The Odessa File (1974)
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64% of critics liked it
(14 reviews) -
63% of users liked it
(3,079 ratings)
The Odessa File is set in Hamburg in the winter of 1963. Jon Voight plays Peter Miller, a German reporter who is investigating the whereabouts of missing Nazi war criminals. After reading the diary of a Holocaust survivor who has recently committed suicide, Miller goes on the trail of in-hiding SS… More The Odessa File is set in Hamburg in the winter of 1963. Jon Voight plays Peter Miller, a German reporter who is investigating the whereabouts of missing Nazi war criminals. After reading the diary of a Holocaust survivor who has recently committed suicide, Miller goes on the trail of in-hiding SS officer Eduard Roschmann (Maximilian Schell). The reporter finds his investigation blocked by members of a secretive group called Odessa. With the help of Israeli activists, Miller persists in his search. Schell's sister Maria also appears in The Odessa File as Miller's mother, the widow of a German soldier. Based on a nailbiting novel by Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File is highlighted by the exquisitely Teutonic score of Andrew Lloyd Webber. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Ronald Neame
- Written By
- Frederick Forsyth, Kenneth Ross, George Markstein
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Classics
PG,
- In Theaters
- Oct 18, 1974 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 28, 2001
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
Voight's performance gives credibility to his character's obsession, but even that cannot overcome the discrepancy between the deeper themes and the routine nature of this piece of box-office action adventure.
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Nora Sayre, New York Times
The film makes its points methodically, almost academically.
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Don Druker, Chicago Reader
The surprises increasingly fail to surprise.
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Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Above average spy adventure w/young Jon Voight.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Neame's uninspired direction has a great performance by Jon Voight get thrown under the train.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
Cast
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Jon Voight
as Peter Miller
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Maximilian Schell
as Eduard Roschmann
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Maria Schell
as Frau Miller
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Mary Tamm
as Sigi
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Derek Jacobi
as Klaus Wenzer
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Shmuel Rodensky
as Simon Wiesenthal
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Martin Brandt
as Marx
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Werner Bruhns
as Magazine Publisher Hoffmann
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Hans Caninberg
as Dr. Ferdinand Schultz
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Alexander Golling
as Colonel
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Peter Jeffrey
as David Porath
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Towje Kleiner
as Solomon Tauber
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Klaus Lowitsch
as Gustav MacKensen
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Georg Marischka
as Lawyer
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Kurt Meisel
as Oster
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Günter Meisner
as Gen. Greifer
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Hannes Messemer
as Gen. Glocks
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Garfield Morgan
as Israeli General
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Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel
as Frau Wenzer
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Ernst Schroeder
as Werner Deilman
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Cyril Shaps
as Tauber
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Günter Strack
as Police Official Kunik
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Noel Willman
as Franz Bayer
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Hans Wyprächtiger
as Landlord
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Heinz Ehrenfreund
as Shapira
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Joachim D. Mues
as Wehrmacht Captain
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Til Kiwe
as Medal Shop Proprietor
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Gunnar Moeller
as Karl Braun
- Maximillian Schell
