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Escape from Sobibor

  • TV Movie
  • 1987
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
10K
YOUR RATING
Alan Arkin, Rutger Hauer, and Joanna Pacula in Escape from Sobibor (1987)
DramaHistoryWar

German death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.German death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.German death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.

  • Director
    • Jack Gold
  • Writers
    • Thomas 'Toivi' Blatt
    • Richard Rashke
    • Reginald Rose
  • Stars
    • Alan Arkin
    • Joanna Pacula
    • Rutger Hauer
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    10K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jack Gold
    • Writers
      • Thomas 'Toivi' Blatt
      • Richard Rashke
      • Reginald Rose
    • Stars
      • Alan Arkin
      • Joanna Pacula
      • Rutger Hauer
    • 99User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys
      • 3 wins & 6 nominations total

    Photos34

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    Top cast45

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    Alan Arkin
    Alan Arkin
    • Leon Feldhendler
    Joanna Pacula
    Joanna Pacula
    • Luka
    Rutger Hauer
    Rutger Hauer
    • Alexander 'Sasha' Pechersky
    Hartmut Becker
    • Sgt. Gustav Wagner
    Jack Shepherd
    Jack Shepherd
    • Itzhak Lichtman
    Emil Wolk
    • Samuel
    Simon Gregor
    • Shlomo
    Linal Haft
    Linal Haft
    • Oberkapo Porchek
    Jason Norman
    • Toivi Blatt
    Robert Gwilym
    Robert Gwilym
    • Chaim Engel
    Eli Nathenson
    • Moses Szmajzner
    Kurt Raab
    Kurt Raab
    • Sgt. Frenzel
    Eric P. Caspar
    • Capt. Franz Reichleitner
    Hugo Bower
    • Sgt. Beckmann
    Klaus Grünberg
    • Sgt. Bauer
    • (as Klaus Grunberg)
    Wolfgang Bathke
    • Sgt. Hurst
    Henning Gissel
    • Sgt. Fallaster
    Henry Stolow
    • Lt. Niemann
    • Director
      • Jack Gold
    • Writers
      • Thomas 'Toivi' Blatt
      • Richard Rashke
      • Reginald Rose
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews99

    7.410.4K
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    Featured reviews

    10jeffandsarah-1

    edge of seat!!!

    I first got this out on video many years back. Being interested in the holocaust from a young age,and having traveled through Poland in the early eighties I got this out of interest.Amazing to think it was done for television and not cinema. I,was on the edge of my seat all the way through,could hardly breath all through the film,did not take my eyes off the screen.The ending is both shattering and uplifting.Even more so knowing the outcome of some of the lives. And how simply fitting a denouement on the end credits the result of the police investigation, give that policeman a medal. On the whole the acting is exceptional, and by that I mean one forgets the actor and sees only the person as real. In fact it has that real life documentary feel to the story. Most satisfying to have seen it before Rutger got semi-famous.
    7briancham1994

    Bloody and impactful

    This film has very direct blood and violence but it is never used in a distasteful way. The filmmakers have done a good job with the graphic scenes that also have an emotional impact. Compared to Schindler's List, this film has a more hopeful tone but it has the same amount of tension. There are so many characters shocked by the constant brutality of their situation but they decide to take action instead of resigning themselves. This film is gripping from beginning to end, with incredible tension and stakes.
    AndrewWalker747

    not entirely historically accurate

    This movie did a good job of showing what happened and how prisioners coped with life in a nazi death camp. The acting was good and you really get a good depiction of death camp life. However, I would not say that this was better than the masterpiece that SCHINDLERS LIST was.

    Oh by the way, this movie didnt show what happened after the prisioners escaped. Everyone left behind at the death camp was executed the next day, some being buried alive because the nazis were in a rush to shut the camp down. The area was then simply planted over with trees so today when people walk on the grounds where Sobibor was, many feet underneath them is the remains of thousands of people.....
    paulvaughanthomas

    lasting impression

    It was interesting to read another viewer's comments about this film. I have seen Schindler's List and it didn't touch me anywhere near as deeply as Escape from Sobibor. I first watched it in my teens and it was this film, more than anything I'd seen previously about the Holocaust, which had the greatest impact. The story, of course, is based on truth and is full of painful, heart-wrenching scenes. Nothing has ever presented the Holocaust to me in a more vivid, more graphic, more powerful way.

    It's amusing that some people can watch a film and it barely registers with them. Others can see the same film and have a completely different reaction to the experience. But that's people for you, the great variety that is the spice of life. For me, Escape from Sobibor was a very emotional experience and it had a major impact on me. But don't take anyone else's word for it. We all see things differently - go and see it yourself.
    9claudio_carvalho

    One of the Best Movies of Jews Concentration Camp in the Second World War

    The uprising of the Jews in the death camp of Sobibor, with the escape of three hundred Jews, is brilliantly presented in this awesome movie. The excellent Alan Arkin performs Leon Feldhendler, a natural leader, organizing and motivating the prisoners. Rutger Hauer, in an excellent shape (in 1987), has also a marvelous performance as Alexander 'Sasha' Pechersky, a Russian POW. The gorgeous Joanna Pacula plays Luka, a very brave woman. The explanation of Leon to a new prisoner, why they should dance, play, laugh and make love after the execution of their families, is very touching and respectful. It is indeed an amazing lesson of survival. I have to confess that I am tired of corny movies like `The Pianist', which only shows disgrace and misery of some Jewish persons in the Second World War. We, viewers, are aware of the massacre of Jews in the WWII, but I note that this type of movie is becoming more brutal and explicit. Is it because the world society in 2004 can support watching such brutalities? Is it an adaptation of a historic fact to the violence of the present days? But `Escape From Sobibor' portraits Jews not only as passive victims going (or staying) in the slaughterhouse like a lambs, but also as a very brave people, fighting for survival. It does not mean that the brutality and sadism of certain SS officers is not shown, like the killing of the mother and her baby, or the shot of twenty-six defenseless prisoners, or the use of the whip by some German. But again, it is not explicitly shown as in some movies, with blood, pieces of brain etc., with the only intention of shocking the viewer more than necessary. All the cast has an outstanding performance. The direction is stunning: the scenes of the escape are very real. For example, when the desperate prisoners climbs the wire while escaping is very impressive. Just for reference, another excellent movie about this theme is Jon Avnet's `Uprising'. My vote is nine.

    Title (Brazil) `Fuga de Sobibor, O Campo do Inferno' (`Escape From Sobibor, the Hell Camp')

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Out of about 300 prisoners who escaped to the woods from Sobibor, only about 60 survived until the end of the war.
    • Goofs
      Shlomo Szmajzner actually had three "brothers" that he requested be kept with him (his real brother, his cousin, and his nephew).
    • Quotes

      Lt. "Sasha" Pechersky: Listen to me! Our day has come! Most of the SS are dead! It's everyone for himself now!

      Leon Feldhendler: Those of you who survive, bear witness! Let the world know what has happened here! God is with you! Now let nothing stop you!

      [escape begins]

    • Alternate versions
      Some television broadcasts of the movie, in particular the version which was shown on the History Channel, cut a lengthy scene after the escape attempt at the beginning of the film (attempted by a work detail cutting through the camp fence with garden tools) where the detail is shot dead with their bodies then displayed to the rest of the camp as a warning. In the cut version, there is no mention of what happened to these escapees after their escape attempt.
    • Connections
      Featured in The 39th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Roses from the South
      (uncredited)

      Written by Johann Strauss

      Played at the dance

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 12, 1987 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Bekstvo iz Sobibora
    • Filming locations
      • Belgrade, Serbia
    • Production companies
      • Rule/starger
      • Zenith Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 23 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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