The Heroes of Telemark

1965

2h 11m

War

Drama

List

67%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

57%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this fact-based film, as Axis and Allied scientists race to create the first atomic bomb, British Intelligence receives shocking news of significant breakthroughs at a Nazi facility in occupied Norway. The British work with Norwegian Resistance head Knut Straud (Richard Harris) and distinguished physicist Dr. Rolf Pederson (Kirk Douglas) to plan an urgent response. As a Norwegian team headed by Straud struggles to stop Nazi science in its tracks, a civilian hostage situation erupts.

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deke p

1966! Classic spy and sabatage in beautiful NORWEGIAN scenery & fjords. True story. KIRK DOUBLAS & RICHARD HARRIS young and healthy. Can't believe i never saw it until now MEMORIAL DAY 2022 Giving it 4 RT stars

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Jordi

This is a fantastic movie! Great plot, great locations, and superb acting! These 60s and 70s movies were the best. Another excellent movie is "The Guns of Navarone", and "Where Eagles Dare".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/12/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The locations look amazing and its a solid story - but the action scenes are a bit dated and Kirk Douglas being the all action hero (who plays a university professor in the film) seems unlikely. How close this was to the true story I don't know though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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delysid d

im a fan of the great kirk but i found this one a little tough to watch - like a lot of 60s war movies they just put me to sleep for some reason

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/17/20

Full Review

Audience Member

I watched this movie various times as kid and to this day. Having seen every classic war movie around, this one is very authentic. Based around a true story and filmed in the exact locations... there's really no reason to not appreciate both the plot, but also where it was filmed. The story is generally pretty accurate, but being 24 years old... this film interested me enough to make me further understand the events of this story and really have an awesome appreciation for history and what these resistance fighters did and how daring their acts of sabotage were. I have presented this topic multiple times throughout the years of my school as it's definitely one of the most incredible stories of sabotage in the Second World War.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I liked seeing a different setting and a different nationality of heroes (Norway in both cases) in WW2 films. But aside from some wonderful winter photography the film never really does anything interesting. It's the same flat cliches just in a different setting. Only the difficult question of whether its okay to murder civilians to stop the Nazis getting the bomb actually does something different, but we're given little discussion of the ethical dilemma and in the end it's a bit of a cop out.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Anthony Mann

Director

Kirk Douglas

Rolf

Richard Harris

Knut

Ulla Jacobsson

Anna

Michael Redgrave

Uncle

Mervyn Johns

Col. Wilkinson

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Diego Galán

El Pais (Spain)

The Heroes of Telemark gets lost in the labyrinth of opposing temptations without a single element managing to guide the project. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Spy film with spectacular landscapes.

Aug 9, 2007

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The snowcovered Norwegian fjords and mountains overwhelm the characters and the flat story.

Rated: C+

Nov 28, 2006

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

Fantastica Daily

A solid, but unremarkable World War II actioner.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 6, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 3, 2005

Full Review

Tony Mastroianni

Cleveland Press

The acting is strong. Douglas and Harris are particularly good.

Nov 20, 2003

Full Review

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Synopsis

In this fact-based film, as Axis and Allied scientists race to create the first atomic bomb, British Intelligence receives shocking news of significant breakthroughs at a Nazi facility in occupied Norway. The British work with Norwegian Resistance head Knut Straud (Richard Harris) and distinguished physicist Dr. Rolf Pederson (Kirk Douglas) to plan an urgent response. As a Norwegian team headed by Straud struggles to stop Nazi science in its tracks, a civilian hostage situation erupts.

Director: Anthony Mann
Screenwriter: Ivan Moffat, Ben Barzman, Knut Haukelid, John Drummond
Production Co: Benton Film Productions
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2021
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Stereo

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