bkoganbing
The saddest part of Escape From Sobibor is the uniqueness of the story. Sadly enough there were no mass revolts in the concentration camps, people just accepted the cursed fate that brought them to places like Sobibor.Probably a combination of charismatic leadership and just one too many straws that broke backs led to what happened. In Sobibor in East Poland the main leader is played in this film by Alan Arkin in maybe one of the best roles of his career. Who also turned out to be a valuable asset was Rutger Hauer and a group of Russian prisoners housed there who with a bit of military discipline were invaluable as this story is told.The two saddest scenes are what happened to Joanna Pacula's baby whom she was trying to hide. And young Jason Norman when he sees the gas chambers in operation and knows where his family wound up.Escape From Sobibor is definitely not for the squeamish. But films like this should be made and remade and never forgotten.
MartinHafer
Back in 1987, this excellent British-made film aired on American television. Fortunately, if you want to see it, you can now download it absolutely free from archive.org--and I strongly recommend you do.This film is the true story of a death camp called Sobibor and the inmates who eventually mounted the largest escape during WWII. Of the 600 prisoners, over 300 escaped and many of these folks managed to survive the war. This is awfully astounding and a nice contrast to all the depressing holocaust films, as in this case they fight back--killing many of their SS tormentors in the process of escaping.The film deserves very high marks in just about every way. The acting is superb, the script tense and rousing and the story sticks close to the facts--something not all historical films do. Well worth seeing and, not surprisingly, sad and tragic at times, so have some Kleenex handy and don't let young kids watch this alone.
igsm01
Without doubt the most emotionally moving film I have ever seen.The atmosphere created cuts through the fact that it is a movie and puts any normal person actually there.Absolutely the most accurate portrayal of the lowest point of human behaviour ever.It still beggars belief that a so-called civilised nation could embark on the systematic annihilation of people purely based on their religion.God forbid this should ever happen againI cried several times and I am not an emotional man.
Bene Cumb
It is a British/Yugoslavian film about the mass escape from the extermination camp at Sobibor, the most successful uprising by Jewish prisoners of German extermination camps. It is full of contrasts, both moral and attitude-related, and gives a realistic overview of daily life of Jewish prisoners and their involuntary development from peaceful craftsmen into protagonists and organizers. The escape plan is hard to make out and not everything goes planned - even with Germans who are known for their punctuality and routines. However, if there are programs to kill on the basis on ethnicity, race or religion, you cannot expect leaking or treason, but a unified front against executors.All the cast is evenly strong, beginning with Alan Arkin and Rutger Hauer who received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Television).Of course, this harsh film is not for everyone, but it would be useful as an history lesson - as the screenplay is based on real events and written by survivors of this uprising.
AD
