The Heavy Water War: Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb

The Heavy Water War is a long awaited update of one of the most significant and interesting sabotage actions during the Second World War. Previously filmed in many documentaries and as feature dramatizations. First in 1948 in a French-Norwegian co- production, just a few years after the war, with many of the saboteurs playing themselves, "Kampen om tungtvannet". Secondly in 1965 in the Anthony Mann-production "Heroes of Telemark" (with Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris in main roles), and last in the great and too forgotten Canadian feature film and also miniseries "A man called Intrepid" in 1979 (starring David Niven, Michael Yorke and Barbara Hershey).

This mini-series has been very much awaited, as a fresh update though the older ones are still all very see-worthy and recommended dramatizations. All filmed on location in Rjukan, where the sabotages took place, with mainly local youngsters doing the main sabotage job under allied commando. Currently there's at lest three other projects being developed, with a rumored Michael Bay-production ("Sabotage"?), and a 10 episodes TV-series "Telemark" under the direction of Danny Boyle, obviously with different angles of this fantastic epic true war story. There's also made many documentaries, most known the ones from BBC.

It's been 10 years in the planning, this series by production company Filmkameratene, with John M. Jacobsen's sturdy work of getting in place the financing. Finally succeeding when changing the concept from a feature movie to a mini-series with Norwegian national broadcaster NRK as the company with enough means to ascertain a quality production, which felt both important and necessary.

The script writer has based this story on a different angle than the earlier ones. The four sabotage actions is a common basis, but here we at the time go behind both the allied and German actions around creating the world's first atomic bomb. We also follow the local Norwegian resistance, as well as the company view, which has been very controversial stuff for years after the sabotages took place. More about the many moral dilemmas, and a bit less focus on the heroics of young students.

We start off in 1933 when Werner Heisenberg is rewarded the Noble Prize in physics in Stockholm, and is greeted by fellow Danish colleague Niels Bohr. Celebrating this, Heisenberg is later called in for interrogation by the Nazi's which accuse him of being gay. He is almost sent to the front, only saved by top connections. Why did the Nazi need the heavy water (D2O), and where to get it? It's all explained, while we meet young professor Leif Tronstad, which is the main role from Norwegian side, the inside brains of the technology as well as the detailed planning of the sabotage. He is a very much unsung hero, now being pulled out into the light, brilliantly played by Espen Klouman-Høiner. We also see another main role, the facility director Bjørn Henriksen (a fabulous Dennis Storhøi), which is a fictive emerging of three real company directors juggling between Allied (mainly French) and German interest in the new discovery of nuclear physics during the 30'ies, towards the fatal 2nd World War started by the Nazi regime.

Well played in all roles, we early understand this series is about to fulfill the needs of a proper, true and interesting dramatization of this epic story. We all know that the Americans beat the others in finalizing the misunderstood importance of creating an atomic bomb With European development-help. But it's also easy to understand the immense fear of the Allied forces had towards the Adolf Hitler and his extreme right wing dictatorship getting hold of the bomb. The fear of us all seeing an all together different world under the rule of the Nazi dream the Third Reich world leadership. No short cuts have been taken, to assure our need for credibility, since the series is in all correct native languages, so prepare to be reading subtitles, if not dubbed in your country. If you ask me, it's a big relief that the Germans speak German, the Norwegians speak Norwegian as of course it's very often English amongst the allied forces.

I wouldn't be afraid to say that this production is setting a new standard for Norwegian TV-drama, brilliantly casted and directed by Per-Olav Sørensen, very keen on giving this important history lesson a proper updated reference in World history. Already before airing all episodes in Norway, the series is sold to large markets for national TV-distribution in the USA, Spain, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany, a lot of markets will follow in the following months. After airing the series hold record numbers for viewing of a dramatized series in Norway, with a up to 65% marked share of viewers at the time Sunday nights.

It's without doubt going to mean a lot of newfound interest in the famed actions, and incredible heroism of young Norwegian resistance movement, as well as well planned and performed allied actions in the little mountain town Rjukan, which in June 2015 eagerly awaits a decision from Unesco-headquarter Paris if the modern industry revolution site Rjukan - Notodden - Møsvatn area is going to be a future Unesco world heritage site for future generations to experience. What a great story and history this is! Be sure to catch it when it's on in your country, and enjoy the best telling of the story, so far!

After watching this, I mentioned to a friend of mine with a degree in physics that Heisenberg really was compromised working for the Germans during the war. He corrected me and suggested I read "Heisenberg's War" by Thomas Powers. Thank goodness, I did. It's an excellent book, and sets the record straight about what Heisenberg did and didn't do, and did and didn't think, during the war.

The miniseries show him trying to dazzle the German military with the destructive potential of his nuclear research, and it shows him working diligently on developing a bomb. What Powers shows, though, is that Heisenberg and the scientists who worked closely with him tried in various ways to discourage the Nazis from pursuing a bomb. And they were successful. After a critical meeting with Speer in 1943, in which Heisenberg emphasized all the problems and pointed out that a bomb, even if it could be developed, would take too long to be used in the war, bomb research stopped, and nuclear research was aimed at a reactor or "energy machine." The Heisenberg group were so horrified by the idea of an atomic bomb that they even signaled to scientists outside Germany that Germany was not working on a bomb, hoping to prevent a world of nuclear weapons. (This was misunderstood by many distrustful Allied scientists, who feared Heisenberg was trying to stop their work so that he could proceed without competition on his own.)

So enjoy the series, but please don't do as I did and take it as factual about Heisenberg's participation in a German atomic bomb program. I suppose that part of the story was added to crank up the excitement and drama.

Incidentally, after the destruction of the Norwegian hydro/heavy water plant and the sinking of the ferry carrying the heavy water, Germany's was completely crippled in its supply of heavy water, never to recover.

This decade or so, Norway has created several series depicting life and events during WW II in Norway, under German annexation, but still different way than in e.g. Central or Eastern Europe. But still, people had to make hard choices, and very often you were between rock and hard place, trying to see/predict a bigger picture and "sniff" potential outcomes. Kampen om tungtvannet gives a broad overview, through different angles and participants, of a successful, yet controversial operation (thus, in my opinion, the UK title The Saboteurs is not felicitous), with many real episodes and characters, performed by good character actors (more as a team, no one really sticks out unnecessarily). It is also to my liking that characters of different nationals were played by respective representatives, so different languages heard are always correct and without accent. Well, the run of scenes is not always smooth, some of them are excessive and tensions are sometimes fading, but still - this series is worth watching, at least for Northern Europeans interested in the events during WW II not commonly known.

EXCELLENT series, best war miniseries since Band of Brothers, and that was the best of all-time according to IMDb raters, myself, and many others (it was the first DVD set I ordered in advance).. I also learned more about physics from this, which caused me to look up heavy water (D2O) online and Germany's wartime nuclear research.

THIS series had me riveted, I watched the last 5 episodes in one sitting (til dawn) b/c I couldn't STOP watching.. some great footage of the skiing, just what you'd expect from Scandanavians.. The commando raid was also brilliantly filmed.

KUDOS to writers, directors, cast (Anna Friel, stunning as always!), and the incredible landscapes - I admire anyone who can conquer all that winter ice & snow and not only survive, but move around and fight wars in all that hostile environment.

HEROES prove their status in times of need, willing to endure self- sacrifice for the rest of us - glad to see that they also inspire cinematic ART many decades later!

I'm flabbergasted by the few critical reviews of this film as I think it's one of the best series on WWll ever made. Telling the story of Britain & Norway's efforts to destroy the heavy water production by the Nazis (used to create an atomic bomb) it covers the same ground as the 1965 film with Kirk Douglas. This an intense, gripping war drama showing the amazing bravery and tenacity of the Allies to stop Hitler from getting the bomb before them no matter what the cost. Critical reviewers might want to read their history as I found this film to have no "fluff" or "PC" elements at all. Gut wrenching with tons of action not to mention political drama and also blending personal stories into the characters it succeeds on every level in my opinion. I've seen/own every WWll film available and this is one of the best.