Breakthrough

1979

1h 33m

IMDb RATING

5.8/10

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Drama

History

War

Starting in late May 1944, during the German retreat on the Eastern Front, Captain Stransky (Helmut Griem) orders Sergeant Steiner (Richard Burton) to blow up a railway tunnel to prevent Russian forces from using it. Steiner's platoon fails in its mission by coming up against a Russian tank. Steiner then takes a furlough to Paris just as the Allies launch their invasion of Normandy.

Directors

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers

Tony Williamson(author by)

Peter Berneis(author by)

Stars

Richard Burton

Rod Steiger

Helmut Griem

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Top cast

Sergeant Steiner

General Webster

Major Stransky

Krüger

Sergeant Anderson

Keppel

Colonel Rogers

Yvette

Captain Berger

Captain Kistner

Paul Anselm

Nissen

General Hofmann

Corporal Rothe

Schulze

SS Officer

Paramedic

Directors

Andrew V. McLaglen

Writers

Tony Williamson(author by)

Peter Berneis(author by)

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

6/10

On paper, this ought to have been a belter. Andrew V. McLaglen being no stranger to grand scale cinema and a cast of Hollywood A-listers to deliver a story of wartime betrayal and courage. So what happened? Richard Burton dons a rather erratic German accent as the conspiring and rather hot-tempered sergeant "Steiner" who finds himself under the command of his own personal nemesis "Von Stransky" (Helmut Griem). Fortunately, for him, at the behest of his scheming general "Hofmann" (Curd Jürgens) he is despatched to try and make some sort of truce with the approaching allies at the height of the Wehrmacht's conspiracies to be rid of their Führer. Along the way he manages to help out American colonel "Rogers" (Robert Mitchum) but will that be enough to convince the sceptical "Gen. Webster" (Rod Steiger) that the approach isn't just a ploy to lure them into a trap, or buy more time, or both! Unfortunately, neither Burton not Mitchum are anywhere near their best here and though the director does his best to keep the film moving along with plenty of action and battle scenes, there are still too many flawed sub-plots, a weak and rather verbose script and multiple shallow characterisations to make the film flow well or engagingly. Steiger features much too sparingly to make much of a contribution and after about an hour I felt that I was watching an hybrid of half a dozen other, better, WWII adventures. I'm sure it was an useful payday for all concerned, but as a piece of cinema it's pretty disappointing.

Geronimo196703 Nov, 2023