Zeppelin - ilmojen jättiläinen

For years, I had heard loosely about the use of zeppelins in WWI. Etienne Perier's movie "Zeppelin" does a very good job telling a specific story. It focuses on ancestrally-German Brit Geoffrey Richter-Douglas (Michael York) getting torn between allegiance to his native country and his ancestral land when he gets a chance to go to Germany to ride a zeppelin; he goes there, but of course doesn't tell his hosts that he's actually there as a UK agent. Then comes the ride aboard the zeppelin.

In my opinion, probably the movie's most interesting aspect is Elke Sommer's role. Throughout the '60s, she was one of the go-to women for sex kitten roles. Here, her character is Frau Dr. Erika Altschul, the wife of the zeppelin's inventor. She's a very educated, articulate woman not about to let anyone order her around. Granted, she's still quite pretty - and in one scene, we can see from her shadow on the wall that she's taking off her clothes! - but this is a totally different kind of role for her. Of course, I praise her for accepting a new kind of role for once.

Anyway, while this may not be the best movie ever, I certainly recommend it. Some of the early scenes give one the feeling of having been in England during WWI when the Germans were bombing (the truth is, we Americans have never experienced anything like that). Definitely worth seeing.