The Blockhouse

For similar uses, see Blockhouse (disambiguation).
The Blockhouse
Directed by Clive Rees
Produced by Edgar Bronfman
Antony Rufus Isaacs
Written by Jean-Paul Clébert (book)
John Gould
Clive Rees
Starring Peter Sellers
Charles Aznavour
Music by Stanley Myers
Cinematography Keith Goddard
Edited by Peter Gold
Release dates
1973
Running time
93 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Blockhouse is a 1973 film, based on a novel by Jean-Paul Clébert. It was directed by Clive Rees and starred Peter Sellers and Charles Aznavour. It was filmed entirely in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and was entered into the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.[1]

Plot

On D-Day, a mixed group of forced labourers held by German forces take shelter from the bombardment inside a German bunker, but are then entombed when the entrances are blocked by shelling damage. By coincidence, the bunker is a store house and they have enough food and wine to last them for years. And they are trapped for years. The film analyzes how they deal with their underground prison, with their relationships, and with death.

Cast

Influences

The book and film appear to have been inspired by a possibly true story: on June 25, 1951, Time magazine reported that two German soldiers claimed to have been trapped for six years in an underground storehouse in Babie Doły, Poland.[2][3]

References

  1. "IMDB.com: Awards for The Blockhouse". imdb.com. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  2. "Buried Alive For Six Years". Eugene Register-Guard. June 18, 1951. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  3. "In Babie Doly". Time magazine. June 25, 1951.

External links