display of the effects during the explosion sequence. Wise used the actual newsreel footage, shot it freeze-frame style and spliced it in with the characters as they try to escape death. The best part of the movie by far!"The Hindenburg" does drag in some spots but the viewer needs to pay close attention to what is going on, who everyone is, what issues they have, why they are on the zepplin and how this adds to the story. Pay close attention to The Countess played by Anne Bancroft, by far the best character in the movie.This happens to be my favorite disaster movie for a number of reasons. First off, the sabotage plot unfolds nicely and I actually believe that the Hindenburg was downed as an act of sabotage. I have always believed this. Second, I love the detail Wise's team did with the ship's interior sets, you actually feel as if you are flying on the ship, and the third, the last sequence with the explosion occurs. Effects were pretty damn well done! If you want to see a true disaster come about, revolving around a suspenseful story with great characters, rent "The Hindenburg"

won't regret for the rest of your life!!! 10/10***

flawless and in turn so is the superb and vivid acting. George C. Scott as Colonel Franz Ritter, a German security officer and Anne Bancroft as the reluctant Countess seem to be very suited and prepared for their parts as the main characters in the film. Other passengers to watch for include: Gig Young as the sly Edward Douglass , Burgess Meredith as gambler Emilio Pajetta and Robert Clary, from the hit sitcom, "Hogan's Heroes", as Joseph Spahn, a comedian. These and many others provide an enjoyable overall performance in the movie while not only based on historical accounts, also provides other common genres of drama, suspense, comedy and even elements of romance between the two main characters.This film may have a general theme of seriousness, as Colonel Ritter proceeds to investigate an array of people aboard who are suspects to an anti-Nazi conspiracy, yet it also resolves to make way for other moods as well. For example, midway through the film there is a very amusing sequence in which passenger Reed Channing Peter Donat plays on the airship's famous baby grand piano and sings a song entitled: "There's A Lot to be Said for the Fuhrer" while Joe Spahn performs. This scene obviously demonstrates how both passengers are clearly against the Nazi party, and here it is also interesting to note that during WWII, actor Robert Clary actually was confined to the Nazi concentration camps as countless other unfortunates were subject to during the Holocaust. There are also several humorous one-liners spoken throughout the film, such as: "Next time we'll take the Titanic!" followed by other memorable quotes.As the film progresses, complications arise in the piloting of the Hindenberg as the crew and passengers encounter a brief experience with turbulence and St. Elmo's fire, a flickering bluish glow sometimes appearing during storms and repairing a rip in the fabric cover on the port side of the airship as it hovers over the frigid Atlantic Ocean. Events such as these, and Colonel Ritter's continuing investigation, prove to bring together desired elements of suspense, which certainly add up nearing the movie's climax ending.Shortly before the Hindenberg's doomed landing, Ritter finally discovers the suspected sabotage and the passenger behind it in a perplexing turn of events. In doing so, he also finds that this well-planned demolition is i n the form of a timed-bomb that has been hidden in the airship's structure and that it is up to him to reach in time for deactivation. The last few thrilling seconds before the explosion in which Colonel Ritter slowly struggles to defuse the bomb have enough apprehension to make it seem an eternity as he meticulously works, but to no avail. From the moment in which the bomb goes off, there is enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat until the movie's end. The last few minutes which combine both color, black and white images, and still frames of the fire as innocent passengers attempt to escape the flames are exceedingly well filmed as well as both exciting and horrific. Through this vivid portrayal, one may wonder just what it would have been like to witness this tragic disaster. To any viewer its plain to see just why "The Hindenberg" received a special achievements award for its sound and visual effects and nominations for best cinematography and film editing.With excellent writing credits provided by Nelson Gidding and under the careful direction of Robert Wise "The Hindenberg" proves to be a genuine and enjoyable movie to watch. This is a film that will undeniably age well, still seeming as timeless as it was the first time through. One of my favorite movies of all time, "The Hindenberg" can be highly recommended.

Bancroft as the Countess is wonderful as she depicts the Germany that was while fleeing to supposedly see her deaf daughter who is being educated in the U.S.The footage done in black and white showing the aftermath after the explosion is realistic to the core.

1975.What Robert Wise did and maybe more successfully than any other director was make full use of the famous newsreel footage and carefully edited it into his film, with slow motion techniques into the personal attempts by the cast to try and escape the holocaust. The Hindenburg received Oscar nominations for sound, cinematography, and art&set design with a special award for special effects. Yet no nomination for editing which the main plus this film has going for it.Of course we don't know what ever really happened to the Hindenburg and the film takes account of all the theories put forth. It also uses the real names of the people who were passengers, crew, and officials of the Third Reich. The Nazi government had a big stake in the dirigible fleet they had built, they were as much propaganda value for them as Max Schmeling in boxing and Gottfried Von Cramm in tennis.Of course had they had access to helium to float the big guys this might never have happened. But the USA had a near total monopoly on the world's helium and was not selling it to Hitler. Hence they used the lighter, but flammable hydrogen with the result of the tragedy.George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft head the cast as a Luftwaffe official and a worldly old world countess traveling to the USA to visit her deaf mute daughter going to school for same in Boston. The Nazis didn't believe in helping those they considered defectives, another lovable quality about them.The Hindenburg is a sobering and near factual account of what happened in Lakehurst, New Jersey that afternoon. It's one of the best of the Seventies disaster films and should not be missed.

to make several good movies as a supporting actor. After all these years, nobody knows the truth on the Hindenburg disaster. However, the movie tells an interesting story. The movie's version sounds compelling. They claim the Hinderburg was blown up by a saboteur.

My nephew is very close to Mussolini!!" , authentic sets a real crew member visited the set and was astounded at the reproductions and a spectacular finale make for a Robert Wise gem. It's no "Sound of Music" or "West Side Story", but has a lot of style and charm that often goes unrecognized. Concentration camp survivor Robert Clary "Hogan's Heroes" is marvelous as comedian Joe Spah, who survived the disaster.