The Heavy Water War
| The Heavy Water War | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Kampen om tungtvannet |
| Genre | Thriller, Action, Drama |
| Written by | Petter Rosenlund |
| Directed by | Per-Olav Sørensen |
| Starring |
Espen Klouman Høiner Christoph Bach Anna Friel Pip Torrens Dennis Storhøi David Zimmerschied Søren Pilmark |
| Composer(s) | Kristian Eidnes Andersen |
| Country of origin | Norway |
| Original language(s) | Norwegian, German, English, Danish |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | John M Jacobsen, Sveinung Golimo, Marcus Brodersen, Morten Fisker, Stewart Mackinnon, Tone Rønning |
| Location(s) | Vemork |
| Cinematography | John Christian Rosenlund |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Filmkameratene (Norway) Sebasto Film (Denmark) Headline Pictures (UK) The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Distributor | AB Svensk Filmindustri |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NRK |
| Picture format | 16:9 HD |
| Audio format | 5.1 Surround |
| Original airing | January 4, 2015 |
| External links | |
| THE HEAVY WATER WAR | |
The Heavy Water War (original title: Kampen om tungtvannet) is a six-episode TV miniseries produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.[1] It is a Norwegian-Danish-British co-production, directed by Per-Olav Sørensen that tells the story about the German nuclear weapon project and the heavy water sabotage in Norway to disturb it during The Second World War, with a particular emphasis on the role of Leif Tronstad.[2][3]
The first two episodes were initially broadcast in Norway on 4 January 2015. The opening episodes had 1.259.000 viewers, which was a record for the opening of a drama series in Norway.[4] In Denmark, the initial broadcast was on 4 May 2015 on TV 2.[5] In the UK, the miniseries is scheduled to be aired by Channel 4 in 2015.[6] Viewing rights for the US has been bought by MHz Networks and for France by Entertainment One.[7]
Production
The series was filmed in Norway and the Czech Republic. Production costs were around 75 million Norwegian kroner, or about €8.7 million euros. The dialogue is in Norwegian, German, English and Danish.
Cast
Although the series is based on real events and persons, apart from Aubert, all other Nazi collaborating Hydro-directors were purposely not mentioned by name.[8]
- Espen Klouman-Høiner as Leif Tronstad
- Christoph Bach as Werner Heisenberg
- Anna Friel as Julie Smith (fictitious)
- Pip Torrens as John Skinner Wilson
- Søren Pilmark as Niels Bohr
- Stein Winge as Axel Aubert
- Dennis Storhøi as Erik Henriksen, plant director (fictitious)
- Maibritt Saerens as Ellen Henriksen, plant director's wife (fictitious)
- Espen Reboli Bjerke as Jomar Brun
- David Zimmerschied as Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Operation "Grouse"
- Torstein Bjørklund as Arne Kjelstrup
- Benjamin Helstad as Jens-Anton Poulsson
- Rolf Kristian Larsen as Einar Skinnarland
- Christian Rubeck as Claus Helberg
- Audun Sandem as Knut Haugland
Operation "Gunnerside"
- Endre Ellefsen as Hans Storhaug
- Ole Christoffer Ertvaag as Birger Strømsheim
- Eirik Evjen as Kasper Idland
- Frank Kjosås as Knut Haukelid
- Mads Sjøgård Pettersen as Fredrik Kayser
- Tobias Santelmann as Joachim Rønneberg
Release
The premiere was aired on NRK1 Sunday the 4th of January 2015 and was viewed by over 1.2 million people in Norway.[4]
Reception
The series currently has an IMDB-rating of 8.7 out of 10.[9] The first episode was well received and garnered praise. Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang gave the series a 5 out of 6, citing "It will enrage some historians, and some concerned will complain, but most television viewers will be engulfed".[10]
Viewer numbers
The two first episodes was seen by 1.259 million in Norway, the third episode was seen by 1.239 million and the fourth by 1.288 million.[11] The fifth episode was seen by 1.319 million while the last was seen 1.322 million. The last episode was watched by 64% of TV viewers that hour.[12]
Historicity
From the premiere there have been debate over its historicity. Among concerns have been Heisenbergs involvement in the development in nuclear weapons, and allusions to his homosexuality.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ "NRK ready to declare €8.7 million Heavy Water War".
- ↑ "Anna Friel, Frank Kjosås Board Norwegian Sabotage TV Series".
- ↑ "Trailer: The Heavy Water War".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "1,2 millioner så «Kampen om tungtvannet»" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "Norges største tv-serie kommer nu på TV 2" (in Danish).
- ↑ "The Heavy Water War: Norwegian WWII Drama Will Screen in US and UK". The Euro TV Place.
- ↑ "More4 declares Heavy Water War". C21Media.
- ↑ "Fjernet Hydros nazi-vennlige direktører fra «Kampen om tungtvannet»" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "The Heavy Water War: Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb". IMDb.
- ↑ "TV-anmeldelse «Kampen om tungtvannet»: Besettende krigshistorie" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "«Kampen om tungtvannet» slo egen rekord" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "Siste episode ga seerrekord for «Kampen om tungtvannet»" (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "Var Werner Heisenberg homofil?" (in Norwegian).