Escape from Sobibor
Escape from Sobibor is a 1987 British television film which aired on ITV and CBS. It is the story of the mass escape from the Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor, the most successful uprising by Jewish prisoners of German extermination camps (uprisings also took place at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka). The film was directed by Jack Gold and shot in Avala, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). The full 176-minute version shown in the UK on 10 May 1987 was pre-empted by a 143-minute version shown in the United States on 12 April 1987.
| Escape from Sobibor | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama History War |
| Written by | Thomas Blatt (manuscript) Richard Rashke (book) Reginald Rose (teleplay) Stanislaw Szmajzner (book) |
| Directed by | Jack Gold |
| Starring | Alan Arkin Joanna Pacuła Rutger Hauer Hartmut Becker Jack Shepherd |
| Narrated by | Howard K. Smith |
| Music by | Georges Delerue |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Yugoslavia |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Martin Starger |
| Producers | Dennis E. Doty Howard P. Alston (co-producer) James Eastep (associate producer) |
| Cinematography | Ernest Vincze |
| Editor | Keith Palmer |
| Running time | 176 minutes (UK/ITV; 169 minutes with PAL speed-up) 143 minutes (US/CBS) 120 minutes (edited) |
| Production companies | Zenith Entertainment Rule Starger (for Central) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 12 April 1987 (US/CBS) 10 May 1987 (UK/ITV) |
The script, by Reginald Rose, was based on Richard Rashke's 1983 book of the same name, along with a manuscript by Thomas Blatt, "From the Ashes of Sobibor", and a book by Stanisław Szmajzner, Inferno in Sobibor. Alan Arkin, Joanna Pacuła, and Rutger Hauer were the primary stars of the film. The film received a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Hauer received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role—Television Film or Miniseries. Esther Raab was a camp survivor who had assisted Rashke with his book and served as a technical consultant.