Yes, the period detail is quite good, and technically, it's superb. But you'd have to follow every single frame and have a detailed plot synopsis to really make sense of it all. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a sequel to the classic 1963 war epic or the other side of the situation from the first film showing unrelated characters involved in the attempts to aide prisoners of war in escaping. So technical rating, an 8. Storytelling, 2. Acting wise a big n/a because the actors are really saying little and running around or shooting without real characters to play.
Aired in two parts, it's overly long and cumbersome for most of the dreary first part. The video release cut out half of it, which would be interesting to see if only the full movie was anywhere near interesting. Major stars Christopher Reeve and Judd Hirsch are wasted, and soap star Michael Nader is in nothing more than a cameo as a tough German who allegedly decapitated someone with a whip. His battle with Reeve is completely underwhelming. Probably one of the most unnecessary TV movie sequels to a classic movie, and I'm sure many viewers did not return for part Ii when this first aired.
Aired in two parts, it's overly long and cumbersome for most of the dreary first part. The video release cut out half of it, which would be interesting to see if only the full movie was anywhere near interesting. Major stars Christopher Reeve and Judd Hirsch are wasted, and soap star Michael Nader is in nothing more than a cameo as a tough German who allegedly decapitated someone with a whip. His battle with Reeve is completely underwhelming. Probably one of the most unnecessary TV movie sequels to a classic movie, and I'm sure many viewers did not return for part Ii when this first aired.