neocanuckbd It was obvious that some decent money was spent to get various scenes of a Zeppelin in action. I can't understand why they settled for such a poor and muddled plot. The whole premise of the raid didn't really make much sense to begin with, and coupled with mediocre script writing and direction, the movie really failed to capture it's potential.

merklekranz Picture seeing a colossal silver fish resting on the surface of a Norwegian fjord. That image from "Zeppelin" is unforgettable. The story of a secret German airship raid on a Scotish Castle to destroy British historical documents hidden there, is fast moving with little time for character development. There is also a tremendous stretch of believability. Nevertheless the special effects are so superior, that the script deficiencies are easily forgiven. Michael York is adequate as the British spy, and Elke Sommer plays the wife of the zeppelin's designer. Though not always logical, the film is imaginative and surprisingly entertaining, with images that will not soon be forgotten. Recommended. - MERK

zooeyhall First---I want to say I have always enjoyed this movie since first seeing it some years ago. It explores some aspects of of a (relatively) little-know war i.e. World War I, and especially the use and technology of Zeppelins--which has been rare to non-existent in cinema.Recently having purchased a video tape of the movie, I noticed something that has raised questions in my mind. In the movie, it is stated more times how critical weight is on a Zeppelin. For instance, when Richter-Douglas is first brought on board, Frau Altschul says "weight is critical on an airship--we haven't allowed for this man!" However, later when the Zeppelin has docked on the ship in the North Sea, a score or more of the men who are the "commandos" board the ship, and nothing is said about extra weight.The only thing I can surmise is that the men who were to actually perform the commando raid in Scotland replaced the regular Zeppelin crew; who consequently disembarked and were left on the naval ship. If this happened in the movie or was mentioned, did I miss it?

de_niro_2001 Although this was made for the cinema it is like a cheap early 1970s made-for-tv film. I am a great aviation enthusiast and have learned a lot about all aspects of aviation and the film is full of inaccuracies. The technique of mooring an airship to a tower wasn't developed until the 1920s. The film is set in 1915 but the SE5a fighter plane didn't enter service until 1917. The British didn't also have the machinery for firing a machine gun through a spinning propellor until 1916. Yes, there may be similar inaccuracies in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles but they are entertaining and they have a sense of humour. This film has about as much sense of humour as the German officers who appear in it. It's laughable though how svelte and beautiful Elke Sommer could be even remotely interested in sickly middle-aged Marius Goring let alone married to him. If you watch this film, just imagine it's Basil Exposition's grandfather on his first espionage mission (the presence of one of Austin Powers' ancestors would have enlivened proceedings!)