The Blockhouse

source: The Blockhouse

Moviecut—The Blockhouse

This extraordinary curiosity unearthed by Talking Pictures is a definite exception to the detritus of Peter Sellars' output of the early seventies, free from his usual sin of caring only about his own role at the expense of the overall production. The passage of time charted by the growth of his beard, Sellars' performance is easily the equal of his Chauncey Gardener in 'Being There' (although his French accent remains rather goonish). Jeremy Kemp as usual is excellent. Reminiscent of a play by Sartre, the cast have plenty to eat and drink - as one of them observes "All I need is a woman!" - but sorely short of fresh air and decent lighting, the confinement eventually driving them off their rockers as they succumb to cabin fever).

This is truly one of the most overlooked great films. Peter Sellers gives an outstanding performance of a person dealing with isolation, desperation, death, and lost loved ones. It moved me more than I have ever been moved by a single movie. The trapped men try to make the best of their enforced prison, but they also have to deal with the fact they may never get out. I loved the way Seller's character towards the end of the film made the best use of the precious remaining lighting. Because they were in a underground bunker, there was no light except what they could burn, and they were eventually running out of things that would burn. I saw this originally on local cable years ago, and have searched and searched to find a copy to buy or rent to no avail. If you ever have the chance to see this, do not pass it by.

THE BLOCKHOUSE should, by all rights, be a very effective bit of cinema. It tells the true story is seven men trapped in a cellar at the tail-end of WW2 and who end up surviving below ground for the next six years. The story has something of the drama and urgency of the recent Chilean miner saga but this '70s film is anything but interesting. Instead it's overlong and poorly filmed, and suffers from really bad sound quality which sees people either whispering or shouting with nothing in between. Various notable actors are present but there's little characterisation, just people getting drunk and going crazy repetitively. I found it all rather nauseating before long.

I suckered myself into watching this funeral procession because Peter Sellers was in it. Anyone could have played his character, there was nothing in the character that allowed Sellers' acting to shine whatsoever. The premise was interesting but then, unavoidably, it became dark, repressive and unendingly boring because what else could it possibly be? It was based on a true story and the only 2 survivors were found in 1951 by a crew clearing German fortifications and they had survived 4 years in total darkness. Sellers' character killed himself near the movie's end so he didn't make it. If you are having problems sleeping just fast forward to about the 30 minute mark and you'll soon be in sweet dreamland.

A true story about a group of allied P.O.W.s who become accidentally entombed deep underground in an inescapable concrete bunker. The place is stocked with enough food and candles to last the men for years, if necessary. Charles Aznavour is unforgettable as an Italian chess master slowly driven to quiet desperation. A terrifying psychological drama.

This movie is well made, but who would want to watch films this dreadfully depressing and dull?! Well, I decided to see it even though I had no idea what the film was about--if I had, I might have skipped it. So why did I choose this film? Well, I really enjoy seeing Peter Sellers' films, though I will admit that his output varied tremendously--with quite a few inexplicable duds buried within some brilliant films. So, the idea that he would choose to be in a film like this didn't surprise me at all--I know that categorizing the projects he chose defies common-sense. He simply did what he wanted to do or what made him money when his cash flow was low. The film starts off during D-Day. A group of laborers conscripted by the Nazis have taken shelter from the bombings in what turns out to be a German supply depot. Soon after, one of the bombs hits--sealing them in at about 100 feet below ground. To make things worse, the walls are seemingly impregnable. But, on the positive side, there are tons and tons of supplies--candles, foods and wine. And, because air inexplicably makes it inside the shelter (which, oddly, the men really did not investigate further for a very long time), they survive there for years AFTER the war has ended. In fact, almost the entirety of the film consists of watching the men coping with these claustrophobic subterranean conditions...and then, slowly dying off one after another!! Then, they continue in darkness for four more dreadful years--thankfully, though, this part is skipped in the film but explained in a super-depressing epilogue. It's supposed to be a true story about perseverance but the story seems completely made up--and I could find nothing on the internet to verify that this story ever actually occurred. Plus, I don't want to see such a story, thank you very much. It was just dreadful, depressing and awful. Sure, the acting was generally pretty good, but that alone is NOT enough reason to watch this film. Life is too short to watch films like this. By the way, although I said I saw it because of Sellers, he was NOT the entire film--just one of several characters. Those who praise only his performance seem to be forgetting the work of the rest of these very capable actors.

Contains spoilers. Fantastic performances all round, but god, what a depressing movie. For those who get to the end of this film heartened by the strength of human endeavour as two men survive seven years of total isolation including three years of total darkness, please note that on discovery - the shock of the light killed one instantly, and the lone survivor died three days later. Depressing indeed. For a really interesting perspective on Seller's appearance and performance in such a bleak movie, I'd like to recommend Roger Lewis' verbose yet illuminating biography "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers". By the time you have finished it you're easily persuaded that seven years solitary is far less than Sellers deserved!

Last September I had the chance in co-organising a retrospective for Peter Sellers for Athens' international film Festival("Sinema" magazine)and amongst the material selected, top of the list to be exact, was "The Blockhouse". Clive Rees, the film's director, flew to Greece to attend the screening and brought with him his own version of the film. Well, anyone who has seen the VHS version that was distributed in the early 80s in the US, should better forget it! The director's cut was fantastic and what seemed "strange" in the other version(where, even a death was missing, along with some of the film's most beautiful scenes), now was complete and absolutely wonderful. The film is a drama, based on a true story of seven men captured in a German blockhouse, where all the exits are destroyed. They find there food, candles and wine and two of them survive until their (accidental)rescue, six years later. All performances are great(Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Nicholas Jones, Per Oscarrson, Leon Lissek, Peter Vaughan)and Clive Rees has given us a film of strong emotions and unforgettable atmosphere. I strongly hope the film will find its way on DVD (and I hope it is the director's cut that would be chosen)! A great movie! But beware, despite Sellers' involvement in it, the film is not a comedy! It's is a drama... A great one!