The Olsen Gang Goes to War

1978 1h 47m DA

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 56

FamilyComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Some criminal EU ministers plan to turn Denmark into a gigantic fair ground and holiday paradise. Egon gets his hand at some important documents which could both make him rich and take care of Denmark's future.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ove Sprogøe
Egon Olsen
Morten Grunwald
Benny Frandsen
Poul Bundgaard
Kjeld Jensen
Kirsten Walther
Yvonne Jensen
Axel Strøbye
Kriminalkommisær Jensen
Ole Ernst
Detektiv Holm
Bjørn Watt-Boolsen
Bang-Johansen
Ove Verner Hansen
Bøffen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Erik Balling
Writers: Erik Balling, Henning Bahs
Languages: Danish
Countries: Denmark

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

48 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Olsen Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Erik Balling, shot by Jeppe Jeppesen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ole Steen Nielsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ove Sprogøe and Morten Grunwald and Poul Bundgaard carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0078026 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Erik Balling directs. Jeppe Jeppesen behind the camera. Bent Fabricius-Bjerre scores. Ole Steen Nielsen cuts. Produced in Denmark. Dialogue in Danish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

148 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "The Olsen Gang Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Erik Balling, shot by Jeppe Jeppesen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Ole Steen Nielsen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ove Sprogøe and Morten Grunwald and Poul Bundgaard carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0078026 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeppe Jeppesen
Original score: Bent Fabricius-Bjerre
Editing: Ole Steen Nielsen
Production design: Henning Bahs
Costume design: Lotte Dandanell
Makeup / hair: Pia Bronée Samson
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Status: Released
Original language: DA
Certification (US): 12
IMDB: The Olsen Gang Goes to War (1978)

Part of

The Olsen Gang Collection

The Olsen Gang (Danish: Olsen-banden, Norwegian: Olsenbanden, German: Die Olsenbande) is a fictional Danish criminal gang in the eponymous comedy film series. The gang's leader is the criminal genius and habitual offender Egon Olsen and his accomplices are Benny and Kjeld (Kjell in Norwegian). The gang members are harmless, extremely rarely target ordinary citizens, and never use violence. A Norwegian version of the film series was also made (a total of 14 films from 1969 to 1999), in most cases based directly on the scripts for the Danish films.