Looks fantastic - shot in Venezuela (a nightmare location apparently, out in the jungle, living on a ferry that got stuck in mud), beautiful cinematography, splendid scenes involving planes, submarines and jungle, and quality acting.
It's sluggishly paced - or maybe that's also the lack of stakes: Peter O'Toole survives his ship being sunk by a U boat crew, who then machine gun other survivors, so he decides to get payback... even after the war is over... he succeeds but then he dies too.
In other words Peter Yates wanted to make something about the Futility of War... only World War Two wasn't futile, it was important. Okay yes this bit is futile but then what's the point of watching people doing futile things? Michael Deeley the producer wanted O'Toole to live at the end and that would've helped a little but the war was still over. We really had to hate those Germans. It's good the scene where the Germans kill the U boat survivor... but that survivor doesn't mean much or do the other random villagers. I think they needed to kill Sian Phillips (Quaker doctor) or Philippe Noiret (friendly local Frenchman, excellent) to give it real stakes.
Maybe that wouldn't have worked. Still, the public didn't go for it. A movie from Paramount under Bob Evans.
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