades almost anything and due to this he has privileges from the camp guards. But when two American soldiers got killed attempting to escape, all fingers point Sefton as the snitch. And the trouble begins...
I believe this is one of Billy Wilder's finest films and all around an excellent movie which he was nominated for "Best Director" in academy awards. Remarkably well performance by William Holden who has won the "Best Actor" academy award and New York Film Critics Circle's "Best Actor" award with this film. Also Robert Strauss got nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" for his performance as `Animal`. This film is defiantly first rate comedy-drama, a classic and a must have DVD.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of my favourite movies of all time. It was a bit of a surprise to see a movie about the war made so soon after it with a humourous element.
Reccomended for anyone.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pretty Awful
William Holden is brilliant and gets both the stars but the rest of the film is awful as a result of terrible caricatures of "American types", insulting to the country and the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jonathan
Another Great Wilder Film
Stalag 17 is another great film from Billy Wilder who juggles humour, suspense and tragedy in the way only he can. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keith M
stalag 17
Excellent film i remember seeing it on tv when I was a kid, it has lost none of its appeal in fact I think it is even better now, William Holden is brilliant, the comic element is... Read more
Published 6 months ago by isom50
"all right at ease !!!"
this has to be one of the all time classic war films for me,from script to actimg it's brilliant throughtout. Read more
Published 9 months ago by lord elpus
Stalag 17
Stalag 17 is a classic movie, I purchased this movie before xmas
The part that William Holden plays is brilliant,And i would highly recommend this
Movie and specially the... Read more
The part that William Holden plays is brilliant,And i would highly recommend this
Movie and specially the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by charley208
Stalag 17 Asso
This is a good war movie,and also a comedy .You buy this movie and you get the best of both.But I cant think why William Holden lasted so long in the stalag after fleecing... Read more
Published on 22 May 2010 by D. Leonard
region 1 collectors edition.
As usual none of the reviews shown are for the dvd edition shown in the graphics.A very good set of extras include a commentary by two of the actors,richard erdman(hoffy) and gil... Read more
Published on 20 July 2009 by ciaran moore
"What time was it when Pearl Harbor was bombed...?"
This superb WWII drama stars William Holden as Sefton, a cynical self-promoter and POW who trades with his German captors to live well, while his fellow prisoners are suffering and... Read more
Published on 26 Sep 2004 by Kona
It passes time.
I originally watched this film because I had watched "Hogan's Heroes Triple Pack (1965)" ASIN: 630528217X and wanted to see if there was a resemblance. Read more
Published on 18 July 2004 by bernie
Quasi-realism and burlesque: a comedic drama
There was surprisingly enough a lot of humor in the American attitude toward the Nazis and the Germans during World War II. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2004 by Dennis Littrell
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