npocher I have read all the criticisms of 'The Odessa File' but they make no difference to my opinion of the film. I have watched it time and time again, and it never fails to grip me in many different ways. It was one of the first intelligent films made about the young Germans' struggle to understand and come to terms with what was done in their own country. The tension carries through the whole film without any sensational violence to the final scene when the surprise unfolds. Ronald Neame certainly deserved his BAFTA and Frederic Forsyth wrote a cracking story. Makes you proud to be British. The critics can carry on nit picking about a character's age and 'unrealistic' fight scenes, but I will continue to watch the film when it appears again and again.

TurboarrowIII I think this is an enjoyable film. It is not very much like the book though.Jon Voight is great as the journalist (Peter Miller). His German accent is very good too.Maximilian Schell is also great as the German war criminal (Eduard Roschmann) now living as an apparently reputable businessman.There are some tense moments including when Miller fights and kills the man who was sent to kill him. This is just before he obtains the Odessa File of the title which gives the new identities of Nazi war criminals. This shows him where he can find Roschmann. He has a personal reason for wanting revenge on him as he murdered his father in the war. He found this out from the diary of an ex concentration camp inmate who had killed himself because he had seen Roschmann living comfortably and felt that nobody was doing anything about war criminals. The ending is very good. Roschmann denies that he actually killed any concentration camp inmates. Even when Miller makes it clear that, although he is sickened by what Roschmann and the Nazis did, he is only really there because he wants revenge for his father Roschmann rambles on about being innocent of any killings of Jews. Miller is so disgusted by Roschmann that he can't even kill him although he is forced to when Roschmann tries to shoot him.I found the acting to be excellent. There are a couple of faults including obviously 1970s cars in one scene when the film is set in the 60s but overall I think this is a tense and enjoyable film.

LeonLouisRicci If getting away with Murder is intolerable, then getting away with Mass Murder is more than intolerable. So the fact that many Nazi War Criminals escaped at Wars end unblemished and prospering is the stuff that can enrage anyone.So from the beginning in this taut and incredibly tense Thriller we are behind the Protagonist and His attempt at finding and dealing with this Scum. Jon Voight gives a powerful, restrained Performance and is helped by some rather cold, but beautiful Cinematography.In fact, the Movie is so well shot that it doesn't look like a lot of cheesy and unattractive Seventies Films. There are remarkable Scenes, like the one in the Beer Hall that are so well Produced for such a short running time that one wonders why they bothered, but glad they did. It gives an authenticity to the proceedings and it is this sort of visual detail that makes this an above average affair.This is not an elaborate but chilling way to realize the subject matter and the Movie is never boring or disengaging. It has a deliberate and relentless take on a complicated situation. It never fails to intrigue and has a controlled environment of a determined Journalist way above His head, but tenacious in resolve. This is an enduring, factual Story that even Today never ceases to be involving.

Tweekums This thriller opens in 1963 with a brief prologue where we see Israeli intelligence officers discussing an Egyptian plan to launch a biochemical attack on Israel; the only thing the Egyptians require is a missile component being made in West Germany. The action then moves to West Germany where Peter Miller, a freelance reporter with an eye for a story, follows an ambulance only to discover it was just going to an old man who had committed suicide. The next day the investigating police officer gives Peter the old man's dairy thinking it might make a human interest story... it does far more than that though; it tells of how he had survived Riga concentration camp where he'd seen his wife killed at the orders of camp commandant Eduard Roschmann, the dairy goes on to allege that Roschmann is still alive having been given a new identity by an organisation known as ODESSA. Having read the dairy Miller is determined to find Roschmann and expose ODESSA; it soon becomes clear it reaches deep into the West German state and it isn't long before an attempt is made on his life. With few clues in Germany he heads to Vienna to see Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal; not long after that he is approached by Israeli intelligence; they have a plan to send him undercover into ODESSA; a dangerous task where exposure could mean death but success could destroy ODESSA.Most thrillers seem to be packed with action however this one keeps things tense with a feeling of almost constant danger; this means when the few action scenes do come they feel more intense. Jon Voight does a fine job as protagonist Peter Miller; it was good to have a thriller about Nazis where the hero is German; even if he isn't played by one! Maximilian Schell only has a fairly small role as Roschmann but he makes the character quite chilling due to the way he first denies having anything to do with the slaughter in Riga, then making out that it was nothing important then finally boasting of the greatness of the SS. The story is well told and kept me gripped from the moment we learnt the contents of the old man's dairy... just the time Miller got gripped by the story too! If there is a flaw it was the suddenness of the end and the way he managed to find Roschmann alone in a castle; still the story demanded that they be alone together for their final talk so that improbability can be forgiven. Overall this is definitely worth watching if you like your thrillers tense and don't demand nonstop action and special effects.