ceo-652-974360 Admittedly, had I seen this film when it came out, then I probably would have given it an 8 instead of a 6. But looking at it from an older point of view over 50 years later, I was really disappointed.There are three categories of groups involved: The British, who have great plans to capture a German general and really believe they can drive through 22 German checkpoints with the General having a fit on the floor of the car without being stopped. They have no real plan, no communication system and seem to think the whole thing is "jolly good fun." Then we have the Greeks, who don't really understand that the whole thing is probably going to cause the SS troops to wipe out a few mountain villages in retaliation. They have nothing better to do than run around laughing and shouting, shaking hands and kissing everybody in sight. So instead of informing the group that about 500 German soldiers are just coming round the corner, it's better to greet long lost friends, before passing on the information. Top gag is of course having a drunken party in a house in the village in the night with a British officer in uniform eating a sheep's head at a table in the middle of the room. The place is filled with singing and dancing, the door isn't locked, they have no sentry .... Really makes the Greeks look completely incompetent and stupid. To say nothing of the British.And last but not least we have the Germans, who don't even bother to stop the General's car, filled with strange bearded men not in German uniform, as it goes through one checkpoint after another. Really made the Germans look completely incompetent as well. Which they certainly weren't.If you like this type of film, it can be watched as a relic of the past, but don't expect anything like logic or a real-life story; I had expected much more drama and far less incompetence combined with unintended ridiculous comedy.

blanche-2 "Ill Met by Moonlight" is a different kind of film for The Archers, and sadly, their last venture together.It's a World War II film, based on real-life events in Crete, about the British army and members of the Crete resistance who kidnap a German officer (Marius Goring) in order to send him to Egypt.The British are headed up by Dirk Bogarde.It's a slow moving film, without a tremendous amount of suspense, but I have to say I enjoyed it. It's rich in humor and examples of camaraderie among the soldiers and resistance workers. The photography is excellent, though it's no Black Narcissus.The problem with it is that it isn't up to the usual standards of Powell and Pressburger and not representative of them. I do love Dirk Bogarde, though, in everything.

writers_reign even allowing for the fact that Ican take or leave Powell and Pressburger either as a team or working individually this is still pretty ho hum. It's not just that it's yet another true-life adventure torn from the annals of World War II - and boy, were they glad to get rid of it - it's more that it's exciting or engrossing enough to stand out from the others; it's not even that apart from Bogard and a badly miscast Cyril Cusack the only British actors involved are definitely minor league in the shape of Michael Gough and Wolf Morris, it's more that no two actors - and that includes Marius Goring - are able to give the impression that they are in the same film or often in the same scene. All in all it's something of an unintentional Greek tragedy.

tim-482 Like 'Spleen', I first thought that we were seeing genuine Cretan landscapes. But what puzzled me was not being able to recognise any of it - even allowing for change - especially the coastline where Moss and his party landed. (In his book, he refers to a distinctive landscape) A little digging - on this site- revealed that the film was made in France and Italy with no mention of Crete. The title, 'Ill met by moonlight' surely refers to the 'meeting' of Kreipe and his abductors. The film couldn't really show the fact that Leigh Fermor and Moss et al attempted the abduction on the four evenings that preceeded the actual abduction. The earlier attempts were abandoned because Kreipe came along whilst it was too early for moonlight! (one wonders why was it necessary to change the title for the US market?) I thoroughly enjoy the film, watch it every opportunity and each time pick up something that I've missed previously. However, I cannot help but wonder how much better it might have been if the writers had stuck more closely to the original script throughout. They had informed advisers available, Micky Akoumianakis was a true participant, and Houseman was in Crete as an British agent for a long part of the occupation. Though thoroughly grounded in fact, the few 'elaborations' detract from what was surely a solid enough story to stand on its own.Regardless of the differences, I continue to regard the film as one of my most favourites.