I first saw this film about the time it was released in the late 60's. Back then its unique quality didn't hit me straight away. It seemed to follow in the footsteps of David Lean's "Doctor Zhivago", which had been released the year before. Both were epic in scale and had a similar theme of a family separated by catastrophic historical events and the struggle to reunite. Quinn's portrayal of the naive Johann Moritz smacked of his similarly naive Barabbas from 1962. Also some of the irony in the story felt brushed on just a little too heavily.However, like many reviewers, I never forgot it, especially that troubling finale; it's a movie that stayed with me.Now having seen it again after 40 years, it no longer seems tied to the influences of the 1960's; it stands in its own space. I was swept along by its authentic look and tragic story. There have been a number of movies over the intervening decades that featured the Holocaust, but this one approached it from a different viewpoint. Johann's fate is linked to the persecution of the Jews in Romania in WW2. He and his family are separated by a tidal wave of events over which they have no control. Quinn's character is not an all-conquering hero, he is an ordinary, rather self-effacing man who displays disillusionment and fear, but is also an unlikely optimist with a strong will to survive and get back to his family. The film has impressive scenes, however, the human story is never overwhelmed by the spectacle. Virna Lisi as Suzanna Moritz is brilliant. Rather than being too beautiful to be believable, her allure brings unwanted attention and is the catalyst for much that happens.With the emotive sound of the cimbalom, the sense of tragedy is caught perfectly in Georges Delerue's score, which is used sparingly, but effectively. Rather than dwelling on the industrial scale evil that underpinned the Holocaust and the Nazi era, the exaggerated sense of irony that runs through the film highlights the corruption, abuse of power and sheer lunacy that went hand in glove with it. This is an unusual film, brave in many ways. I think it got lost in the shuffle back in the 60's but as many have noted, it has come through the decades without dating much at all.

The Turner version of THE 25th HOUR, now available everywhere, has a 12 minutes sequence removed.The missing scene refers to an episode at occupied France where a small city girl has an affair with a Nazi soldier. Rosa (Olga Schoberova) had her hair cut and parades at the end of the war for everyone to see. The scene was there when originally screened in movie theatres in Countries like Brazil and Chile. Rumours say that the clear political implication of French collaboration with the German government was the reason for this reduction of original footage.Not even the respective photos are available. As truly appreciator of this Czechian actress, here in one of his best roles, we still miss the full version of the movie.

I watched this film early 70's.It is the best film I have ever watched And I will never forget it as long as I live. I hate wars. I hate wars. I hate wars. I wonder why we humans still let wars happen. Do you? Do you know why all these wars go on and on and on? innocent people get killed, even today, for stupid and unreal rezone ? I watched this film early 70's.It is the best film I have ever watched And I will never forget it as long as I live. I hate wars. I hate wars. I hate wars. I wonder why we humans still let wars happen. Do you? Do you know why all these wars go on and on and on? innocent people get killed, even today, for stupid and unreal rezone ? I watched this film early 70's.It is the best film I have ever watched And I will never forget it as long as I live. I hate wars. I hate wars. I hate wars. I wonder why we humans still let wars happen. Do you? Do you know why all these wars go on and on and on? innocent people get killed, even today, for stupid and unreal rezone ?

This movie ... I saw it 15 years ago and in the last years couldn't remember it any more, name or anything else, just it was about a Romanian country man played superbly by Anthony Quinn. The impression I got from this drama will be eternal. Finally I found the name of the movie, I hope I will be able to buy it. And honestly this movie worth 10 Oscars. Ten times BRAVO. I was quite young when I first saw the movie. I asked my friends if they heard about this story but nobody would know anything about Anthony Quinn playing the role of a Romanian peasant. I remember when a German officer came and saw Anthony and told him he was a good "breed" but in fact the German was cheating on him. For few bucks you won't get rich in case you buy the movie but you will be rich if you have it.