RTL Television Movie “Hindenburg”

The two-part RTL Television film “Hindenburg” premieres February 6 and 7, 2011. Based on RTL’s description of the film, viewers shouldn’t expect too much historical accuracy;  it is a completely fictionalized love story (view trailer) between a poor but good-looking airship designer and the daughter of a treacherous American family (sound familiar?) on a doomed ship filled with Gestapo agents, Luftwaffe pilots, escaping Jews, and a jester.  (See cast information and description in German.)

rtl-television-film-hindenburg

The movie includes political intrigue, romantic rivalries, murder, the obligatory time bomb, and a dog trained to raise his paw in a Hitler salute.

The 1975 Robert Wise film The Hindenburg with George C. Scott and Anne Bancroft also took historical liberties, but at least the sets were scrupulously accurate.  (Read a review of “The Hindenburg” (1975): Fact & Fiction)

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frauleinjoGordon PhilbinGordonJ. JamesHendrick Stoops Recent comment authors
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frauleinjo
frauleinjo

I have just seen it… it is horrendous… even worse because it is dubbed in English :argh: I agree with most things written by everyone else in this topic, horrible music, weird historical mistakes, etc,etc. But one of the most horrendous things about it all is the story. OH MEIN… Read more »

Gordon Philbin
Gordon Philbin

I have a question to ask. I know there is critizism of how accurate the film is, but I’m dying to see it. But since this has been released in Germany on TV and on Amazon UK on DVD, I don’t know if it will be shown in America. Does… Read more »

Hendrick Stoops
Hendrick Stoops

iI must say that from the breif clip I watched ,the CGI though slightly unrealistic in some parts is absolutely stunning. from what Ive heard I agree that Indenburg 1975 looks like a documentary compared to this. one thing that i di like however was the closeup of the letters… Read more »

1txcowboy
1txcowboy

Well, I thought the CGI effects were pretty realistic (considering no other film has ever attempted it)…Wise’ film was SO bad (Bancroft & George C. Scott certainly deserved ‘Raseberry’ awards THAT year), I’m surprised that Universal was even associated with it…

Cayla
Cayla

Why not give us what we really want. A big production, big screen, Historically accurate epic on what really happened & some of the stories & characters surrounding the building & ultimate demise of The Hindenburg. We deserve that. C’mon people! Just give it to us. It would be huge… Read more »

Kirk

The special effects seem to be as good as there is for any Hindenburg disaster movie/video. I never liked how the Robert Wise film defaulted to black and white filming mixed with original footage. This should be good for some eye candy despite the other flaws that have been mentioned.… Read more »

Jan
Jan

I watched the first part yesterday and am a bit disappointed by the liberties the producers took with the ship’s interiour design. It’s much more spacious than it was in reality and they seemed to change the layout and the colours of the walls and floor (and again the girders… Read more »

J. James

I saw snippets of it and color me surprised as well. I mean, the affects were spectacular compared to other disaster made-for-TV movies(I am talking to you, Poseidon Adventure), but why they messed around with the interior of the ship just doesn’t make sense. They portrayed it as much darker… Read more »

Gordon
Gordon

Did you see the second part, because I wanted to find out what had happened to the characters ? I figured out that Fritz Eichholz is murdered in part 1 and that video on this page shows that Alfred Sauter didn’t make it. I as know what happens to the… Read more »

M L Hopp

Well, yes, the ship model is rather pretty. Very nice. Not all that impressed by the plot as described above. Why, oh why, can no one ever do a proper movie about the Hindenburg? Or a movie where a zeppelin doesn’t get torched??? Yeah, I’m looking at you The Rocketeer.… Read more »

J. James

Pixar’s “UP” springs to mind. Then there’s “The Golden Compass”, “Watchmen” and “Stardust”. And then there’s all the Zeppelins you see popping up in alternate universes on TV series like “Fringe”.

John

> And once again as with the 1975 film the mooring mast is black.

What color was it IRL?

Frank
Frank

The mooring mast was red and white.

Patrick Russell

John, in real life the mooring mast was white with three red horizontal “stripes.”

John

Not to be contrarian, but I don’t even think the CGI is that good, even pre-crash. The takeoff shot in this trailer looks phony: the Zep is too sharp compared to the hangar to the right: it’s clear the hangar is from a B&W photo and the Zep is at… Read more »