The Hindenburg

PG

Released Dec 25, 1975

2h 5m

Drama

List

31%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

39%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Nazi Germany's prized airship is threatened with sabotage, so Col. Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) is charged with its safety. As the massive zeppelin lifts off for a journey to the United States, Ritter investigates the passengers, looking for a potential bomber. Could it be anti-Nazi Countess Ursula von Reugen (Anne Bancroft), suspicious gambler Emilio Pajetta (Burgess Meredith), shifty advertising man Edward Douglas (Gig Young) or even the pilot, Capt. Pruss (Charles Durning) ?

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John S

The production values in this film were incredible for the time... extremely well shot, and edited.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/31/23

Full Review

Red T

This is so flawed on multiple levels. The main issue is the horrifcally bad pacing. This is so boring, uninteresting to look at, and hard to follow for 90% of the runtime mainly because of the subpar editing and cinematography. The interior of the blimp is so boring and uninteresting besides the dining area, pilot area, and the deck. The scenes with the blimp flying are the most boring ones also as the thing moves at a snails pace and once you've seen it once there all the same and they drag terribly for like 5-6 seconds and should be 2. I thought this would be a disaster movie. It's actually a spy thriller for 90% of it and a disaster movie at the end. The actual explosion is really well done and blends stock footage really well. It's so well done I can't even tell the difference at points. The black and white really works well here and makes me think the whole thing should've been shot in that. The music is boring and generic as well. The acting is just ok also with boring characters who aren't even German. I don't understand how you don't have Germans not Patton playing Nazis. There is so much boring unneeded scenes like when they sing at the paino, the romance subplot with the countess, and all the other unneeded characters who get focus who don't add up to anything. On top of that they reveal halfway who the bomber is so there isn't even any suspense in that as you know what is going to happen to the ship. This needed German actors, shot in black and white in a surreal style, with more of a cat and mouse mystery, and with an actual blimp to get rid of those boring painting shots. Or make it about a fictional blimp based off true events so you don't disrepect the victims. I can't recommend this to anyone. It fails as a Thriller, disaster movie, and is a boring retelling of a disaster despite the really good 10 minutes of the disaster itself. Just watch the end on Youtube.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/23

Full Review

delysid d

a little dull but OK watch

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/04/18

Full Review

matthew d

The Hindenburg is the greatest disaster film ever made. Director Robert Wise painstakingly uses his massive budget to recreate The Hindenburg in all its majesty and meticulous design. It's beautifully filmed with several very memorable shots. The finale is something you will never forget as real footage is spliced into the movie and the whole screen fades into black and white. The sequencing is very clever as you get to know these patrons of the zeppelin before the incident, so that you really care what happens to these people by the end. Wise is as crafty as his name. From witty dialogue to political undertones of Germany's Reich, The Hindenburg captures your attention and takes you on a splendid ride. George C. Scott leads the fray as a Nazi Colonel that is charged with protecting The Hindenburg during its flight to America. It is an odd role as you do not want to sympathize with a horrible Nazi, but Scott plays the character so well you find yourself understanding how awful his life is as well. You never sympathize with the other Gestapo character, but you understand that Scott's character does not believe in Hitler's Reich. It's a very intriguing role that Scott plays with a subtle nuance. You understand that the movie is not exactly a political piece, but it maintains characters all over the scale of politics, class, and country. Excellent acting from the lead. David Shire's score is beautiful as you feel upper class in the ritzy zeppelin flying across the world. The lovely string arrangement soars high as the great blimp itself. It is the perfect accompaniment for the doomed air vessel. You never suspect there could be something wrong with such pretty music playing throughout the film. I recommend The Hindenburg as a thrilling mystery and a highly entertaining classic of disaster cinema. George C. Scott is captivating to his end.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

One of the weaker disaster flicks of the time period. Moves at a snails pace, where you'd think they'd be building tension, instead we just get a bunch of needless chit chat. Still, great cast, and impressive finale.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Up there with The Poseidon Adventure for the best disaster movie ever made.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

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Robert Wise

Director

George C. Scott

Ritter

Anne Bancroft

The Countess

William Atherton

Boerth

Roy Thinnes

Martin Vogel

Gig Young

Edward Douglas

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94%

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Missing

100%

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60%

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33%

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Pauline Kael

New Yorker

The crockery may be authentic alright, but the picture is a crock.

Oct 25, 2023

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The Hindenburg is a disaster picture, all right. How else can you describe a movie that cost $12 million and makes people laugh out loud at all the wrong times?

Rated: 1/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

It's too bad the whole picture couldn't have been as gooding as the ending.

May 9, 2023

Full Review

David A. Nardozzi

Philadelphia Gay News

The time leading to the final moments, however, is simply boring and unsuspenseful.

May 26, 2020

Full Review

Donald McLean

Bay Area Reporter

The Hindenburg gives us the most realistic and dramatic of any disaster film yet.

May 22, 2020

Full Review

Bernard Drew

Gannett News Service

It seems more of a disaster than the act of God or sabotage it attempts to recreate.

Oct 22, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

Nazi Germany's prized airship is threatened with sabotage, so Col. Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) is charged with its safety. As the massive zeppelin lifts off for a journey to the United States, Ritter investigates the passengers, looking for a potential bomber. Could it be anti-Nazi Countess Ursula von Reugen (Anne Bancroft), suspicious gambler Emilio Pajetta (Burgess Meredith), shifty advertising man Edward Douglas (Gig Young) or even the pilot, Capt. Pruss (Charles Durning) ?

Director: Robert Wise
Screenwriter: Richard Levinson, William Link, Nelson Gidding
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures, The Filmakers Group
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 1975, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 19, 2016
Runtime: 2h 5m

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