Heroes in Hell (film)

Heroes in Hell (Italian: Eroi all'inferno) is a 1974 Italian Macaroni War film written, directed and lensed by Joe D'Amato (using the pseudonym "Michael Wotruba" for the directorial credit), produced by Walter Brandi and starring Klaus Kinski, Luciano Rossi and Franco Garofalo.[2][1]

Heroes in Hell
Video cover
Directed by	Joe D'Amato
Produced by	Walter Brandi
Written by	Joe D'Amato[1]
Starring	Klaus Kinski
Music by	Vassili Kojucharov[1]
Cinematography	Joe D'Amato[1]
Edited by	Piera Bruni Gianfranco Simoncelli[1]
Release date	27 November 1974 (1974-11-27)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Plot

A group of American POW's escape from a vile Nazi prison camp in Germany during World War II. They escape into the countryside, pursued by a squadron of Nazi soldiers assigned to recapture them. The Americans join forces with a group of French freedom fighters, and agree to help them kidnap the high-level German general Kaufmann from his chateau. Using German uniforms captured in combat, the men succeed in capturing the general, but when he puts up a fight they are forced to tranquilize him and physically carry him out of the building. The Nazi platoon catches up with them and a firefight ensues, killing almost everyone on both sides. The last surviving Americans succeed in escaping with their unconscious prisoner.

Cast

• Lars Bloch[1] as Capt. Alan Carter
• Ettore Manni as Bakara,[1] the drunken doctor
• Klaus Kinski[1] as SS-Brigadeführer Kaufmann
• Luciano Rossi
• George Manes[1] as German Lt.
• Carlos Ewing[1]
• Rosemarie Lindt[1] as Maria
• Lu Kamante[1] as Lt. Duncan
• Luis Joyce[1] as Julian's Sister in Law
• Christopher Oakes[1] as Bunny Segar
• Stan Simon[1] as Lt. Stain
• Dick Foster[1] as German Comandant
• Edmondo Tieghi[1] as Pratt
• Luigi Antonio Guerra[1] as Julian
• Roberto Dell'Acqua as Julian's Brother
• Paul Muller as German Soldier
• Attilio Dottesio
• Pietro Torrisi as Van co-driver (uncredited)

Production

D'Amato had directed Kinski earlier in Death Smiles on a Murderer (1973) and said Kinski "(was) an excellent professional actor.[3]"

Release and distribution

In Italy, the film received a limited regional release in very few cinemas and only for a short time, premiering on 27 November 1974.[1][4] The film was shown on the Italian regional TV station Tele Video TVR on 15 November 1980.[5]

In August 1985, the English dub Heroes in Hell was distributed by "Lightning Video" as Nr. 7502 for the price of $69.95.[6] A VHS of the Italian dub was published by "Shendene & Moizzi" in 2000.[7] In July 2007, Heroes in Hell was released on DVD under the title Hrdinové v pekle by the Czech label "Řitka video, s.r.o." containing both the Czech dub and the Italian dub with forced Czech subtitles. This edition was reissued by Řitka in 2009 and 2012.[8] Also in 2007, a DVD of the English dub was released in South Africa by "Impact Video".[9]

Bibliography

• Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto; Pecorari, Mario (1991). Dizionario del cinema italiano (in Italian). Gremese Editore. p. 282. ISBN 9788876059353. Retrieved 11 March 2019.

References

1. Chiti, Poppi & Pecorari 1991.
2. "New York Times: Heroes in Hell". NY Times. Retrieved 25 October 2008.
3. Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). "Spaghetti Nightmares". Fantasma Books. p. 77.ISBN 0963498274.
4. David, Christian (2018). Kinski: Die Biographie (in German). Aufbau Digital. p. 410. ISBN 9783841216755. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
5. "I programmi delle TV locali" (PDF). L'Unità: 13. 15 November 1980. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
6. "New Releases - Home Video". Billboard. 97 (35): 37. 31 August 1985.
7. "Eroi all'inferno / regia di Michael Wotruba (Aristide Massaccesi)". ICCU. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
8. "Hrdinové v pekle". Česko-Slovenská filmová databáza. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
9. "Heroes in Hell - Impact Video". Impact Video. Retrieved 13 October 2017.

External links

• Heroes in Hell on IMDb