The Blockhouse
- Director Clive Rees
- Product Code: NA-P90-8056-GUE-LT
- Reward Points: 1
- Availability: In Stock
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Tags: The Blockhouse, 1973, Clive Rees, Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Per Oscarsson, Peter Vaughan, Nicholas Jones, Leon Lissek, Jean-Paul Clébert, Stanley Myers, United Kingdom, British cinema, European cinema, 1970s cinema, drama, war, war drama, World War II, D-Day, Normandy, Nazi occupation, occupied France, bunker, German bunker, underground confinement, isolation, survival, forced labourers, prisoners, claustrophobia, fear, loneliness, illness, jealousy, psychological tension, human relationships, literary adaptation, Le Blockhaus, based on a novel, based on a true story, independent cinema, psychological war film, rare film, forgotten classic, Peter Sellers serious role, extreme survival, human condition
On D-Day, as Allied forces land in Normandy, a disparate group of forced labourers and prisoners seek protection from the bombardment inside a German underground bunker. The shelling seals the exits, converting what was meant to be a temporary shelter into a buried prison. Vast stores of food and drink remove the immediate danger of starvation, yet the men have no means of knowing whether anyone outside is aware that they are alive. What begins as an anxious wait for rescue slowly becomes something far more unsettling: an existence defined by confinement, uncertainty and the prospect that time itself may become their principal adversary.
Directed by Clive Rees and adapted from Jean-Paul Clébert's novel Le Blockhaus, The Blockhouse approaches war through psychological attrition rather than battlefield spectacle. As candles and available light gradually diminish, boredom, illness, jealousy, fear and loneliness place increasing pressure on the trapped men and their fragile social order. Peter Sellers gives one of his notably serious performances alongside Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Per Oscarsson, Peter Vaughan, Nicholas Jones and Leon Lissek. The result is a severe chamber drama in which the Second World War provides the historical enclosure, while survival, isolation and human behaviour under prolonged confinement form the film's dramatic centre.
| Work Record | |
| Original Title | The Blockhouse |
| Title | The Blockhouse |
| Year | 1973 |
| Direction | Clive Rees |
| Countries of origin | United Kingdom |
| Gender | Drama, War |
| Colors | Color |
| Cast | Peter Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Per Oscarsson, Peter Vaughan, Nicholas Jones, Leon Lissek, John Levene, Alfred Lynch |
| Producer | Edgar Bronfman Jr., Antony Rufus-Isaacs |
| Duration | 92 Min. |
| Original Language | English |
| Color Format | Eastmancolor |
| Composer | Stanley Myers |
| Cinematography | Keith Goddard |
| Editing | Peter Gold |
| Based on | The novel Le Blockhaus by Jean-Paul Clébert |
| Tagline | A true story of perseverance and survival. |
| Screenplay | John Gould, Clive Rees |
| Edition Record | |
| Subtitle | English, Portuguese |
| Editing Note | This film has subtitles for hearing impairment in SDH. |
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