Flashback (1969)

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is an okay anti-war movie, well watchable once. (If you can overlook the fact that the only surviving copy seems to be a bad-quality grainy digitalization from Italian TV.) It directs attention to a lesser-known face of war, the possibility that you can be left alone with your memories for a relatively long time (which is maddening) and also to a well-known aspect, the cruelty towards civilians -- but this is one that cannot be repeated enough. There are some remarkable views, as the timeless, sunny riverside rocks and Fred Robsahm plays the hero well (but nothing to write home about). The air of 1969 is strongly perceptible all the time, which is not necessarily a good thing as we are supposed to see and feel 1945 here.This could have been better as a short. At this duration a lot of scenes feel too long. The whole film is slow: sometimes the high-tension kind of slow but often plain boring.Some Norwegian and Swedish viewers seem to have distorted the rating here, which is now at 9 stars -- that is ridiculous. I'd say this movie is approximately as good as Werner Herzog's Signs of Life, the American Hell in the Pacific (1968) or the Japanese Fires on the Plain (1959), maybe the recent British "1971", all between 7 and 7.5 now. For some strange reason even the very best of war films do not score 9-10 at IMDb. Even Das Boot, Apocalypse Now, Ivan's Childhood and Come and See do not reach 9 at this moment -- and this film is clearly not in the same league!

When I walked out of the theater back in the 70s, I had a glamorous smile on my face, I had just seen Flashback for the first time and I instantly knew it would become classic. In this 1969-film Fred Robsham makes his debut on the big screens, unknown and criticized, this young Norwegian delivers one of history's best performances. Playing the role of a German soldier Heinz Prulier stuck in WW2 who experiences the toughest time of his life, falling into depression and suffering from continuous Flashbacks from his previous life. Luckily his friend John Bauer (Pilar Castel) is there to support him; this is the beginning of a lifetime friendship. This is a story about life, war, depression and friendship. How Flashback has gone unnoticed from public attention is a great mystery. This movie is truly a masterpiece and if you have the option to get your hands on a copy, don't doubt a second.

Excellent movie this is! I didn't even knew they could do this kinds of films back then. I especially liked the scene when a soldier comes out of the forest and asks: Who was it? Who was it that did threw? What am I going to do with my shirt? It was a lot of emotions in that scene. I think it has a lot of common with other great war movies such as platoon, apocalypse now and Lilla jönssonligan 2. Epic storytelling all the way. I will definitely see more Italian war movies after seeing this one, because if other old Italian war movies are as good as this one than I will surely not be disappointed. I highly recommend Flashback because the freedom of speech is for real and it is a really good movie!

This is one of my favorite movies in the world! I totally love the action, love scenes, the hit and run scene, and the car hunting scene. Totally awesome! ;) But to all parents, there are some scenes that aren't that suited for kids, but only a few.On the forum where I use to hang around, we got a big thread about this awesome film. I think I'm gonna buy it again, for it's awesomeness.I just have to say that my favorite action scene is when the protagonist attacks the big jeep. And then the girl kicks his balls. ^^ Lol, so awesome, I really like his reaction.// Rune from Norway/Sweden