The Hindenburg
THE HINDENBURG (15)
D: Robert Wise
Universal (Robert Wise)
US 1975
125 mins
Adventure/Drama/Historical
W: Nelson Gidding [based on the novel by Michael M.
Mooney]
DP: Robert Surtees
Ed: Donn Cambern
Mus: David Shire
PD: Edward Carfango
George C. Scott (Col. Franz Ritter), Anne Bancroft
(Ursula), Burgess Meredith (Emilio Pajetta), William Atherton (Boerth), Roy Thinnes (Martin Vogel), Gig Young (Edward Douglas), Charles Durning (Capt. Pruss)
Typical 1970's disaster stuff which builds its story
around the unproven theory that the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster was brought about by sabotage.
The dialogue and performances aren't particularly good,
but all the other elements of the production are fine, although the visual effects are quite dated by modern standards. There's also a curious choice to film the finale in grainy
black-and-white to enable the incorporation of newsreel footage.
Not a bad film, but far weaker than other disaster flicks
released around the same time (The Towering Inferno, etc.)
6/10
