Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The acclaimed director of THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (J. Lee Thompson) churned out this lurid late seventies pot-boiler at a time when his best days were probably behind him. Ostensibly, a WWII adventure yarn about a Basque shepherd (Anthony Quinn) guiding a scientist (James Mason) his wife (Patricia Neal) and kids (Kay Lenz and Paul Clemens) across the Pyrenees and out of the clutches of the Nazis. Sounds a reasonable set-up on the surface of it, right?Throw into the mix Malcolm McDowell as Von Berkow, a Gestapo captain in hot pursuit and, yes, still sounds reasonable. I mean, bang in some tunes and the hills could be alive with the sound of them.However... At sixty-four Quinn's action man days were pretty much over. Yet out of the cast, he manages to be the most convincing character and at least seems the most physically capable. Mason looks frail and doddery at seventy. Patricia Neal looks like she's already died but someone's forgotten to tell her. There is as much chance of any of these people climbing mountains through deep snow and freezing temperatures as there is of me French-kissing Jessica Biel on top of an iceberg in the middle of the Sahara desert. Neal, especially, has difficulty managing a flight of steps (she was seriously ill in real life). It's ludicrous.Then to Malcolm McDowell. Not an actor renowned for subtlety, here he seems to have been completely let off the leash. His performance transcends all known boundaries of thespian restraint and spins off into a whole other far distant galaxy of pantomime excess. He is jaw-dropping. This is the most astonishing comedy caricature Gestapo-Nazi madman portrayal ever committed to film. By comparison, it makes his work in CALIGULA seem like John Gielgud whispering the poetry of Betjeman in Winchester Cathedral to an audience of the moral majority. If you have no other reason for watching this film, then I urge you to do so to marvel at McDowell and his interpretation of Nazi villainy. It'll mess with your head. Especially the sight of his underpants with the swastika motif. He later described it as "some of the best work I've ever done." Hopefully he was being satirical.Throw in some violent action, throat-slittings, finger amputations, burnings, explosions (anything resembling a structure that gets shot at blows up), rape, sodomy, a completely histrionic Captain Oates scene, avalanches and consistently brain-freezing dialogue and there you have it.It's not a good film, but it is a film that provides a good laugh if you're in the right frame of mind - and providing you can stand the mania and sadism.

Skip it – There's a reason you probably haven't heard of this WWII resistance movie. Starring an aging Anthony Quinn and James Mason, this movie is very "odd" in only the way a 70's movie can be. The plot would make you assume that it's a good, old-fashioned secret mission WWII movie about a shepherd who is hired to help a family escape from the Nazis across the Pyrenees. And it is, but with a twist. They are being hunted by a twisted Nazi pervert. Every scene he is in seems like its straight out of "Clockwork Orange." Gratuitous sex, creepy characters, and violent torture abound. With next to no action until the end, this is one you will want to skip. 2 action rating.

The film talks upon a Basque shepherd (Anthony Quinn) whose assignment results to be the leading a family (James Mason , Patricia Neal , Kay Lenz and Clemens) through the Pyrenees mountains (France) until Spain . But they are relentlessly pursued by an evil Nazi officer (Malcolm McDowell) .The movie is set in Second War World when Hitler invaded France and ruled the collaborating government from Vichy under command of general Petain .In the flick there are shocks , action , thriller , shootouts , drama and deal of violence and tortures in charge of Malcolm McDowell .Acceptable acting with all-star-cast . Anthony Quinn and James Mason are good and give nice performances ; also Christopher Lee acting as an agreeable gypsy , changing his usual villain role .Malcolm McDowell's interpretation is overblown , he plays as an evil , sadist , wry and murderer Gestapo officer .The final confrontation between the starring family , the Basque and the Nazis across the snowy landscapes is breathtaking .The flick was regularly directed by J. Lee Thompson .The yarn will appeal to suspense , emotions enthusiasts and WWII buffs .Rating : 5.5/10 , mediocre .

This dreadful movie is clearly a candidate for one of the 10 worst movies ever made. It's so bad that it's screamingly funny. McDowell, playing the evil Nazi chasing Mason's multi-accented family, catches up with Kay Lenz in a hotel room and, preparing to anal rape, drops his pants to reveal . . . a jock strap with a swastika on his crotch. This was not intended as a joke! The avalanche scene used offcuts from the avalanche in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Anthony Quinn as the shepherd who conducts the Mason clan over the Pyrenees is just a pathetic Zorba the Basque. The dialogue is at once stilted and ridiculous and the great cast sleepwalks through their roles. A definite must-not-see. Why did I see it? I did some of the legal work on this uber-turkey back in 1979 and went to the premiere. The impression it left was, regrettably, indelible.