Wednesday, February 26, 2014

HINDENBURG: LEAD ZEPPLIN




My wife is a big fan of the History Channel, Military Channel and all things historical when it comes to dramas. So when this film showed up I figured we had a decent night of movie watching together, even more so when I noticed the film's running time at 191 minutes. While she found it okay I found the movie to be a tad excruciating but tolerable at times.

The movie takes us behind the scenes of the last flight of the infamous Hindenburg in 1937 that ended in it's explosion when it reached the U.S. Actually it opens with that explosion before taking us back 4 days to when it was starting it's last voyage. We meet several characters, most importantly Merten Kroger, an air enthusiast who accidentally meets Jennifer Van Zandt. Jennifer is the daughter of Edward Van Zandt (played by Stacy Keach, perhaps the only recognizable name in this mostly German cast), a wealthy industrialist who wants trade with Germany to open so he can sell them helium for their dirigibles.

When Edward falls ill his wife and daughter want to get home to him as soon as possible. Their best bet is the Hindenburg and they book their way home. When Edward hears of this he becomes upset and calls to get them not to get onboard. His assistant tries to get word to them but not before he confronts Merten in a men's room over information Merten has that there is a bomb on board. The end result of their fight is his death and Merten being told to get Jennifer off the Hindenburg. Not an easy task as the Nazis are now trying to prevent him from doing so.

Of course Merten does get on and in an attempt to find Jennifer is waylaid by an unseen enemy. When he wakes he frees himself and finds word has already gotten on the ship that he's a murderer and needs to be captured. He still finds a way to get to her and tell her what is happening which of course no one else believes. Not until several things happen in the course of the film does anyone think that a bomb is possible. From that moment on the search for the bomber and the bomb take center stage but that isn't until the last 40 minutes or so.

So what fills the rest of the time? The movie becomes almost like one of those classic disaster films from the 70s. We're introduced to numerous characters that have their own quirks and problems. One is a German family where the father wants to get them safely to Argentina while his family fights him all the way wanting to stay home in Germany. The obvious fact that there must be a reason he wants to leave is easily figured out early on, even more so when a German officer becomes attracted to the wife and attempts to bed her. There is the charismatic stage performer who does magic, offers speeches and reveals any and all secrets relayed his way. Then there is Jennifer's mother (another recognizable name in Greta Scacchi) and her entourage. We're also given the bickering between the captain of the Hindenburg and the company representative who go back and forth over who is in charge.

All of this makes for a relatively boring movie. At times it feels as if you are actually on a transatlantic flight when the pacing moves as slowly as possible. The action in the film feels forced into the story and the scenes in the dining room feel incredibly slow. There are moments where true plot development bursts forth, not only in the bomb story but the personal ones as well, but these are so spread out as to barely get your notice when they appear.

On the whole fans of dirigible, the Hindenburg or of pre-WWII Nazis might enjoy this movie. For the most though it is far too long and tedious. I don't see this being a movie that will elevate its cast to bigger and better things. Instead this seems like a movie that will hit bargain bins sooner rather than later. 

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