Colditz (2005 TV series)

Last updated

Colditz
Colditz DVD cover.jpg
Written by
Directed byStuart Orme
Starring
ComposerRichard Harvey
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producers
  • Justin Bodle
  • Andy Harries
  • Francis Hopkinson
ProducerStephen Smallwood
Production company Granada Television
Original release
Network ITV (United Kingdom)

Colditz is a two-part 2005 television drama miniseries, based on the book Colditz: The Definitive History by Henry Chancellor, and the Channel 4 television series Escape from Colditz. It is not claimed to be historically accurate. [1] It features an ensemble cast headlined by Damian Lewis and Sophia Myles and was directed by Stuart Orme. [2] The screenplay was written by Peter Morgan and Richard Cottan.

Contents

Synopsis

The series tells several stories of various, mostly British, prisoners of war in the Second World War and their attempts to escape Colditz. The first episode features a fictionalised account of an actual event when three inmates Dick Lorraine, John 'Bosun' Crisp, and the 'Medium Sized Man', Flt Lt Dominic Bruce OBE MC AFM KSG MA RAF attempted to escape using the castle sewers. In reality the escape team were discovered when they attempted to exit a manhole. The Germans threatened to throw grenades down into the sewer chamber and, as the escapees could not reverse back up the sewer pipe, they were forced to surrender. They were immediately put in front of a firing squad, but unlike the fictional TV account, the guards did not fire. Just before the order was to be given, Bruce lost his temper and approached the officer in charge, Eggers, saying "you can shoot us, but after the war we'll hang you". Eggers stood the squad down. An account of this escape can be found in Reel Five of the oral history version given by Flt. Lt. Bruce to be found in the Imperial War Museum Sound Archive. [3]

Cast

Release

As of November 2010, Colditz has been released on DVD [4] and Blu-ray [5] in Region 1 and on DVD in Region 2 and 6. [6] [7]

Awards

In 2006, it won the BAFTA Television Craft Award for best sound design in a fiction or entertainment. [8]

See also

Oflag IV-C#Television and TV movies

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colditz Castle</span> Renaissance castle in Colditz, Saxony, Germany

Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe.

Giles Samuel Bertram Romilly was a British communist journalist, Second World War POW, brother of Esmond Romilly, and nephew of Winston Churchill through his wife Clementine Churchill.

<i>The Colditz Story</i> 1955 British film by Guy Hamilton

The Colditz Story is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, in Germany during the Second World War and who was the Escape Officer for British POWs within the castle.

<i>Tobruk</i> (1967 film) 1967 American war film directed by Arthur Hiller

Tobruk is a 1967 American drama war film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Rock Hudson and George Peppard. The film was written by Leo Gordon and released through Universal Pictures.

Patrick Robert Reid, was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid was one of the few to escape from Colditz, crossing the border into neutral Switzerland in late 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophia Myles</span> English actress (born 1980)

Sophia Myles is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in Thunderbirds (2004), Isolde in Tristan & Isolde (2006), Darcy in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Erika in Underworld (2003) and Underworld: Evolution (2006) and Freya in Outlander (2008).

<i>Colditz</i> (1972 TV series) British television series

Colditz is a British television drama series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nachi Nozawa</span> Japanese actor

Nachi Nozawa was a Japanese actor, voice actor, narrator and theatre director from Tokyo. He was affiliated with Office PAC at the time of his death. His real name was Yasutomo Nozawa. Nozawa was the official dub-over artist of Al Pacino and Alain Delon. Also he was known for voicing Giuliano Gemma, Robert Redford, Bruce Willis, Dustin Hoffman, Christopher Walken, David McCallum, C-3PO and Don Johnson. He was also the first dub-over voice of Willem Dafoe and James Woods in their early days. In the animation field, He was known as his roles in Cobra, Dororo, Gokū no Daibōken, Sakura Wars series and the Hellsing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oflag VI-B</span> World War II German prisoner-of-war camp

Oflag VI-B was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp for officers (Offizerlager), 1 km (0.6 mi) southwest of the village of Dössel in Germany. It held French, British, Polish and other Allied officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oflag IV-C</span> German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II in Colditz, Saxony

Oflag IV-C, often referred to by its location at Colditz Castle, overlooking Colditz, Saxony, was one of the most noted German Army prisoner-of-war camps for captured enemy officers during World War II; Oflag is a shortening of Offizierslager, meaning "officers' camp".

Sitara-e-Jurat is the third highest military award of Pakistan. It was established in 1957 after Pakistan became a republic; however, it was instituted retrospectively back to 1947. It is awarded for gallantry or distinguished service in combat; and can be bestowed upon officers, junior commissioned officers, petty officers, warrant officers, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and equivalents in the Pakistan Army, Navy, Air Force, and various paramilitary forces under federal control, such as the Frontier Corps, the Frontier Constabulary, and the Pakistan Rangers. It may be considered to be roughly equivalent to the Military Cross and the Silver Star.

Peter David Tunstall was a squadron leader in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and a prisoner of war (POW) held at Colditz Castle. He holds the record for the most time spent by an Allied POW in solitary confinement.

Prisoners made numerous attempts to escape from Oflag IV-C, one of the most famous German Army prisoner-of-war camps for officers in World War II. Between 30 and 36 men succeeded in their attempts - exact numbers differ between German and Allied sources. The camp was situated in Colditz Castle, perched on a cliff overlooking the town of Colditz in Saxony.

<i>Attack</i> (1956 film) 1956 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich

Attack, also known as Attack!, is a 1956 American war film directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Jack Palance, Eddie Albert, Lee Marvin, William Smithers, Robert Strauss, Richard Jaeckel, Buddy Ebsen and Peter van Eyck. The cinematographer was Joseph Biroc.

P.O.W. is a television series consisting of 6 episodes, broadcast on ITV in 2003. The series starred James D'Arcy and Joe Absolom. The drama series is based on true stories, set in Germany in the year 1940 and follows the character of Jim Caddon as he is captured after his plane crashes during a bombing raid over Normandy. In contrast to previous entries in the World War Two prison escape genre such as The Colditz Story, it concentrated on escape attempts by other ranks rather than officers. The title "P.O.W." stands for "prisoner of war".

Machiel van den Heuvel was a Dutch army officer. As a prisoner-of-war in Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Germany, during World War II, he served as Escape Officer for the Dutch POWs, a role also held by Captain Pat Reid, the author of The Colditz Story, for the British. Van den Heuvel played a key role in most Dutch officer escapes during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oflag IX-A/H</span> World War II German prisoner-of-war camp

Oflag IX-A was a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp located in Spangenberg Castle in the small town of Spangenberg in northeastern Hesse, Germany.

David Peter Lafayette Hunter MC was a Royal Marines officer who was prisoner of war captive in Colditz Castle during the Second World War. He later served as the commanding officer of 40 Commando, and was a recipient of the Military Cross.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic Bruce</span> British RAF officer

Dominic Bruce, was a British Royal Air Force officer, known as the "Medium Sized Man." He has been described as "the most ingenious escaper" of the Second World War. He made seventeen attempts at escaping from POW camps, including several attempts to escape from Colditz Castle, a castle that housed prisoners of war "deemed incorrigible".

John ‘Bosun’ Chrisp (1908–2006) MBE RN was a British author, Royal Navy sailor, a World War II veteran and a Colditz survivor. Chrisp wrote three books on his exploits, two on his WWII experience and one on his experiences as a post war whaler. In WWII he was captured and as a POW Chrisp, after two escape attempts was eventually noted as an incorrigible and sent to high security Colditz. Chrisp, as a skilled ropeman, became an invaluable asset for his escaping comrades inside the castle. His rope skills played a part in the famous ‘Franz Joseph’ escape. He was also noted for his role in the 1944 sewer escape attempt inside Colditz castle which made use of his bosun rope skills and which resulted in he and two others being faced by a firing squad. His personal views and the views of others on his contribution in WWII have been captured in the WWII literature. Views on his participation in WWII have also been recorded and some of these recordings are held in the sound and video archives at the Imperial War Museums. In his later life he also trained sailors on the training ship Foudroyant in the 1950s and 1960s.

References

  1. "Damian's marriage escape". Manchester Evening News. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  2. "Colditz drama planned for ITV". BBC News. 31 March 2003. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  3. "Bruce, Dominic (Oral history)".
  4. amazon.com listing for Colditz on DVD
  5. amazon.com listing for Colditz on Blu-ray
  6. amazon.co.uk listing for Colditz on DVD
  7. "皮特-摩根《女王》得奖 《逃亡计中计》获引进(图)-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  8. "Colditz". 27 March 2005 via IMDb.