sobot When a movie from 1962 has less than 200 votes on IMDb, what does it mean? Directed by legendary De Sica, and starring great Sophia Loren... it must be a terrible failure? Well, it isn't.Having read Sartre's play "The Condemned of Altona", it is my impression that the movie is very faithful to its atmosphere. There are some changes, of course: instead of concentrating exclusively on torturing his characters inside the mansion (as Sartre does), De Sica takes advantage of possibilities of film, adding outdoor scenes.I don't want to reveal the plot, although it is very interesting. I recommend reading the play first, since the relations between characters will be clearer then. Anyway, see this movie if you get the chance!

mlraymond I only saw this film once, nearly forty years ago, on television. I later read the original Sartre play in a drama class, and found that the movie was reasonably faithful to the original. It is apparently unavailable on home video, unfortunately.I remember being fascinated by the compelling performance of Maximilian Schell as the former Nazi officer who is believed dead, but actually hiding out in his family's attic. His sister, for some reason ,lets him think the war is still going on, twenty years later. She reads him made-up news bulletins about the Allies' destruction of Germany, feeding his madness.The most memorable scene was when the recluse Schell left the house, and went out into the city for the first time in twenty years or more. People stare and laugh at him, as he walks around the modern city in his old Nazi uniform. He is bewildered by all the modern buildings and signs of prosperity in a Germany he had believed utterly destroyed forever.In a particularly clever touch, he somehow ends up in a theater, where a Nazi era satire is being performed. The modern German audience laughs at the caricatured Hitler and his followers. As a kid, I realized it was some kind of Hitler spoof, but the whole thing was in German, and I had to guess at its significance. I now believe that it was most likely a play within a play, namely a scene from the climax of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. It's been a long time since I saw this film, but it seems to me that Schell, in his madness and confusion, mistakenly believes it's some kind of real Nazi rally, and starts saluting "Hitler" , while the audience thinks he's part of the show. It's unfortunate that this movie isn't available for a new audience to appreciate. With any luck, it will come to home video eventually.

Samuel Cohen The Condemned of Altona.This is a film I saw a few times and would like to see again 40 years later. Based on Jean-Paul Sartre about WW2 and the NEW Germany in German eyes. The central character, Franz Gerlach, has kept himself locked in the attic of his father's house for many years because his Nazi Past. Sophia Loren as Johanna visits him in the attic. Loren and all the actors play difficult parts. Reminds me of Boll and Gunther Grass. Those Germans who can not forget what happened in World War 2. A 10 from me, a must see Drama that has been done on stage too. Is there a DVD Copy available? I saw it on TV and at the Cinema in the 1960's.

4-Eyes While this film was not entirely successful, there are scenes that will stay in your mind forever! If you liked Von Trier's "Zentropa", you will like this film on a similar theme.