Diane Ruth An insult to the intelligence of audiences worldwide and a smear upon their very souls, this film is among the true insults to the art of cinema. Disgusting in almost every way imaginable and indiscriminate in its violence and sadism, the director seems to strive desperately to terrorize his audience by filming the most unholy scenes possible. Quinn is awful but not nearly as ridiculously insane as McDowell is in what could only jokingly be called a "performance." His goofy murderer Nazi may have been intended as over the top but it is actually sewer level stupid. This is not only the very worst motion picture ever made about the Second World War. It is simply one of the worst films ever made and has nothing at all to recommend it in the very slightest. I saw this in London when it was first released and have never forgotten how really bad a film it was. Despicable, sickening, and beneath contempt. Not to mention a complete waste of time. Trash, garbage, celluloid rot, and much more.

Jeff (actionrating.com) Skip it – There's a reason you probably haven't heard of this WWII resistance movie. Starring an aging Anthony Quinn and James Mason, this movie is very "odd" in only the way a 70's movie can be. The plot would make you assume that it's a good, old-fashioned secret mission WWII movie about a shepherd who is hired to help a family escape from the Nazis across the Pyrenees. And it is, but with a twist. They are being hunted by a twisted Nazi pervert. Every scene he is in seems like its straight out of "Clockwork Orange." Gratuitous sex, creepy characters, and violent torture abound. With next to no action until the end, this is one you will want to skip. 2 action rating.

Galina ...I managed to pack into a dozen scenes with the whole period of Nazi tyranny in a convincingly evil way." - Malcolm McDowell about his work in The Passage. When I saw The Passage back in 1981, in Moscow, I had no idea that it had been a big flop in the USA where it only lasted a week upon theatrical release, that it was considered a bad movie a failure. It would be much later that I recognized very famous and talented actors who were in the film, James Matson, Anthony Quinn, Christopher Lee, and Patricia Neal. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, the Oscar nominated director of highly successful The Guns of Navarone (1961). By the time I was watching The Passage at the theater, I had not seen Stanley Kubrick's A Clock Work Orange or notorious Caligula, and I did not know what Malcolm McDowell was capable of as a screen villain. I did know McDowell from the Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man that also had been released theatrically in Moscow several years prior The Passage. O lucky Man had left a deep impression on me and huge part of it was McDowell's performance as Mick Travis, the young naive man with the most charming smile who wanted to succeed in this world. Watching McDowell in The Passage playing the psychotic obsessed Nazi chasing the family of the anti-fascist scientist across the Pyrenees I was horrified and genuinely scared. Every time he would enter the screen, I felt physically sick anticipating some horror act to follow and McDowell never disappointed. I won't argue that the movie may not be a great or even a good one but I do remember McDowell's performance all too well, and I could not forget him in the movie for 28 years. Now, after I've seen so many movies and memorable performances, I realize that McDowell was over the top and judging by his own words, he knew it very well and did it on purpose: "I played this real nasty Nazi who was chasing these people across the Pyrenees. We all knew real early on that the movie was not going to be any great work of art and so I was determined to have some fun with it. My attitude was that if I was going to play a Nazi, I was going to take it totally over the top and do it right. I ended up playing the character like a pantomime queen. What I was doing was so far out that James Mason turned to me one day and said, 'That's wonderful dear boy, but are you in our film? You seem to be doing something different from the rest of us'..." If after so many years, one performance in a supposedly bad movie stands out and you can't get it out of your mind, and you remember the exact day when you saw that movie, who you saw it with and how you felt, for me it means that the movie was not bad at all.

tarrantl Okay, So this is an awful movie in the grand scheme of things - but its highly entertaining none the less, and also is quite compelling. McDowell over acts - but is watchable, Lenz is also watchable, and most of the other acting is fine too. The script lends itself to to a poor mans WW2 movie from the 60's, say a B movie - but otherwise there's good stuff along the way! This film is different, therefore worthy of a watch. A notable film score by Michael J lewis boosts it along and makes it feel 'bigger' than what it actually is. Not so bad. Watch it for entertainment value only, and you may not be too disappointed after all.