Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1968
Counterpoint (film)
Buy Counterpoint (film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Counterpoint' (also known as 'The Battle Horns' or 'The General') is a 1968 epic war film starring Charlton Heston, Maximilian Schell, Kathryn Hays and Leslie Nielsen. It is based on the novel 'The General' by Alan Sillitoe. In the United States the film was released as a double feature with 'Sergeant Ryker' a 1963 television film starring Lee Marvin.
Plot
Lionel Evans is the director of a well-respected symphony orchestra touring European concert halls around 1944 in World War II. In the midst of one concert, the city where they are playing is attacked by German troops, and when Evans and his musicians try to escape, they are captured by Nazi soldiers led by Col. Arndt. Evans and the orchestra are taken to a castle where they are to bide their time before being executed; but it turns out that Arndt's superior, Gen. Schiller, is a big classical music fan. Schiller commands Evans and his symphony to prepare a special concert for the Nazis, but Evans realizes that the moment the concert is over, he and his musicians will be killed.
Cast
*Charlton Heston as Lionel Evans
*Maximilian Schell as Gen. Schiller
*Kathryn Hays as Annabelle Rice
*Leslie Nielsen as Victor Rice
*Anton Diffring as Col. Arndt
*Linden Chiles as Lt. Long
*Peter Masterson as Sgt. Calloway
*Curt Lowens as Capt. Klingermann
*Neva Patterson as Dorothy
*Cyril Delevanti as Tartzoff
*Gregory Morton as Jordon
Music
The orchestra's performances, which include works by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and Schubert, were performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
Production
Filmed at Universal Studios including a set built for the 1923 film 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', the film began shooting on 21 November 1966 and concluded 24 January 1967. Two days were removed from the production schedule and the script was rewritten without consulting the director Ralph Nelson.p.84 Worsley, Sue Dwiggins 'From Oz to E.T.: Wally Worsley's Half-century in Hollywood' Scarecrow Press, 1 Jan 1997
Translations
Also known as:
Denmark : Krigens symfoni
West Germany : Der Befehl
Greece : Nyhtes kolaseos
Finland : Sankareitten sinfonia
France : La Symphonie des hros
Italy : Sinfonia di guerra
Spain : Una tumba al amanecer
Sweden : I krigets jrngrepp
Turkey : Esirler Kamp
USA (working title) : The Battle Horns
USA (working title) : The General
See also
*List of American films of 1968
*List of American films of 1967
References
Buy Counterpoint (film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1968