The Scarlet And The Black [DVD]

Once again, history is better than fiction. This 1983, captioned,2 1/4 hour, color re-telling of a Vatican Monsignor's direction of a massive city wide hiding of allied servicemen and escapees from the Nazi's is exciting and truly inspirational. Gregory Peck outwits the German Gestapo officer,Christopher Plummer, at every turn. Despite a lack of battle scenes, this easily makes my list of top twenty W.W.II movies.

I've seen dozens of movies, series, miniseries ect. set in Rome during WW2, both italian and international productions, and I wondered why I had never seen this one before: now I 've got the answer. Without taking anything away from the character played by Peck, I've found the whole film not up to the situation it was meant to portrait: Kappler is portraited here as a clown ( do you know how many people died because of him? Have you heard of Via Rasella and the Fosse Ardeatine?), and all the german soldiers as people who could easily be tricked if you wanted to; Gregory Peck, protected by the Vatican, was in a position to defy Kappler and come out of it alive, but always with a humour which I found totally out of place. The soundtrack also made the film look more like a comedy than a tragedy , and no one acting was very good, except John Gielgud's. The raid in the Jewish ghetto, so dramatic in real life, took place while Peck and the 2 disguised British soldiers were talking and arranging their next move, untouched by all the chaos and tragedy going on around them! Overall, very disappointing, because it failed badly in showing the tragic atmosphere of those days.

Very interesting story about a real man of the cloth and his bravery during WW2 when the Germans occupied Rome. Historic update on what happened next at the end of the film which had me thinking WOW.

I had this recorded on a disc which no longer plays. It's great to have it again. The acting is superb - the quality is fine for its time - the story is powerful and very timely in our troubled world. May I suggest seeing the film and then reading the book 'Hide and Seek' by Stephen Walker which gives you the full story together with all the background.

The role of the Vatican during WWII remains even today somewhat controversial - despite all that has been said and the inevitable confusion caused by none of us actually having been present there during the events portrayed, this film is thankfully sure of foot and has deftly stepped between opposing factions to portry a true story in a credible light.Gregory Peck plays an individual that obeys his conscience over the orders of his Church superiors and the occupying Germans, which at times exposes him to great personal dangers. Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty is shown as a man of great integrity, courage and intelligence. You might not like the Vatican or it's members, the Third Reich, or even Gregory Peck, yet to observe a man of dignity conducting himself so calmly and even-handedly is to my mind precisely where religion was meant to lead us.The ending is emotional and (dare I say it) an example of real love ? It brought to my mind the ending of the battle of Malta and the subsequent position of the Italian Navy. American Police cars used to have 'To Serve And Protect' emblazoned upon the bodywork, I couldn't put it better.

The story portrayed in this DVD is true tale of a brave Irish Catholic priest, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty who saved thousands of Jewish people and refugee Allied POW's during the occupation of Rome by the Nazi's. There are some fine actors, Gregory Peck as the Monsignor, Christopher Plummer as the SS Head of Police for Rome, Colonel Kappler, Sir John Gielgud as Pope Pius XII and many more. There is very little bloodshed shown, the cat and mouse game played between the Catholic priest and the Nazi Colonel is the prominent theme. The risks taken and bravery shown by Monsignor O'Flaherty was immense and was cheered on by me, the arrogance of Colonel Kappler (and of all the Nazi's) enough to make one want to throw the television remote at the screen. A good story of a sad time in history.

I loved this book because it shows the hard times, mixed with a great personality in difficult times. How the Church did actually helped during the war... it does not begin and end in this movie, but its worth watching

This brave Priest defies the Vatican's diplomatic constraints and shows how true Christian courage and compassion really is. He walks the walk through brutal Nazi cruelty to save thousands of Jewish and Allied Servicemens' lives. I was left humbled and inspired by Fr O'Flaherty's single-minded courage & amazing humanity. You too will be challenged to follow this Irish Priest's heroic example, so please watch this outstanding film......