In the original ending which appears in the source novel, ryan is not killed as with the films ending, he survives and with the other escaped pows, is able to get. I think the film is high profile enough to not be relegated to a french release only. S troops liberated a german prisonerofwar camp on april 29, 1945 bringing to an end the 28month ordeal of a houston newspaperman turned bomber navigator. The mp40 is used by both german and italian forces as well as by various pows when they are disguised as german guards including col. The prison is mostly made up of british soldiers but ryan is the highest ranking officer so he is in charge. An action adventure tale, van ryan s express remains quite credible until halfway through, when the action begins to pour and roar like walter mitty in full flood. The oscarnominated special effects range from some good miniature trains almost the entire nighttime firebombing scene to some dynamic but weakly superimposed. In the original ending which appears in the source novel, ryan is not killed as with the films ending.
As sao senior american officer, he quickly puts a stop to disorder, and becomes the most hated man in the camp. My father, drafted after he graduated high school, was in the army of the occupation in italy, at the end of ww ii. Based on the novel by david westheimer, the film changes several aspects of the novel, most notably the ending, which is considerably more upbeat in the book. To refer to this film as exhilarating is, i admit, the mildest bit misleading. A thousand british and american pows learn to hate the american colonel who singlehandedly shapes them up. When italy surrenders, german guards herd the men into boxcars for shipment to the reich. And if you didnt care for this film, well then when youre through picking this one apart tell me of one you did like. The screenplay concerns a group of allied prisoners of war who conduct a daring escape by hijacking a freight train and fleeing through germanoccupied italy to switzerland. While the basic story line is the same in the book and the movie, i found the changes in the screenplay to have made the principal characters more interesting, more human and more appealing i came to. The final scene was stuck in my mind although i had not seen the movie in decades.
Along the way they must deal with internal strife and outside threats. The story is straight forward and simple and doesnt require much attention to follow. Ironically, one of his most popular novels, and perhaps his most enduring, was not credited to him for much of its shelf life. Otoh, this could be one of those situations where a u.
Colonel joseph ryan, a p38 pilot and group commander, managed to escape with 900 fellow officers from a nazi pow camp in italy. Westheimer captures the gritty oblivion of pow life, while the suspense builds as the prisoners try to plot their escape. Westheimer captures the gritty oblivion of pow life, while the suspense builds as the. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. The author of the book, david westheimer, was a navigator on a b24 that was shot down over italy in wwii and he was a pow in stalag luft iii. Ryan concocts a plan to take control of a german train to do so. In the opening sequence when colonel ryans plane has crashed and is on fire, you can see a metal pole supporting a burning aircraft shell, not a. Italys defeat may be imminent, but that causes only confusion for the british and. On which railway line were the action scenes at the end of the movie shot. At sinatra insistence the end was change from the book in which ryan got away, but at the time it was in vogue that the hero died. Although not in a league with the great escape, it is crackerjack entertainment. Trains in movies top train movies of all time america.
The deservedly famous ending goes against audience expectations. May 24, 2014 the big short 6 jared vennett s pitch to front point partners jenga blocks scene duration. When italy surrenders three days later, the germans capture the camp, and load everyone on a train to germany. A former houston post editor and columnist, westheimer was also known for his 1965 novel, my sweet charlie, which explored racial tensions. During ww ii colonel joe ryan crashes in italy and is interned at pow concentration camp 202. Dedicated to identifying aircraft throughout movies, television, and video games. While most of the prisoners at the camp are british, a determined, resourceful american air force colonel frank sinatra takes charge and leads the escape, which requires that the prisoners wrest control of a german train and propel it through. The book ending is also different than in the movie in that ryan survives. Its very, very easy to buy him as colonel ryan and he gives as strong a performance as ever here. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. His other wellknown work was my sweet charlie 1965 about a black civil. While most of the prisoners at the camp are british, a determined, resourceful american air force colonel frank sinatra takes charge and. In its original printing, he was bylined as the author of the novelization. Two short years ago we created this message box on our home page, asking for your help to keep this site up and running.
An action adventure tale, van ryans express remains quite credible until halfway through, when the action begins to pour and roar like walter mitty in full flood. The machine guns get so much use they begin to sound like angry sewing machines. It is now the february book ofthemonthclub selection. Seeing it again after all that time i am pleased to say that it has lost none of its zip. Vrnes1965 scanner internet archive html5 uploader 1.
It doesnt matter if you catch it in the beginning or in the middle. It inspired me to write my first novel, 2 years later as a christmas present for my sister, which was, sadly, historically rather inaccurate. Its definitely a slowstarter, taking its sweet time for the action to build up. The great party and the pieintheface incident were talked about for years. Financially, it became one of sinatras most successful films. Ryan sinatra, an american pilot, is shot down in fascist italy and put in a fascist prisoner of war camp there, where he becomes the new ranking officer among the allied prisoners. A thousand british and american pows learn to hate the american. Official twentieth century fox spanish allregion bluray release as pictured. Sadly the ending just about ruins an excellent movie.