The Passage

"An ice-swept escape route in front of them. A cold-blooded killer behind them. The only way out is up."

1979 1h 39m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 58

WarActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During WW 2, a Basque shepherd is approached by the underground, who wants him to lead a scientist and his family across the Pyrenees. While being pursued by a sadistic German.

“An ice-swept escape route in front of them. A cold-blooded killer behind them. The only way out is up.”

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Cast

Anthony Quinn
The Basque
James Mason
Professor Bergson
Malcolm McDowell
Capt. Von Berkow
Patricia Neal
Mrs. Bergson
Kay Lenz
Leah Bergson
Paul Clemens
Paul Bergson
Christopher Lee
Gypsy
Michael Lonsdale
Renoudot

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: J. Lee Thompson
Writers: Bruce Nicolaysen
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

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

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by J. Lee Thompson, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Anthony Quinn and James Mason and Malcolm McDowell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "An ice-swept escape route in front of them. A cold-blooded killer behind them. The only way out is up.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0079700 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

J. Lee Thompson directs. Michael Reed behind the camera. Michael J. Lewis scores. Alan Strachan cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

147 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by J. Lee Thompson, shot by Michael Reed. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Michael J. Lewis. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Alan Strachan shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Anthony Quinn and James Mason and Malcolm McDowell carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "An ice-swept escape route in front of them. A cold-blooded killer behind them. The only way out is up.".
7IMDB entry: tt0079700 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Reed
Original score: Michael J. Lewis
Editing: Alan Strachan
Makeup / hair: Neville Smallwood
Stunt coordinator: Joe Powell
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Passage (1979)

Also by

J. Lee Thompson

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-06-05
★ 6/10
Malcom McDowall manages to portray the epitome of Nazi SS nastiness in this story with a worryingly natural aplomb! He is leading a party pursuing James Mason ("Prof. Bergson") who, alongside his family, is being smuggled from France into Spain by the wily shepherd Anthony Quinn. Their journey is fraught with danger as they must cross the inhospitable terrain of the Pyrenee mountains with snow up to their thighs - whilst McDowall ("Capt. Von Berkow") uses just about every brutal technique in the book to strike fear into everyone who has seen/helped them as he tries to apprehend the professor. The production standards are a bit on the low side (not that the cold and variable light quality could have been of much help); the dialogue is badly captured with a poor audio mix and although there are certainly some horrific scenes - the end of Christopher Lee's brief contribution comes to mind - it's is all just a bit on the procedural side. Quinn portrays the cantankerous, brave, Basque very much it style of many of his previous roles - he sort of grunts his way though the thing with little by way of engagement with us, the audience, and the ending goes from thrilling to silly in a matter of a few frames!. The photography is splendid, and the story has a taut pace to it - it just isn't very good.

Production companies