THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS [1967 / 2019] [EUREKA! Entertainment] [Blu-ray] [UK Release] A Hero in uniform whose private life masks a shocking secret . . . A motion picture of unique suspense and uncommon excitement!
Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif star in this powerful World War II thriller from director Anatole Litvak (‘The Snake Pit’ and ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’) about a Nazi general who becomes a serial killer.
When a Polish prostitute is brutally murdered in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, her killer is identified only as a German General. For years the crime remains unsolved, until the killer strikes again, bringing this mesmerising mystery to an unforgettable finish.
Also starring Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence and Christopher Plummer, and with a score by Maurice Jarre. ‘NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ is an all-star thriller from a master of the form, and EUREKA! Entertainment Classics is proud to present the film in its UK debut on Blu-ray.
PRESS "A thoroughly intriguing experience and affords us the joy of watching some of the best actors of the period sharing the screen" Cinemaretro "a top-notch cast that is always eminently watchable" Radio Times.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1967 David di Donatello Awards: Win: Best Foreign Actor (Migliore Attore Straniero) for Peter O'Toole.
FILM FACT No.2: The film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ was a French-British-American international co-production. Parts of this Western-made film were shot on location in Warsaw, which at the time was behind the Iron Curtain. The last scenes of the film were shot in Munich. Both O'Toole and Sharif were hesitant to take on their roles for this film. Feeling they owed it to producer Sam Spiegel for making them international stars in ‘Lawrence of Arabia,’ they did so anyway. Due to their previous contracts, Peter O'Toole's and Omar Sharif's combined salaries were less than Donald Pleasence's. Gore Vidal, one of the many writers of the script claimed he urged Sam Spiegel to use a "new, hot director", but Spiegel chose the experienced Anatole Litvak who owned the rights to the novel. Maurice Jarre Conducted The New Philharmonic Orchestra
Cast: Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet, Philippe Noiret, Charles Gray, Coral Browne, John Gregson, Nigel Stock, Christopher Plummer, Juliette Gréco, Yves Brainville, Sacha Pitoëff, Charles Millot, Raymond Gérôme, Véronique Vendell, Pierre Mondy, Eléonore Hirt, Nicole Courcel, Jenny Orléans, Gérard Buhr, Michael Goodliffe, Gordon Jackson, Patrick Allen, Stanislaw Niwinski, Harry Andrews (uncredited), Victor Beaumont (uncredited), Bogusz Bilewski (uncredited), Jackie Blanchot (uncredited), Guy Bonnafoux (uncredited), Janusz Bukowski (uncredited), Philippe Castelli (uncredited), Adrien Cayla-Legrand (uncredited), Jacques Chevalier (uncredited), Georges Claisse (uncredited), Henri Coutet (uncredited), Damian Damiecki (uncredited), Maciej Damiecki (uncredited), Valentine Dyall (uncredited), Robert Favart (uncredited), Martine Ferrière (uncredited), Wolf Frees (uncredited), Stefan Friedmann (uncredited), Jean Gold (uncredited), Alan Harris (uncredited), Jan Kociniak (uncredited), René Lefevre-Bel (uncredited), Roger Lumont (uncredited), Jacques Marbeuf (uncredited), Olivier Mathot (uncredited), Gaston Meunier (uncredited), Hans Meyer (uncredited), Józef Nalberczak (uncredited), Donald O'Brien (uncredited), Jean Ozenne (uncredited), Paul Pavel (uncredited), Raymond Pierson (uncredited), Olaf Pooley (uncredited), Maciej Rayzacher (uncredited), Robert Rietty [Driver voice] (uncredited), Alain Roche (uncredited), Mac Ronay (uncredited), Claude Salez (uncredited), Jacques Seiler (uncredited), Mieczyslaw Stoor (uncredited), Sabine Sun (uncredited), Maurice Teynac (uncredited), Pierre Tornade (uncredited), César Torres (uncredited), François Valorbe (uncredited), Hans Verner (uncredited), Howard Vernon (uncredited), Nicolas Vogel (uncredited) and Andrzej Zaorski (uncredited)
Director: Anatole Litvak
Producers: Anatole Litvak and Sam Spiegel
Screenplay: Hans Hellmut Kirst (novel), Joseph Kessel (adapted for the screen), Paul Dehn (adapted for the screen), Paul Dehn (additional dialogue)
Composer: Maurice Jarre
Cinematography: Henri Decaë (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 145 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Columbia Pictures / EUREKA! Entertainment
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ [1997] begins one late night in German-occupied Warsaw in 1942, a man is walking up the staircase of a run-down apartment building when he hears a woman's screams. The man then hears footsteps and he ducks into a hallway lavatory to hide. Peering through a hole in the door, he observes the legs (but not the face) of a German officer who walks by. But this is not just any officer – the red stripe running down his trousers identifies him as a general. And the victim is not just any prostitute – she was an agent for the Germans. Consequently a military investigator, Major Grau [Omar Sharif], is assigned to the case. After being convinced that the witness is telling the truth, he discovers that all of the German generals in Warsaw have alibis except for three. They are General Kahlenberge [Donald Pleasance], a shrewd but fretful man who has some personal secrets to hide; General von Seidlitz-Gabler [Charles Gray], an ineffectual bureaucrat who carefully avoids taking a position on any controversial issue; and General Tanz [Peter O'Toole], recently transferred from the Eastern Front, who has earned the nickname "The Butcher."
General Tanz has been sent to Warsaw to stamp out the Polish resistance movement, which has forced the Germans to keep in Poland soldiers who are badly needed to fight the Russians. General Tanz forces Poles out of their homes and levels buildings when his soldiers are fired upon by resistance snipers. General Kahlenberge opposes the wanton destruction of Warsaw, but General von Seidlitz-Gabler stays true to form and refuses to express an opinion.
Corporal Hartmann [Tom Courtenay] is a young German soldier who has been recovering from wounds received on the Russian Front. He has been hailed as a hero after being credited with single-handedly killing 40 Russian soldiers, but he desperately wants to avoid being sent back into combat. His cousin is a sergeant on General Kahlenberge's staff, and Corporal Hartmann gets an interview with the general. Hartmann confesses that he is terrified at the thought of more fighting, but when he mentions that he has studied piano the general remembers that someone is needed to play at a dinner party being given by Mrs. von Seidlitz-Gabler [Coral Browne]. At the party Corporal Hartmann meets General von Seidlitz-Gabler's daughter, Ulrike [Joanna Pettet]. Ulrike has an often contentious relationship with her mother, but she enters into an intimate relationship with Corporal Hartmann.
In the meantime, Major Grau tries to question the three generals about their whereabouts on the night of the murder, but they do their best to avoid him. He finally corners them at the lavish dinner party, where he lets them know that they are suspects. However, before he is able to continue his investigation he is informed that he has been promoted and is being transferred to Paris. Major Grau suspects that one the generals has engineered the transfer, but he is helpless to do anything about it.
There is a rather jarring transition 33 minutes into the film, when suddenly we are 22 years into the future, at a bar in Berlin during the sixties, where Interpol Inspector Morand [Philippe Noiret] is preparing to interview the owner, who was General Kahlenberge's sergeant during the war. Inspector Morand is looking for Corporal Hartmann, for reasons which we will become clear later. Inspector Morand is involved because by the summer of 1944 all of the principal characters, including the three generals, Major Grau (he was promoted, remember), and Corporal Hartmann are either in Paris or about to be there. The Allies have landed in Normandy and the tide of the war has inexorably turned against Germany. Kahlenberge and von Seidlitz-Gabler are upset when they learn that General Tanz is arriving in Paris earlier than expected. However, having all three generals in Paris at the same time gives Major Grau the opportunity to reopen his investigation. It also leads to another murder which is very similar to one which occurred in Warsaw, and Grau asks Morand for assistance.
Peter O'Toole is a commanding presence as General Tanz, a ruthless soldier who may or may not be mad. A scene of him being shown "decadent art" confiscated by the Germans and destined for Berlin is absolutely chilling. Donald Pleasance is excellent as General Kahlenberge and Charles Gray is equally good as General von Seidlitz-Gabler. Joanna Pettet is very appealing as Ulrike, and her performance will leave viewers wondering why she did not have a more productive career. Coral Browne is outstanding as Ulrike's domineering mother. Philippe Noiret is urbane and delightful as the persistent Inspector Morand. And let us not forget Omar Sharif, whose Major Grau slyly enjoys his work and seems to be highly motivated by the prospect of bringing down a general. Christopher Plummer makes a brief and totally unnecessary appearance as Field Marshal Rommel.
‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ is an overlooked little gem that gets better with each viewing. Murder mystery set in the German Army during World War II, involving 3 generals who are suspects. Entire cast in good form; fine ensemble acting. Peter O'Toole in top form as a fanatical SS general suspected in the murders. Donald Pleasence and Charles Gray portray the other 2 generals with secrets to hide. Omar Sharif does an excellent job as the Army colonel investigating. Film set in both 1942 occupied Poland, and 1944 occupied Paris. Also neatly ties in the July, 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, with a cameo appearance by Christopher Plummer as Field Marshal Rommel. Recreates the actual bombing of Hitler's headquarters, and the efforts by the Paris generals to unseat the SS and Gestapo.
The film is brimming with exceptional acting – Peter O'Toole turns in a particularly vicious and strong performance as General Tanz, but But one of the great joys of this is seeing O’Toole in particularly understated mode as the PTSD riddled Tanz, alternating between genially offering food to starving children, and coolly ordering the obliteration of large portions of Warsaw. If anything sticks with you from the film, it’ll be his eyes as he stands shivering and sweating, staring in horror at Van Gogh’s “Vincent in Flames.” It's rare to find a villain so distasteful and yet so intriguing – most filmmakers just content themselves with giving the villain an evil shtick without much character development and again viewing this scene really shows up the evil character of General Tanz and you start to suspect that this character might be the one who has carried out these brutal evil murders.
THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS MUSIC TRACK LIST
Entrance March from Tannhaeuser (uncredited) (Music by Richard Wagner)
SOBRE LAS OLAS (uncredited) (Music by Juventino Rosas)
ALTE KAMERADEN (Old Comrades) (uncredited) (Music by Carl Teike)
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Blu-ray Image Quality – EUREKA! Entertainment presents us the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ delivers a superb 1080p image that has been sourced from a 4K restoration and really enhanced with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The whole film looks really superb. Exteriors were filmed on location in Poland by French cinematographer Henri Decaë. Apart from a few brief instances of softness the picture is highly detailed, with excellent grain structure, solid and accurate colours, fine shadow detail and inky black levels. So all in all this is a superb presentation of a very classic Second World War II film. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – EUREKA! Entertainment brings us the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ with one standard 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio experience that is surprisingly a very good soundtrack. Every word of the dialogue is very clear and understandable, and the Maurice Jarre's composed film score sounds absolutely terrific, which is always the way with the brilliant composer Maurice Jarre is a top notch professional of composed film scores. The audio is free of distortion and other age-related anomalies. WARNING: On the back cover it states that the audio is 1.0 Uncompressed LPCM audio (original mono presentation), well that is wrong and I am very angry that EUREKA! Entertainment cannot put the right information.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary by Author Scott Harrison: Here Scott Harrison welcomes us to the audio commentary for the 1967 film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS,’ who informs us that he is a novelist and scriptwriter and that the film was a joint venture with the UK, France and the United States, and was released in the UK on the 29th January, 1967. Scott Harrison informs us that when he first viewed the film it was via black-and-white television and he thought the film was filmed in that way, and feels even though it was filmed in Technicolor, he feels it would look just as good filmed in black-and-white. Also the novel written by Hans Hellmut Kirst was also entitled “The Night Of The Generals” and of course the outline is about the brutal murder of a Polish prostitute in Warsaw by a nasty evil German General and there a three main actors in the film that are under suspicion for the brutal murder and they are Peter O'Toole, Donald Pleasence and Charles Gray. Scott Harrison talks about the striking opening of the film, and feels it gives the atmosphere of something very threatening and menacing, especially with the gruesome brutal murder that we soon find out, and it is helped with the dramatic composed film score by Maurice Jarre and Scott Harrison mentions the other amazing film scores by Maurice Jarre which were ‘Ryan’s Daughter,’ ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and ‘A Passage To India.’ With the times period the film is set in, the war Hitler started was not going his way because Russia had teamed up with the Allies when Hitler demanded his German troops invade Russia, they were beaten back by a really vicious winter and the Russian army then had the upper hand and forced the German troops to retreat and also made great loses, and soon it was looking very bleak for Hitler and the tide turned against Hitler and his German troops was beginning to lose the war. Scott Harrison now talks about the director Anatole Litvak who was born in Kiev that is now the most populous city of Ukraine and at the time of the Second World War was part of Russia. Anatole Litvak feared for his life and eventually had to flee for his life with a threat of oppressive regimes twice, first from his native Russia, and ended up in Berlin, then once again had to flee for his life when the Nazi Party came to power, then once again fled Berlin for France and then eventually settled in England. When critics saw the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS,’ they were very critical of a very jarring jump cut from the Second World Ware in 1942 to modern day in 1965, and then back to 1942 that occurs around 12 minutes into the film, but to me personally I did not find the jump cut that annoying. One thing that really annoyed me with Scott Harrison’s audio commentary, is that there are a lot of silent gaps and another annoying thing Scott Harrison does, is that he reveals who the brutal murder of the first victim of the Polish prostitute when we get to chapter 16 at around 1:34:00, then Scott Harrison goes off in a tangent and talks about why he loves this film, especially as he informs us he has watched it about four or five times, and it is at the point in the film where Omar Sharif is having a meal with the French Inspector discussing the murder of the Polish prostitute and suspecting who was the real General who committed this terrible crime and feels this is what the film is all about, and it is about death, it is about killing, whether it is legal or an illegal killing it you want to put it that way, especially with a war ongoing, but it is also about people, and also about human beings trying to hold on to the morals, their dignity and very importantly, their humanity, when all around them, with their morals of right and wrong, are being torn down by the greed and brutality of the Nazi’s and the SS, who are raping the land, who are taking over other countries, ripping things apart, with destroying buildings of communities that were once living in those buildings and just plundering anything that is sacred to their people, especially the hundreds of priceless art, and of course their culture of their coutry. Again after fleeing his native country, director Anatole Litvak in fear for his life and eventually ending up in England, but eventually his career took him to Hollywood in the late 1930’s, where he began with a four year contract with Warner Bros., where a he directed several films, that included ‘Flight Into Darkness’ [1935], ‘Mayerling’ [1936], ‘The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse’ [1938], ‘The Sisters’ [1938], and also directed the anti-Nazi film ‘Confessions of a Nazi Spy’ [1939] and actually used real Pathé newsreel footage of refugees escaping the German army, and starred Edward G. Robinson and also many German actors who was in at the time in the Nazi Party, but they changed their names specifically for the film, to hide their identity and in fear that there would be reprisals against their relatives still living in Germany and of course eventually the Nazi Party saw the film and they were so enraged, that they had the film banned in Germany and Fascist Italy. Director Anatole Litvak ten went onto direct the film ‘Sorry, Wrong Number’ [1948], ‘The Snake Pit’ [1948], ‘The Deep Blue Sea’ [1955] and ‘Anastasia’ [1956]. But after directing ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS,’ his last film was ‘The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun’ [1970] and starred Oliver Reed and Samantha Eggar. Scott Harrison says that the one truly shocking moment in the film can be viewed at chapter 9 at around 2:04:17 that took him by a big surprise when he first viewed the film, when Peter O’Toole shoots point blank at Omar Sharif and kills him brutally and in a cold blooded way with no feeling, and of course Peter O’Toole knows in his character that eventually he will be found out, which happens exactly 22 years later where there suspicions were correct all along that he was the one that carried out the true brutal murder of the first victim of the Polish prostitute. Scott Harrison feels the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ has aged very well and also feels it has not dated, whereas some Second World War films that came out in the 1960’s period have not aged very well, and of course when we finally get to the end of the film, where the nasty brutal General Tanz [Peter O'Toole], is confronted with his past that has eventually caught up with him in the form of a witness to the brutal crime that General Tanz carried out towards the nightclub hostess, and realise the game is up and has finally be caught, and deservedly gets his comeuppance for a crime he thought he could get away with, and to find out what the dramatic end to the film is, you will of course have to view this film, and to see justice carried out for all the brutally murdered innocent women. As the end credits appear, Scott Harrison thanks us all for viewing the film with his audio commentary, which he also enjoyed doing, and again informs us that he loves this film and hopes you also enjoyed viewing the film, especially with this Blu-ray in your collection. Again, Scott Harrison was sort of okay, but a lot of the time he would go off in a tangent and waffle about other stuff not related to the actual film and so this audio commentary is very hit and miss in my opinion, and of course it is entirely up to you whether you want to endure this audio commentary, so goo luck.
Teaser Trailer [1967] [1080p] [2.35:1] [1:26] Here we get to view the Original Teaser Trailer for the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ and really gives you a very well-constructed trailer that gives you a flavour of the film.
Theatrical Trailer [1967] [1080p] [2.35:1] [4:03] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer of the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ and because it is much longer, really gives you a good sample of a very dramatic film that you will want to view.
PLUS: FIRST PRESSING ONLY: A beautiful collectors 20 page booklet featuring new writing on the film ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ entitled KILLER INSTINCT – Sam Spiegel and ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ by Scott Harrison. FOOTNOTES. VIEWING NOTES. EUREKA! CREDITS. Plus a selection of some rare film posters from around the world.
BONUS: Reversible printed Blu-ray sleeve featuring an International Colour poster from the film.
Finally, ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ is an intriguing hybrid which combines a war film with a mystery about a sadistic killer. Some viewers may find it to be overly meandering, while others are understandably put off by German soldiers speaking with English accents. Regardless, there is much to like about this film, including superb performances by an outstanding cast. Producer Sam Siegel, who was responsible for blockbusters such as ‘The Bridge Over the River Kwai’ and Lawrence of Arabia, convinced Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif to join the cast in an apparent effort to recreate the magic of the latter film. Producer Sam Siegel also hired Maurice Jarre to compose the film's score. The direction is by Anatole Litvak, who was in Germany when the Nazis came to power and clearly knew the subject matter well. ‘THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS’ is not entirely successful in resolving the question about why we are sometimes tolerant of loss of life in war but are horrified by it when it occurs in other circumstances, but it is a fascinating film. It's Agatha Christie meets ‘The Battle of the Bulge’ meets... oh you get the picture. Great cast lead by the always fabulous Peter O'Toole who delivers a memorable performance as General Tanz. Also nice to see French veteran actor Philippe Noiret in an ensemble that includes Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence and Christopher Plummer. This is overlooked little gem that gets better with each viewing and is brimming with exceptional acting, especially from Peter O'Toole and turns in a particularly vicious and strong performance as General Tanz, but also everyone holds their own. It's rare to find a villain so distasteful and yet so intriguing – most filmmakers just content themselves with giving the villain an evil shtick without much character development – not so here. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
