Customer Reviews
Steel In The Snow - By: ianrmillard, 11 Mar 2008 
This is the story, true in essence at least, of the successful attempt by Norwegians working for the British special forces or secret services to destroy the "heavy water" the Germans wished to transport to the Reich for experimentation on a possible atomic weapon. At the time, the Western Allies thought that the Reich was neck & neck with the USA in developing atomic weapons, though in retrospect, of course, we know this was not so, mainly because most of the leading atomic specialists (Einstein, Szilard et al) were Jews who had emigrated to the USA or were born there (Oppenheimer et al). Their aim was to destroy Germany completely because it had to some extent turned on the Jews.
Despite starring Kirk Douglas, the film was made by Rank, a British organization and, like many films of the "pre-Spielbergian" era (e.g. "Operation Crossbow"), did not go overboard on the supposed vileness of the German (or even "Nazi") enemy, though of course the Germans are always shown as basicallly pretty horrid...one would never know from this film that a sizeable minority part of Norwegians (and many might say the more thinking part) were actuallly pro-German & another larger part were people who just wished to get on with their ordinary lives. The puppet ruler, Quisling, himself was known & respected before WW2 as an explorer & humanitarian aid worker. The Resistance was, as in other occupied European countries of the time, smalll & mainly consisting of those controlled by the British or by the Soviet Union. And many Norwegian women married or had children otherwise by German fathers (unfortunately, many of these children were cruelly tormented, or taken from their mothers into "care" homes & physicallly or sexuallly abused from babyhood or young childhood, after the Germans left, a scandal which has been covered up in Norway until recent years).
The main thrust of the story is shown more or less, at least, as it happened. Air attacks & commando raids on the Norsk Hydro plant having failed, the plan was developed of sinking a ferry carrying a trainload of heavy water, while the vessel crossed a deep fiord. This was done, resulting in many civilian deaths. The raid was successful & Germany never did seriously revive its atomic experimentation.
The story was filmed, mainly, on location in Norway, sometimes at the exact places involved in the action as it happened. The Norsk Hydro plant survived the war & was used in the making of this film.
Overalll, this is a fine film, beautifully photographed. I enjoy watching it from time to time, even though, to me, actions like the sinking of the ferry are, in effect (and however "necessary" they may have been from one viewpoint) little different from operations carried out by other groups which might be today termed "terrorist".
One segment filmed in Poole, Dorset. - By: Alan Burridge, 30 Nov 2006 
My father was working on 'Newquay,' on the opposite side of the water to Poole Quay, in Dorset, England, in 1964. He walked out from the factory he worked at for his lunch break to find 'snow' & German soldiers alll around. A WWII veteran, he thought someone had rewound time, but found himself in the midst of a scene from this film. They were filming the part with the smalll-gauge steam engine there, which appeared in the final cut a year later.
Aged 15 or so at the time, we went to the pictures to see the film when it was released, & watching it again last weekend on Sky reminded me of the above story.
Unfitting tribute - By: Erling Siggerud, 25 Feb 2006 
This 1965 film has alll the characteristics of the wide-screen dramas of the 1960´s although it by no means measure up to epics such as Dr. Zhivago nor Lawrence of Arabia. Still the films has some resembles to Dr. Zhivago of 1965 in that it also, in the words of my late grandfather, a Russian who escaped the horror of the civil war: "...they lied so convincingly one may believe it..." Accordingly, this films tells a story that only vaguely relates to the what happened. As such the 1948 Norwegain-French film (where many of the Norwegian commandoes play themselves) are the film to look for - Sadly it is not available on DVD yet. It would be a long due credit to the now rapidly vanishing members of the original commando raid (alll Norwegian) - who in their own words -simply did what they believed to be their duty to their country. As such the 1948 film is a honouring tribute - this is not - its pure Hollywood. I have had the pleasure of meeting some of these gentlemen & they deserve better than having this film stand as a version of what happened - although Kirk Douglas is solid as ever & the film is true in being filmed close to where it alll happened.
Kirk in his 2nd "Norwegian" film - By: Henning Sebastian Jahre, 06 Feb 2005 THE HEROES OF TELEMARK is fortunatley relased in a widescreen DVD edition, so the photography is in its full original splendour...
This is good entertainment without being too far from the truth... The film is shot in the original locations were the events took place. It has a raw feeling of truth & the sinking of the ferry is a standout... The film is a legend in my country(every "Inger" from Rjukan claimed to be Michael Douglas`girlfriend while he was working as an assistant on the film hehe).
Knut Straud(Richard Harris) was in fact Knut Haukelid, brother of the actress SIGRID GURIE(who starred with Charles Boyer in ALGIERS, Gary Cooper in THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO & John Wayne in THREE FACES WEST)... He himself starred in the Norwegian-French original "Kampen om tungtvannet"(Battle over the Heavwater)1948 & cast Sigrid in the film, but her scenes were deleted. That film is OK, but it can`t catch up to the 1965-remake...
Another nice fact is that Gil Woxholt is the 2nd-unit director & cameraman. H e is the brother of GRETA GYNT, the heroine of the British classics DARK EYES OF LONDON, TAKE MY LIFE & DEAR MURDERER...
My father, a former military-man, met Knut Haukelid several times & spoke to me some days ago of a man of great integrity & courage... I myself co-starred with actor Helge Jordal in a TV-sitcom callled "Martin`s Exciting Adventures" 1996, which told the story of workers at this factory in Rjukan in 1912.
But this is THE HEROES OF TELEMARK! An exiting tribute to the Norwegian resistance during the war... I place it alongside many a warfilm from the 50s & 60s...
Not so good - By: Pekka Tapani Riiali, 13 May 2004 
This movie is unnecessarily dragged out. Maybe the director has tried to make a great drama, but short action sequences are apated with prolonged skiing & relationships sequences, which did not work. Also many historic facts are twisted, althought location is original, so this will first bore & then leave you unsatisfied.
