On M List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
The McKenzie Break (1970)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
2/25
2/25:
The filmmakers tried to carve out a German version of the The Great Escape
through The McKenzie Break, and it didn't work.
What caught my attention is the cinematography. It's extremely well-done, having been handled by Michael Reed.
Pay attention to the contrast between the colors and the blackness. I checked if he received accolades for it,
but alas, no. His résumé is nothing special, either. I also wondered if Gordon Willis, who actually started his
career in 1970, was influenced by what Michael Reed did with The McKenzie Break, but nothing had been
mentioned.
As for the film, there's a lot of potential which has gone squandered. For one, Brian Keith, an underrated actor
who reminds me of Brian Dennehy, is given a starring role, but it's meatless as hell. Instead, Helmut Griem gets more
attention and has thus done a credible job. Supposedly, there's a battle of wits going on between their characters,
but it was rendered so much better in The Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum
and Curd Jürgens.
The reason for The Great Escape working out is that everybody's character
was fully developed. That's not the case here. Ditto for the story; it meanders, and nothing is clear for a while.
There's no explanation for Schleutter's treasonous killing of his fellow soldiers. The last twenty minutes,
which indicates an up-tempo pace through editing, isn't impactful enough to save the film as a whole. How
did the escaped German prisoners have everything, especially the equipment, ready in time? On a side
note, nearly everything was shot on location in Ireland as a stand-in for Scotland.
All in all, apart from the cinematography, The McKenzie Break is too average to merit attention.