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Jon Voight, Maximilian Schell, Maria Schell, Mary Tamm, Derek Jacobi ... see more see more... , Shmuel Rodensky , Martin Brandt , Werner Bruhns , Hans Caninberg , Alexander Golling , Peter Jeffrey , Towje Kleiner , Klaus Lowitsch , Georg Marischka , Kurt Meisel , Günter Meisner , Hannes Messemer , Garfield Morgan , Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel , Ernst Schroeder , Cyril Shaps , Günter Strack , Noel Willman , Hans Wyprächtiger , Heinz Ehrenfreund , Joachim D. Mues , Til Kiwe , Gunnar Moeller , Maximillian Schell

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... read more read more... 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

Flixster Users

62% liked it

2,980 ratings

Critics

64% liked it

14 critics

PG, 2 hr. 8 min.

Directed by: Ronald Neame

Release Date: October 18, 1974

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DVD Release Date: August 28, 2001

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Stats: 136 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (136)

  • fb100002359227440
    November 1, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Frederick Forsyth's novel, The Odessa File, adaptation have a terrific work of the Ronald Neame, that make the audience, together with Jon Voight's character, Peter Miller, discover, all that involved. Tense, chilling, fun and extremely good writing. Fresh.
  • jjnxn
    February 10, 2010
    jjnxn
    A yawner.
  • imrealgod
    October 5, 2009
    imrealgod
    Saw it as it was highly applauded by most of the viewers, but unfortunately, it failed to meet my expectations & proved to be just an average fare.
  • DrLappos
    August 25, 2008
    DrLappos
    Great film. Bit dated now but brillaince of the writting says it all.
  • jackwaldron
    February 5, 2011
    jackwaldron
    This could have been a really great film but it falls flat. The story is and interesting concept and Forsyth knows how to craft a thriller but this adaptation is lacking. The casting is different to say the least. They went all German except for the lead and although Voight is... read more good and does passable German it just resonates weirdly. The film is from my favorite era of filmmaking and the film has some of the conventions from this era but even that doesn't make the film better. Ultimately the film falls way short of The Day of the Jackal and maybe that is where it comes up lacking for me.
  • abelchr1
    January 3, 2011
    abelchr1
    Good movie, but not great. It would have been better if it had not insisted on having the Peter Miller character tie together all of the loose ends through his narration.
  • holyoaka
    September 17, 2010
    holyoaka
    In 1963, on the eve of the assassination of JFK, a young German free-lance journalist is given the diary of an elderly Jewish man who has just committed suicide. The diary provides details of atrocities that took place in a concentration camp during WWII where thousands of Germa... read moren Jews were murdered.

    After reading the journal, the journalist sets off on a personally appointed mission to find the ex-commandant of the camp. He crosses paths with Simon Weisenthal, the hunter of German war criminals, and Simon helps him in his quest. During their meeting the journalist learns of ODESSA, a secret organization of ex-SS soldiers, and so his adventure begins, and he seems to rush to meet all manner of danger as an inner drive forces him to continue.

    Though the movie is now quite dated, as is the soundtrack, sometimes even driving me to distraction, the story pulled me along, and I found it to be a top-notch example of suspense.

    The storyline is excellent, the acting is good, and the music is so-so, even so, the movie was, for me, nearly a 5-star experience.

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Critic Reviews

Nora Sayre
May 9, 2005
Nora Sayre, New York Times

The film makes its points methodically, almost academically. Full Review

Don Druker
January 1, 2000
Don Druker, Chicago Reader

The surprises increasingly fail to surprise. Full Review

Steve Crum
June 21, 2008
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Above average spy adventure w/young Jon Voight.

Dennis Schwartz
January 27, 2006
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Neame's uninspired direction has a great performance by Jon Voight get thrown under the train. Full Review

January 26, 2006
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 a... Full Review

Christopher Null
December 6, 2005
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

Unfortunately, this ends up being mostly a series of mano-a-mano confrontations behind closed doors, with the "revelations" reaching absurd level by the end. Full Review

Ken Hanke
March 29, 2004
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Genuinely effective thriller.

May 24, 2003
Film4

Tightly plotted and for the most part pretty convincing Cold War thriller built around a typically muscular performance by Voight. Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
October 18, 2005
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

No review available.

Cole Smithey
October 10, 2005
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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