MovieChat Forums > Colditz (1972) Discussion > I'm sad now =( (spoilers to anyone who h...

I'm sad now =( (spoilers to anyone who hasn't seen it but is interested)

posted 13 years ago by Isabella_Rose
20 replies | jump to latest

Watched the final episode last night.

The Kommandant and his men looked like puppies standing to attention while POW's cheered and celebrated.

Because the K had been so consistently respectful to the best of his ability given his allegence (sp?) you had hoped that after he had been arrested he would meet with the same respect in return.

I was delighted to see the men freed. It was a powerful scene when that man walked through the gates, but you could already see that they were weary of returning to the outside world after so long.

I thoroughly enjoyed this show and whilst I wished they had made more, there just wasn't a lot more they could do without it becoming repetitive as a show. The episodes they did, were always very well thoughtout and very worth while watching.

Now on to Secret Army =)

----
You were born with nothing. Everything after is a bonus.

[–] Gary-161 13 years ago

Lock them up again. I need more Colditz!

[–] alfa-16 13 years ago

So different to all the drama that's on now. And better in so many ways.

In the last episode, when we were all holding our breath for Preston's valedictory speech, as he silenced the crowd, I quite enjoyed being rudely tripped up as all finally he said was 'Board the transport'.

I think the relationship between Hepton and Hedley is one of the most carefully drawn and beautifully acted tours de force in TV history. Wonderful how the writers and actors refused every opportunity to cross lines into unrealistic sentimentality. They would sometimes take you close, like Hepton's description of his son's death to Preston but instantly jerk you back.

I can't see any modern producer settling for the content of their last conversation. But it was perfect.

[–] rachaelj-walker 13 years ago

I just re-watched this episode. I'm in total agreement that today TV shows seem to feel the need to indulge themselves in sentimentality and emotion when you don't actually need to have actors say the words, if they are good enough you know what they are thinking anyway. The conversations between the Kommandant and Preston were always among my favourites.

I also liked the mixture of elation and trepidation and the different reactions of the main characters - particularly the contrasting personalities of the three longest-serving prisoners. Downing didn't seem to have given much thought to his future and was busy enjoying himself with his new motor bike. Brent was his usual worried self but had made a plan. And Carter had obviously given it a lot of thought but had come up blank and seemed to become more and more tense about what would happen after their release. It must have been a frightening prospect to return to a wife he barely knows.

Still, all of them could always become master criminals, that's ONE thing Colditz trained them for, and they'd be pretty darned good at getting out of jail. :-)

[–] Gary-161 13 years ago

>>The conversations between the Kommandant and Preston were always among my favourites.

Their final one was typically enigmatic. Was Preston's final look one of disdain? I final implacable rejection of the Kommandant who seemed to be making an equivalence between their respective personal losses. Preston was having none of it.

[–] alfa-16 13 years ago

I think they both recognised that each had treated the other with respect but what was so powerful was that they acknowledged this without apology or compromise. Preston never bowed and the Kommandant never stooped.

[–] Gary-161 13 years ago

I think the Kommandant did stoop. He tried to pay Preston a compliment but it was still too raw and the Kommandant was forced to concede that fact. Preston lost his wife and was not able to be there for his family because of another country's imperial ambitions. But it was a brilliant and subtle piece of writing.

[–] alfa-16 13 years ago

I don't think he did. He paid Preston a big compliment but it was one he himself would not have accepted. And you can see he knows this, just as Preston knows he has to reject it. The war isn't over so they're not drinking mates yet. There are bills to be paid and Preston and the Kommandant both know they're not getting home and back to normal until they are paid.

[–] marktayloruk (2378) 10 months ago

In real life the commandant was sent to the gulag by the Russians.

[–] marktayloruk (2378) 2 years ago

Carter seemed semi resigned to going back to his old job but not keen on it.

[–] Tess-tastic 13 years ago

Now on to Secret Army =)

I really hope so! =)

[–] youngian67 13 years ago

They showed Secret Army a couple of years but for anyone who didn’t see it and enjoyed Colditz, it is a superior series. I think there were three series and they sustained themselves right up to liberation and beyond which was intensely gripping.

The sequel, Kessler, sadly became a bit of a turkey after the first two or three episodes.

[–] alfa-16 13 years ago

One of the most moving tales of the liberation in Belgium concerns The Last Post, which is sounded every night at exactly 20:00 under the Menin Gate at Ypres, a tribute to the WW1 soldiers whose bodies were never found and whose names are inscribed on the arch - 53,000 of them.

On September 6th 1994, with intense fighting still going on in the Menin Road, a few dozen yards away, men from the Belgian Fire Brigade marched out at exactly 20:00 and sounded it again, for the time since the invasion.

If you haven't seen it, you should.

[–] Hotrodder 13 years ago

Alfa, I suspect you meant September 6th 1944, yes? The Germans banned the Belgians from playing the last post during their occupation.
I've seen the event and yes, it is very moving.

"I was left in no doubt as to the severity of the hangover when the cat stamped into the room."

[–] alfa-16 13 years ago

Vas? You'll be telling me next zat ze war is over

There's one Belgian guy who has been every night for 50+ years.

[–] mickeykost 13 years ago

If you can find it, get The Fourth Arm, starring Paul Shelley. I thought it was excellent.

[–] joyfarrah 13 years ago

What is "Fourth Arm" about? I will watch it if possible because of Paul Shelley Major Nick Bradley from Secret Army......

[–] mickeykost 13 years ago

The waning days of WWII. Major Hugh Gallagher (a very Major Nick Bradley type character) is put in charge of a mission, recruiting people for it, the training they go through, the mission. There are twelve episodes to enjoy.

[–] TorontoJediMaster 11 years ago

As to the original topic:

In the final episode, an American officer asks what should be done with the German POW's and intimates that if they'd been abusing the prisoners, summary justice would be carried out. Colonel Preston makes it very clear that the Kommandant had always acted very properly and treated the prisoners in accordance with the Geneva Convention.

[–] Altho73 11 years ago

Very true, the Kommandant was a good man and deserved respect from the victorious Allies.

Compare him with the Kommandant (played by Michael Sheard) in Grant's first camp who in comparism was a real nasty piece of work!!!!!!

[–] grt2009 9 years ago

Let's not forget that Preston offers a solute to the Kommandant, which certainly says enough and says it all IMO.