When I saw this movie in 1980 I thought it was good. I remember the JDL wanting it banned because it had Vanessa Reedgraves in the title role and she had recently been photographed with the PLO holding up an AK47. However, her part in this movie was flawless. She and several of the supporting actors must have starved themselves to look so skinny and forlorn. There is one scene that is especially riveting. It occurs at night when one of the starving prisoners comes to Vanessa to express her love for another prisoner. To me it represented the displacement of impending extermination with a feeling of passion for another person. This is the same irrational runaway of internal emotions that impels someone to leave his wife and family and run off with another person, male or female. This feeling has been described as uncontrollable, ie. beyond conscious control. <br /><br />Also, we have one very beautiful Nazi Guard. She is shown shooting someone in cold blood, but she also expresses deep human concern for the members of the orchestra and for children. <br /><br />Joseph Mengaler is also portrayed in this movie. He is responsible for keeping the prisoners alive although we know from history that he was brutal in his experimentation on prisoners. The part is played by the actor who was the father in the TV series Alf. Toward the end one of the guards tells the fleeing prisoners that if they go left they will fall into British hands but if they go right they will fall into Russian Hands. Also, we are shown the guards being rounded up and taken out in trucks. If the Russians had taken over the camp this would not have happened as the Russians shot all the guards and made prisoners watch. This was especially hard on prisoners who had been befriended by guards.